Women’s Track and Field Duo Earns All-American Distinction

Claire Palmer (5,000) and Lilly Wurtz (discus) garnered All-American praise during the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Claire Palmer and

Lilly Wurtz of the Middlebury women's track and field team were recognized as All-Americans by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) following their efforts at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Palmer grabbed a second-team selection in the 5,000-meter run, while Wurtz also landed on the second team in the discus.

HONOREE HIGHLIGHTS

Palmer (Second Team)

• The rookie completes a sweep of cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field All-American laurels. She is the first Panther to accomplish the feat since teammate

Audrey MacLean earned the honor in the 2025 campaign.

• Palmer stormed up the leaderboard late in her 5,000 effort. Slotting in 17th entering the final four laps, the Panther overtook six runners to claim 11th with a time of 16:47.88.

• Over the final 800 meters, she jumped three spots with splits of 1:20.48 and 1:17.52.

• Palmer earned five all-region honors during the season, including three in outdoor competition.

Wurtz (Second Team)

• Wurtz earns her first national nod.

• During her third toss, she recorded a distance of 43.08 meters to slot 13th.

• She paced the Mideast region with a toss of 45.55m and took home both the discus and shot put titles at the conference meet.

• Wurtz closes her Middlebury career with nine all-region accolades across the indoor and outdoor campaigns.

The program now touts 69 Outdoor All-American honorees. Athletes and relay squads that finish in the top eight spots log first-team honors, while individuals claiming ninth through 16th and relays earning ninth through 12th tally second-team honors. The full list of USTFCCCA All-Americans can be found

here.