NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College women's track & field team is in fifth place after Day 1 of the MIAC Outdoor Championships. The Knights bookended the day with individual victories in the first event of the meet—Lauren Tittel in the 1500-meter run—and the final competition on Friday, Hannah Preisser in the 10,000-meter run.
 
"The team built some great momentum today to take forward into Saturday," said Carleton head coach Donna Ricks.
 
In the 1500-meter race, Tittel ran from the front and pulled away from the pack over the last 600 meters to finish at 4.35.46. Amelia Campbell grabbed seventh place at 4.49.17, and Madeleine Reckmeyer took ninth after notching a personal best of 4.51.59. Sierra Cheniavsky finished 25th at 5.18.31.
 
"Lauren is very intuitive," noted Ricks. "She knows when to take charge and to make moves. She demonstrated this in the 1500 finals and 800 prelims."
 
Preisser won her fifth career MIAC individual title in dominating fashion. She led the entire race, setting a personal best and breaking the facility record as she finished in 35:30.60, good for a 69-second margin of victory. Preisser previously won the 2024 MIAC cross country crown, the 2025 indoor 3000 and 5000-meter races, and the 2026 indoor 3000-meter competition.
 
"I am impressed with Hannah's resilience," said Ricks. "Throughout the season she encountered a variety of challenges, and tonight she was determined to get a national qualifying mark. A tremendous feat to accomplish on her own, taking the lead right from the gun. She took control of her destiny."
 
Classmate Aliya Larsen also claimed All-MIAC status in the 10K race by finishing third with a time of 38:40.88
 
Tittel and Charlotte Kusch both qualified for Saturday's finals of the 800-meter run. The former clocked a time of 2:16.23, while the latter crossed the line at 2:16.58. Sydney Mielcarski took 13th with a personal-best time of 2:26.91, while Genevieve Agati had a season-best time of 2:28.72 in finishing 17th. Ellen Stumbo was 20th with a time of 2:29.42.
"Charlotte executed a strong 800 to qualify for the finals," Ricks said. "All the way around in the 800 meters, the women did an outstanding job achieving personal bests."
 
Carleton finished sixth in the 4x800-meter relay, earning All-MIAC Honorable Mention, as Louise Ruzanic, Nina Peterson, Nicole Peterson, and Reckmeyer combined on a time of 9:46.74.
 
Caroline Kelleher and Jillian Muglia both posted new PRs in the prelims of 100-meter hurdles, finishing at 16.46 and 17.25, respectively.
 
Terri Mensah finished the 100-meter dash prelims at 12.87 to establish a new personal record. Alice Islam was 23rd at 12.99, and Bianca Lott was 26th at 13.08.
 
Kelleher had a season-best time of 1:07.47 while finishing 12th during the prelims of the 400-meter hurdles. Sophie Syverson turned in a personal-best time of 1:11.00 while placing 20th.
 
In the 200-meter dash prelims, Islam and Lott clocked times of 26.61 and 27.03 to place 17th and 23rd, respectively
 
In the field events, Willa Bishop was 11th in the javelin with a distance of 31.65 meters and 14th in the discus after measuring 36.25 meters. Mensah finished 14th in the long jump after measuring 5.20 meters on her final attempt of the day.
 
Last week, Kelleher placed 11th in the MIAC Heptathlon with a total of 3,854 points.
 
Up Next for the Knights
The MIAC Championships conclude on Saturday. Field events start at 12:00 p.m., with racing on the track beginning at 1:30 p.m.
 
All-MIAC performances for Carleton (1st-3rd place…through Day 2)
1500-Meter Run
1. Lauren Tittel — 4:35.46
 
10,000-Meter Run
1. Hannah Preisser — 35:30.60 (PR and facility record)
3. Aliya Larsen — 38:40.88.
 
All-MIAC Honorable Mention performances for Carleton (4th-6th place…through Day 2)
4x800-Meter Relay
6. Carleton (Louise Ruzanic, Nina Peterson, Nicole Peterson, Madeleine Reckmeyer) — 9:46.74