NEW LONDON, N.H. - Freshman Ava Dillon (Erie, Colo.) capped a breakout rookie campaign by earning Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Rookie of the Year honors on Sunday afternoon, helping the Norwich University women's cross country team race to a runner-up finish at the 2026 GNAC Women's Cross Country Championship at Colby-Sawyer College's Morris Trail.
Norwich placed all five scoring runners among the first 17 finishers and totaled 65 points, narrowly edging Saint Joseph's College of Maine by two points for second place. Defending champion Emmanuel College (Mass.) retained the conference crown with 38 points, while Saint Joseph's followed Norwich with 67. Host Colby-Sawyer College finished fourth with 91 points, ahead of Simmons University, Regis College, Elms College, and Mitchell College.
The runner-up showing represented a two-place improvement from last year's championship, when Norwich finished fourth following a head-to-head tiebreaker with Saint Joseph's.
Dillon led the Cadets for the sixth consecutive meet, continuing an impressive freshman season with a sixth-place finish in 25:32.9. Her top-seven performance landed her on the GNAC All-Conference First Team while also making her the highest-finishing first-year runner in the field.
With the distinction, Dillon becomes just the fifth GNAC Women's Cross Country Rookie of the Year in Norwich program history, joining Chapel Guarnieri (2013), India Jones (2021), Cece Winters (2023), and Delaney Whitmarsh (2024).
Dillon entered the championship as one of the conference's top first-year performers after leading Norwich at every regular-season meet and earning three consecutive GNAC Rookie of the Week selections. She carried that form into the postseason, remaining among the lead group throughout the 6K before securing the first All-Conference honor of her collegiate career.
Freshman Anna Barlow (Kingston, N.H.) delivered one of her strongest performances of the season when it mattered most, finishing 11th overall in 26:30.8 to earn GNAC All-Conference Second Team accolades.
Barlow's finish gave Norwich two All-Conference honorees and supplied the Cadets with a crucial second scoring position as the battle for runner-up honors remained separated by only a handful of points.
Freshman Haley Mitchell (APO, Armed Forces Pacific) narrowly missed joining the All-Conference group, crossing 15th overall in 26:53.3. Mitchell finished just one place outside the top 14 while contributing 15 points toward Norwich's team total.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Moore (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) followed immediately behind Mitchell, placing 16th in 27:00.2, while sophomore Ally Teitsch (Malta, N.Y.) completed Norwich's scoring five in 17th with a time of 27:09.4.
The grouping proved decisive in securing second place. Only 39 seconds separated Barlow through Teitsch across Norwich's second through fifth scoring positions, allowing the Cadets to overcome Saint Joseph's three runners among the first eight overall finishers.
Whitmarsh gave Norwich additional depth in 19th overall, completing the course in 27:24.2, while sophomore Heidi Edwards (Crestview, Fla.) rounded out the Cadets' top seven in 24th at 28:07.6.
Sophomore Ellery Shertzer (Conowingo, Md.) followed in 27th at 28:27.1, with freshman Isabella Rafter (Glastonbury, Conn.) taking 29th in 28:44.2 and senior Joelle Moore (Swanton, Ohio) crossing 30th in 29:07.0.
Colby-Sawyer sophomore Jacklyn Anderson captured the individual championship and GNAC Runner of the Year honor in 24:20.6, finishing 18.4 seconds ahead of Emmanuel senior Kendall Newton.
For Norwich, Sunday's result completed a steady climb throughout the fall. The Cadets were selected third in the conference's pre-championship poll after finishing fourth a season ago, then exceeded that projection by placing second in an eight-team scoring field.
WOMEN'S LEADERS:
Norwich will now turn its attention to the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 14, hosted by Trinity College at Wickham State Park in Manchester, Conn. The women's race is scheduled for 11:00 a.m., followed by the men's 8K at 12:00 p.m.
2026 GNAC Women's Cross Country Championship Final Results
- Emmanuel (Mass.) - 38
- Norwich - 65
- Saint Joseph's (Maine) - 67
- Colby-Sawyer - 91
- Simmons - 134
- Regis (Mass.) - 159
- Elms - 207
- Mitchell - 243
