Brandeis Magazine

The Brandeis women’s cross-country team capped a breakout season with a return to the NCAA Championships — the program’s first appearance since 2021 and its seventh overall.

Ranked as high as No. 25 in Division III during the season, the Judges matched that position at nationals, held in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where the team posted 564 points.

The Judges earned their NCAA Championships spot with a third-place finish at the East Regional Championships in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, where all five scoring runners placed within the top 35.

Shae Regan, GSAS MS’26, notched a seventh-place regional finish and later claimed 84th at nationals, climbing eight spots over the final kilometer. Kayla DiBenedetto ’24, GSAS MS’26, finished 22nd at regionals. Mikaela Beeler ’29, who placed 28th at regionals, went on to rank 18th among first-years in the national field.

Third-year head coach Michael Schmidt was named East Region Women’s Cross-Country Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association, in recognition of the Judges’ leap from ninth place in the region a year earlier.

“It is easy to say at the beginning of the season that we want to qualify for nationals, but it is a very difficult feat to do so,” says Regan. “The fact that we were able to is a reflection of tremendous dedication and belief from Coach Schmidt and this team.”