COLUMBIA, S.C. - The University of Northwestern Women's Track and Field team raced at the NCCAA National Championships in Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday and Friday. On the second day, Northwestern had its first National Champion since 2004, along with two other top-5 finishes.
DAY 1:
The first day saw four Eagle athletes participating in two events. Deanna Ammermann (Spirit Lake, Iowa/Spirit Lake) and Alvine Njounang (Virginia, Minn./Grand Rapids) raced in the 200-meter preliminaries. Neither runner qualified for the finals tomorrow, but they ran neck and neck, finishing 20th and 21st. Njounang crossed the finish line first for the Eagles in 26.74 seconds, and Ammermann crossed right after, stopping the clock at 26.79 seconds.
In the high jump, Lily Hubbard (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) and Naomi Wallace (Pipestone, Minn./Pipestone Area) went jump for jump as they both missed their first jump at each height before clearing their second jump. Hubbard and Wallace tied for 8th place overall after clearing 1.47 meters (4'9.75").
DAY 2:
After a quiet first day, the Eagles earned some hardware on day two, highlighted by Grace Moravchik's (Mason, Wis./Ashland) impressive performance in the 400-meter hurdles. She had the fastest qualifying time in the event, giving her prime position in lane 4 for her career moment. The sophomore dug down and found a new speed as she turned in a time of 1:03.61, which ranks as the 53rd fastest time in all of NCAA Division III, and sets a new personal and program record. This impressive performance crowned Moravchik the NCCAA National Champion and All-American in the event. She joins an esteemed group of National Champions and is the fourth Eagle to return home with a 1st-place finish at the NCCAA National Championship.
Emily Ashton (Camas, Wash./St. Mary's Academy) tossed the Javelin for the Eagles and found a 3rd-place finish with a distance of 35.12 meters (115'2"). This is the second time in her career that she has finished top 3 at the NCCAA Championships. This throw adds a second All-American title to her Javelin resume.
The highly competitive field in the 800-meter run had three full heats. In the second heat, Meghan Corbett (Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) took her mark and stopped the clock at a new personal best time of 2:24.26 for a 13th-place finish. Emery Maki's (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) entry time placed her in the fastest heat. The sophomore also sped to a record-breaking finish of 2:14.79 in 4th place. This time shaved nearly 4 seconds off her previous personal best, breaking her own school record.
Isabelle Yuhanna (Ham Lake, Minn./North Lakes Academy) opened the morning of the final day in the 5,000-meter run. After missing a few meets with an injury, Yuhanna bounced back for a top-ten finish in the event. She placed 7th in the nation with her time of 19:35.93, which is a new personal record for her outdoor career. Also running a personal record in the 3,000 Steeplechase was Caroline Ringsmuth (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove). The junior shaved 26 seconds off her season best time, and 14 seconds off her career best time for a finish of 12:17.20, placing her 5th in the nation.
In the 400, Ammermann ran a time of 62.19 for a 13th-place finish. Ammermann ran another lap in the 4x400 relay with teammates Njounang, Maki, and Moravchik. They raced in the fast heat, finishing 6th overall with their time of 4:08.24.
This meet concludes the Eagles' 2025 outdoor season. The first year under new head-coach Patrick Fiztgerald has proven to be a success as three outdoor records have been broken this year. Northwestern will look to build off this season's momentum in the 2026 season.
