HADDONFIELD, N.J. - The 2026 Atlantic East Conference Women's Cross Country Championship is set for Saturday, October 31st at 10 a.m. The race will be hosted at Hudson Valley Sports Dome in Milton, N.Y. hosted by Pratt Institute.
Prior to the race, the coaches from all six institutions voted on the 2026 Pre-Championship Coaches' Poll, resulting in Immaculata University being the standout favorite with 15 points and three first-place votes.
The Mighty Macs of Immaculata are led by standout senior Aubrey Donahue, who received four of the five Runner of the Week awards this fall. Last year's Runner of the Year, Donahue posted a 25:03.4 time on the 6k championship course, leading the Mighty Macs to a second place team finish with 58 points. At the Cairn Highlander Invitational on Oct. 3, Donahue set a new 6k course record (24:15.5), which broke her previous course record the year before by 11 seconds. Junior Jacqueline Leone holds the fifth-best 5k conference time (22:24.7), with senior Jayla Gross' 27:12.9 being a conference 6k fifth-best.
Coming in just three points behind Immaculata was Gwynedd Mercy. The Griffins received 12 points, and one first place vote, in the poll and are aiming to improve upon last year's fourth place team finish. A freshman duo of Hailee Dicks and Cara Mott are anticipated to compete for a podium spot, with Dicks holding a conference third-best time of 21:55.2, and Mott posting a conference fourth-best time of 22:02.0. Mott holds the second-best conference time in the 6k (25:44.3), followed by sophomore Abby Flannery (26:21.5) and Dicks (26:41.0) holding the third and fourth best 6k times.
The Saints of Marymount landed third in the poll, totaling 11 points with one first place vote. Last year, Marymount took home the crown, totaling 28 points with four runners finishing in the top 10. A trio of Saints hold the sixth, seventh, and eighth best 6k conference times this year. Sophomore Gabriela Titone (27:15.5), senior Abby Hughes (27:32.8), and junior Elizabeth Dellacorte (29:02.5) all posted season bests at the Border Battle on October 17th. Hughes finished third at last year's conference championships with a 26:38.1 time on the 6k course.
Coming in fourth place, with eight points, was Pratt. Sophomore Melis Kavlicoglu holds the Cannoneers' best time this season, posting a conference second-best time of 20:47.0 on the 5k course at the Adelphi Short Course Showdown. The Eagles of Saint Elizabeth rounded out the group with a total of four points.
The women's 6k race is set to begin at 10am with the men's 8k race following at 11am. The awards ceremony will take place at approximately 12:30 pm where the following will be recognized: Team Champion, Team Runner-Up, First-Team and Second Team All-Conference, Runner of the Year and Rookie of the Year, and Elite Scholar Athlete Award recipient.
For more information on the Championship visit our championship page here.
Women’s Cross Country Poll
- Immaculata - 15 (3)
- Gwynedd Mercy - 12 (1)
- Marymount - 11 (1)
- Pratt - 8
- Saint Elizabeth - 4
ABOUT ATLANTIC EAST
The Atlantic East Conference is a member of NCAA Division III comprising six institutions in a four-state area - Gwynedd Mercy and Immaculata Universities in Pennsylvania; Centenary and Saint Elizabeth Universities in New Jersey, Marymount University in Virginia, and Pratt Institute in New York.
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