BIRMINGHAM, AL (March 14, 2026) – Sophomore
Elysse Cumberland won her second straight indoor triple jump national title, helping lead the Tufts University women's track & field team to a tie for ninth place at the NCAA Division III Championships which concluded on Saturday at the Birmingham Crossplex.
After advancing through the triple jump preliminaries with a 12.20m (40'0 ½") mark, Cumberland was dominant in the final round. All three of her attempts were better than anyone else's best mark. She won with a 12.54m (41'1 ¾") distance on her first attempt in the finals, and then added a 12.39m (40'7 ¾") and a 12.50m (41'0 ¼"). Second-place Serena McNeilly from Centre College finished with a 12.30m (40'4 ½") mark. Cumberland was the defending champion in the event after winning with a 12.60m (41'4 ¼") PR last year. Just three seasons into her collegiate career (two indoor, one outdoor), she is now a two-time national champion and five-time All-American (four first team, one second team).
Junior
Simi Lawal scored in two events for the Jumbos today. Running in lane two of the 60 meters final, Lawal finished fourth with a time of 7.55 seconds. It's Tufts' best finish in the event since Alexis Harrison was the national runner-up in 2016. Lawal caps a tremendous season in the 60, in which she ran a school record 7.48 mark that topped Harrison's 10-year old former record of 7.55 seconds. Lawal's finish today gave her a first team All-American honor.
Then in the 200 meters final early Saturday evening, which was run in two sections, Lawall was in the first race and ran a time of 24.59 seconds. She would place sixth overall to earn another first team All-American award. It's the best performance ever by a Tufts individual in the 200 meters indoors, which was first included in the meet in 2014.
With the 20 team points scored by Cumberland and Lawal (10 each), Tufts tied for ninth place out of the 84 teams overall that were represented at the meet. It's the Jumbos' best team finish since the 2023 squad was seventh indoors, and it's Tufts' third top 10 team finish at the NCAA indoor meet since 2022.
Sophomore
Arielle Chechile, who ran a school-record time of 54.64 in the 400 meters first round on Friday, was disqualified in the final this afternoon. By virtue of making the final, she earns first team All-American honors and is now a three-time All-American overall (two first team).
With Cumberland's title, the Tufts women's program has now won 23 total NCAA track & field individual and relay championships (15 indoors).
Watch interview with NCAA triple jump champion Elysse Cumerland ...
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