WILLIAMSTOWN / NORTH EASTON, MA (May 9, 2026) – Tufts University sophomore
Lauren Zipoli won the heptathlon at the Williams College F.I.R.E. Meet on Saturday as the Jumbos finished a busy two days which also included action at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Championships held at Stonehill College.
In third place after four heptathlon events on Friday, Zipoli continued her strong performance during Saturday's three events and won with a score of 4755 points. She was almost 200 points ahead of runner-up Molly Lu McKellar from Keene State (4562). Zipoli's career-best score, she now ranks second all-time at Tufts behind only Jessica Trombly, who holds the school record with a 4773 score from 2003. Zipoli's score, just 18 points off the school record, ranks 16th nationally as of Saturday afternoon. In today's events, she was first among 14 multi-event competitors in both the long jump (5.56m – 18'3") and the javelin throw (33.30m – 109'3" PR), while also running a PR in the 800 meters with a 2:34.79 time.
At the NEICAAA Championships, Tufts scored 17 points as a team today and finished with a two-day total of 22 points for 13th place. Junior
Simi Lawall and sophomore
Arielle Chechile combined for 14 team points by finishing second and third in the 200 meters with times of 24.50 and 24.70 seconds, respectively. Neither of those strong marks improved upon each Jumbo's national ranking in the event.
Senior
Anne-Sophie Janssen ran a 1:04.41 time for sixth out of 15 in the 400-meter hurdles at the NEICAAA meet. Junior
Nora Jean-Jacques just missed scoring in the triple jump at 10.54m (34'7") for ninth place.
Hard-working junior
Ceci LaBarge competed in the hammer throw at both meets this weekend. Today at Williams, she placed second out of 28 individuals in the hammer with a 49.03m (160'10") mark. Though the Williams meet did not include team scoring, also in a scoring position was junior
Emma Gall in seventh place for the pole vault (3.58m - 11'9").
Also at Williams, senior
Julia Dolce was ninth as well in the 800 meters with her 2:16.31 time. Other Jumbos at the meet were sophomore
Cameron Stanton, who was 11th in long jump at 5.04m (16'6 ½"), and first-year
Lily Simmonds, who ran 13th in the 1500 meters (4:45.99).
The Jumbos have one final opportunity to earn or improve on NCAA qualifying marks at the MIT Last Chance Meet coming up next Thursday (May 14).
--JUMBOS--
