Track & Field

Four Earn All-America Honors at NCAA Track & Field Championships

EUGENE, Ore. – All four America East student-athletes who competed in the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field has earned All-America honors for their performances.
 
Vermont graduate student Emma Wapshare took home 20th in the javelin to secure Honorable Mention All-America honors in the final meet of her collegiate career. Her best throw of 48.81m came on her third toss in the first flight, where she finished eighth. She is the first Catamount to reach the National Championship meet since 2014.
 
New Hampshire sophomore Ruth White also earned Honorable Mention All-America status with a 22nd place finish in the 10,000 meters. White crossed the finish in 33:11.62, just three seconds off her qualifying time in the East Regionals. She’s the first Wildcat to appear in consecutive NCAA Championships since Elinor Purrier from 2015-18.
 
UMBC’s Ava Roberts concluded her collegiate career with another career-best throw in the discus to capture Second-Team All-America honors. Roberts broke her own school record on her second throw of 54.71 meters and then followed it up with a hurl of 55.82 in her final attempt to place 11th overall, just 0.01 meters shy of the top-10. She’s the first UMBC field athlete to qualify since Kelechi Nwanaga in 2018.
 
Iosif Papa of UMBC finished his collegiate career with a second straight Honorable Mention All-America honor in the discus. Papa, competing in the first flight, recorded a 58.28-meter toss on his second attempt to place 18th out of 24 competitors. Papa became the fourth UMBC men's track & field athlete to compete at multiple NCAA Championships, joining head coach David Bobb, Huguens Jean, and Vincent Rentzsch.
 
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
 
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -