The Liberty League has announced its 2026 Women's Outdoor Track & Field major award recipients, selected by the conference's head coaches following the NCAA Championships.
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Haley Schoenegge, Junior, Vassar College
For the third straight year, Vassar College junior Haley Schoenegge was named the Liberty League Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year. Schoenegge is also a two-time Liberty League Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, earning the honor in both 2024-25 and 2025-26. With her latest recognition, she has now garnered Liberty League Track Athlete of the Year honors in five consecutive seasons. During the 2026 outdoor season, Schoenegge qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in both the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter runs for the third straight year. At NCAAs, she captured her third consecutive national title in the 1,500 as she pulled away from the pack in the final lap, covering the last 400 meters in 1:05.16 before crossing the finish line with a time of 4:16.73 for the 2026 crown. She also earned first-team All-America honors in the 5,000 meters, placing eighth with a time of 16:42.43. At the 2026 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championship, Schoenegge claimed conference titles in the 800 meters (2:10.93), 1,500 meters (4:36.83), and 5,000 meters (16:50.3) en route to earning Track Performer of the Meet honors. She also helped lead Vassar to a program-best third-place finish as the Brewers compiled 147.5 points over the two-day meet. Schoenegge has earned 11 career All-America honors and claimed five national titles. She was also recognized as the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mideast Track Athlete of the Year for the third straight year.
FIELD ATHLETE & ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Lauren Murphy, University of Rochester
University of Rochester first-year Lauren Murphy has been selected as the Liberty League Women's Outdoor Field Athlete and Rookie of the Year following the 2026 campaign. Murphy also garnered Women's Indoor Track & Field Rookie of the Year accolades in March. She is the first Rochester student-athlete since 2024 to be named Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year, while continuing the Yellowjackets' streak of outdoor Rookie of the Year recipients to three consecutive seasons. This spring, Murphy qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the triple jump and delivered a standout performance, placing third with a school-record leap of 12.48 meters to earn first-team All-America honors. She broke Rochester's triple jump record four times during the season, including three times at the NCAA Championships with marks of 12.21 meters, 12.26 meters, and 12.48 meters. At the 2026 Liberty League Outdoor Championships, Murphy won three events with individual victories in the triple jump (11.84m) and long jump (5.58m), while also helping Rochester win the 4x400-meter relay (4:00.59). She also ran a leg on Rochester's runner-up 4x100-meter relay (49.35). Murphy finished among the top three in her events a total of 14 times across 16 appearances. She qualified for nationals with her performance at the William & Mary Colonial Relays, where she won the triple jump with a mark of 12.12 meters, which ranked ninth on the Division III Performance List.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Ithaca College
The Ithaca College Women's Track & Field Coaching Staff earned Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors following the 2026 outdoor season. Head Coach Jennifer Potter and her staff directed the Bombers to their first Liberty League outdoor title since 2019, closing out the two-day meet with 213 points; 32 points ahead of runner-up Rochester. It also marked the first time since 2019 that Ithaca has swept both the indoor and outdoor championships. Ithaca was led by a quartet of event winners at the 2026 outdoor championship—Aynisha McQuillar (100-meter dash), Rachel Larson (100-meter hurdles), Talia Hutchinson (pole vault), and Cameron Ting (heptathlon). In total, 10 individuals earned All-Liberty League honors across 10 events, and the Bombers swept the top-three spots in the pole vault. 19 individuals earned 27 USTFCCCA All-Region accolades (top-8 individuals in each event for each region) and three qualified for the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships: Larson, Hutchinson, and Seyfert. Larson and Seyfert both earned All-America first team accolades with fifth-place finishes in their respective events at nationals. Larson finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.79 seconds, and Seyfert was fifth in the shot put with a personal-best toss of 14.10 meters. Hutchinson placed 19th in the pole vault with a leap of 3.60 meters.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
100 – Aynisha McQuillar, Ithaca, 12.07
200 – Ella Baker, St. Lawrence, 24.78
400 – Nora Chen, Rochester, 56.82
800 – Haley Schoenegge, Vassar, 2:10.93*
1,500 – Haley Schoenegge, Vassar, 4:36.83
5,000 – Haley Schoenegge, Vassar, 16:50.63
10,000 – Anika Mueller-Hickler, Vassar, 36:08.12
100-hurdles – Rachel Larson, Ithaca, 14.02
400-hurdles – Nora Chen, Rochester, 1:00.94*
3,000 steeplechase – Molly FitzGibbons, Rochester, 10:33.71*
4x100 Relay – Vassar (J. Eu, L. Camille, L. D'Auria, M. Seguin), 48.10
4x400 Relay – Rochester (E. Ciuffetelli, P. Classer, L. Murphy, R. Sciortino), 4:00.59
High Jump – Ashley Sheldon, Union, 1.62m
Pole Vault – Talia Hutchinson, Ithaca, 3.87m
Long Jump – Lauren Murphy, Rochester, 5.58m
Triple Jump – Lauren Murphy, Rochester, 11.84m*
Shot Put – Aimee Oszer, Rochester, 13.54m
Discus – Aimee Oszer, Rochester, 42.30m
Hammer Throw – Amanda Hanrahan, Vassar, 53.30m
Javelin – Mia Gerber, RIT, 35.81m
Heptathlon – Cameron Ting, Ithaca, 4264 points
* = Liberty League Championship record
First Team = Event Champions at 2026 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championship
Second Team = Second Place at 2026 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championship
Honorable Mention = Third Place at 2026 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championship