PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Keene State College’s Kallie Warner earned Little East Conference (LEC) Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year honors, while Southern Maine’s Lana Dirusso was named Rookie of the Year following their performances at the 2026 LEC Championship. UMass Dartmouth earned Coaching Staff of the Year recognition after guiding the Corsairs to the conference title.
Warner captured the individual championship with a time of 22:30.69 over the 6-kilometer course, finishing more than 18 seconds ahead of runner-up Sarah Lynch of UMass Dartmouth. Her performance also secured First Team All-LEC recognition.
Dirusso earned Rookie of the Year honors as the championship’s top first-year finisher, placing fourth overall in 23:17.06. She also earned First Team All-LEC recognition, helping Southern Maine finish second in the team standings with 61 points.
UMass Dartmouth’s Coaching Staff of the Year honor followed a championship performance that saw the Corsairs place five runners among the top 15 and total 51 points. Lynch led the team with a second-place finish in 22:48.84, while Alexah Pedder placed eighth in 23:47.74 to join her on the First Team All-LEC.
Elena Aponte finished 12th in 24:02.12 and Sophie Owen placed 14th in 24:03.16 to earn Second Team All-LEC honors. Sara Lopez completed the Corsairs’ scoring lineup in 15th with a time of 24:06.54.
The conference also recognized nine student-athletes on the LEC Women’s Cross Country Sportsmanship Team, with one representative from each institution.
2026 LEC Women’s Cross Country Major Awards
Runner of the Year: Kallie Warner, Keene State
Rookie of the Year: Lana Dirusso, Southern Maine
Coaching Staff of the Year: UMass Dartmouth
2026 LEC Women’s Cross Country Sportsmanship Team
| Student-Athlete |
School |
| Sadie Iselin |
Eastern Connecticut |
| Kallie Warner |
Keene State |
| Molly Hilditch |
UMass Boston |
| Olivia DeSimone |
UMass Dartmouth |
| Abby Bergeron |
Plymouth State |
| Grace Lane |
Rhode Island College |
| Rohen Brown |
Southern Maine |
| Ariana Reynolds |
VTSU Castleton |
| Vienna Brocco |
WestConn |