STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford women’s track & field put together a strong body of work during the 2025-26 season, culminating in a No. 7 finish in the USTFCCCA Women’s Program of the Year rankings, which combines the postseason performances across the cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field finishes.
The Cardinal finished ninth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and 24th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, producing six All-America honors across the two championship meets. Alyssa Jones, Juliette Whittaker, and Sophia Kennedy garnered indoor honors, while Jones, Whittaker, and Mena Scatchard earned outdoor recognition.
Jones capped a standout senior campaign by winning her first NCAA title in the outdoor long jump, breaking a 39-year NCAA Championships meet record with a leap of 7.06m (23-2). She also earned First Team All-America honors in the outdoor high jump after placing eighth nationally.
Two weeks earlier, Jones posted a 2026 world-leading mark of 7.09m (23-3¼) at the NCAA DI West First Round, good for No. 2 in collegiate history. She also swept the ACC outdoor long jump and high jump titles, earning Women's Field Most Valuable Performer honors.
The indoor season was just as successful for Jones, who recorded career-best performances to finish runner-up in the long jump and third in the high jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She also repeated as ACC champion in the high jump and added a runner-up finish in the long jump (6.38m), once again earning Women's Field Most Valuable Performer honors.
The accolades continued to pour in for Jones following the season, as she swept ACC Women's Indoor and Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year honors. Nationally, Jones was named a semifinalist for The Bowerman, collegiate track & field's highest individual honor, and was named the USTFCCCA West Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year.
Juliette Whittaker closed her decorated Stanford career with All-America finishes in the 800 meters during both the indoor and outdoor seasons, placing fourth indoors and ninth outdoors. She also captured a pair of ACC titles in dramatic fashion, winning the outdoor 1,500 meters by .03 seconds and the indoor 800 meters by .16 seconds.
Scatchard, a graduate transfer, made an immediate impact during her lone season on The Farm, earning outdoor Second Team All-America honors in the 1500 meters by placing 14th, while becoming the No. 2 performer in program history in the event. Kennedy earned her seventh career All-America honor with a 13th-place finish in the indoor 5000 meters.
Other notable performances included Brandy Atuatasi, who captured the ACC outdoor discus title with a lifetime-best throw of 55.77m, the fifth-best mark in program history. Multiple-time All-ACC selection Alaysia Oakes continued her rise through the program ranks during her senior campaign, climbing as high as No. 3 in Stanford history in the indoor triple jump. Tess Stapleton thrived in her final season in the 400-meter hurdles, establishing herself among the nation's top contenders while moving to No. 2 in Stanford history in the event.
Nine Cardinal tallied Outdoor All-ACC selections, while five athletes collected indoor All-ACC recognition. Among that group, Atuatasi, Oakes, Julia Lemmon, Addie Pendergast, and Emma Sralla earned all-conference honors for the first time in their careers.
Academically, Whittaker was named the ACC Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year and headlined six Stanford selections to the ACC Indoor All-Academic Team, joining Oakes, Pendergast, Amelia Everett, Julia Flynn, and Hillary Studdert.
Atuatasi, Kennedy, Scatchard, Stapleton, and Whittaker were also recognized as CSC Academic All-District selections, while Atuatasi was also among 33 recipients in the conference for the ACC Postgraduate Excellence Award.