Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communications, 630-637-5302

LA CROSSE, Wis. (May 23, 2026) - Entering the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships as the No. 7 seed, North Central College women's track and field sophomore Alivia Henkel delivered the race of her career in the women's 400-meter hurdles final on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Henkel became just the second Cardinal in program history to win a national title in the event, while her personal-best time of 58.65 seconds ranks as the fifth-fastest performance in NCAA Division III history.

Henkel had already turned heads in the preliminary round earlier in the weekend when she broke the 60-second barrier for the first time with a 59.99 performance, setting a new school record and becoming the first student-athlete in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin history to run under 60 seconds in the event.

In Saturday's final, Henkel exploded out of the blocks and steadily closed ground on the backstretch. Coming off the final turn with just over 100 meters remaining, she surged into the lead before pulling away to secure the national title with a comfortable five-meter advantage.

Henkel joins elite company alongside Patsy Cargill, who won the event in 1994, and becomes just the third Cardinal in program history to earn All-American honors in the 400-meter hurdles. Henkel is the first national champion for North Central since 2022.