The Yale women’s cross country team honored three athletes at its season-ending banquet on December 5 in New Haven. Senior Claire Archer was named Most Valuable Performer/Runner, first-year Phoebe Benun received the Outstanding First-Year Award, and junior Hebe Chadwick earned the Coaches’ Award.
These athletes played key roles in Yale’s strong performance this season. The Bulldogs finished second at the Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships, marking their best result at that event since 2016. They also placed fifth at the NCAA Northeast Regional, matching their best finish since 2021.
This marks Archer’s second consecutive year receiving the Most Valuable Performer/Runner Award. She concluded her senior season with All-Region honors for the second time, finishing 11th (20:17.0) at the 2025 Northeast Regional. Over her four years competing at Regionals, Archer consistently ranked among Yale’s top runners, highlighted by a top finish for her team in both 2024 and this past season.
Archer led Yale in every race she entered this year and was recognized as first team All-Ivy League for a second straight year after placing fourth overall at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. She also earned Academic All-Ivy League honors.
Chadwick received the Coaches’ Award for embodying team values and demonstrating notable improvement during the season. She finished among Yale’s top three runners in four out of five races this fall, including a third-place team finish and 27th overall (20:35.1) at NCAA Regionals—her career-best time over 6K.
Benun was awarded Most Outstanding First-Year after finishing second on her team and 26th overall (20:34.8) at NCAA Regionals, narrowly missing All-Region recognition. At the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, she placed third for Yale and sixteenth overall (21:50.2), ranking as the second-fastest first-year runner in the league.
The Bulldogs will graduate nine seniors this year—including Archer—and return four of their seven NCAA Regionals competitors next season.
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