FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Junior
Milaina Almonte concluded her 2026 outdoor track season Saturday by placing 22nd in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, representing the Santa Clara University women's track team at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships West First Round at the University of Arkansas' John McDonnell Field.
Almonte ran the race in 10 minutes, 29.24 seconds, only six seconds off of her near-school-record time of 10:23.35 that qualified her for Saturday's meet. Almonte moved up 26 spots in a field she entered ranked 48th. Almonte finished 10th in the third and final heat, which ended up being the fastest of the evening with the top-two times, three of the top-five and eight of the top-20 marks coming from her section.
Taylor Lovell of BYU won the event – and Almonte's heat – in 9:38.36. A total of 12 runners – the top-three finishers in each heat and the next three fastest times – advanced to next month's national championships in Eugene, Ore. Five of the 12 qualifying runners came out of Almonte's heat.
Almonte's performance Saturday wrapped up a decorated 2025-26 year for her. She delivered one of the strongest cross country seasons in program history in the fall, earning first team all-West Coast Conference honors with a sixth-place finish at the conference championship and adding all-region recognition with a 20th-place finish at the NCAA West Region Championship. She was Santa Clara's No. 1 runner in all five of her cross country races, including winning the Bronco Invitational on Oct. 18 in a school-record time of 20:06.5. She was also named WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention, carrying a 3.803 cumulative GPA.
Almonte ran four top-five all-time marks in 2026 for the Broncos' indoor and outdoor track programs. Her 16:25.89 indoor 5,000 meters she ran in December was nearly the fastest 5,000 ever run by a Bronco in indoor or outdoor. She ran 16:35.04 at the Stanford Invitational on April 3 that ranks fourth on the all-time outdoor list. She narrowly missed the school-record with her aforementioned 3,000-meter steeplechase performance two weeks ago, and she posted the third-best time in the indoor 3,000 at 9:44.40 in February.
