The Fort Lewis College outdoor track and field season finished on a high note last weekend, with senior Hannah Hartwell and junior Elijah Smith earning All-American honors at the 2026 NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships in Emporia, Kansas, from Thursday to Saturday.
Hartwell ended her phenomenal Skyhawk career by earning First-Team All-American honors after finishing seventh in the women’s 5,000-meter race on Saturday. Smith finished his junior campaign with Second-Team All-American honors with his 13th-place finish in the men’s 10,000 on Thursday.
Saturday’s performance was the seventh All-American performance of Hartwell, with five of those being first-team performances. She bounced back from a disappointing 10th-place finish in the indoor national championships.
“I’m feeling great, especially considering how indoor went,” FLC women’s track and field coach Gracen Key said. “I wanted her to finish on a high note, earning another trophy to add to her collection … So I’m really proud of her, really excited and really grateful for everything she’s contributed to the program. So it was a really great weekend.”
Hartwell finished seventh out of 22 runners in the women’s final in 16 minutes and 36.02 seconds. Grace Strongman from Colorado School of Mines finished first in 16:02.06, with her teammate, Emily LeMena, in second in 16:04.49 and Adams State’s Tristian Spence in third in 16:24.22.
Going into the race, Key and Hartwell knew 13 of the 22 runners were going into the 5K having raced another event, while Hartwell was one of the nine whose only event was the 5K. Key and Hartwell were hoping to take advantage of that.
Hartwell started the 12.5 laps by going out with the top three, which was the pre-race game plan. But it surprised Hartwell that none of the other runners were going with them. Key knew Hartwell needed to realize she could run with the top three, regardless of what times they’d run in the past.
The Skyhawk star was in the top five for about the first half the race, before dropping back to around 10th.
“She kept getting pinned to the rail, so we had to keep telling her to get outside,” Key said. “Then she'd get on the outside of Lane 1, almost in Lane two, and then more people would come up next to her and kind of start pressing in a little bit. It was this cycle for several laps, but toward the end, she had a fantastic kick, and I think she passed four or five people in the last like 100 meters.”
It was a mix of emotions for Hartwell and Key. Hartwell was very happy once she got her trophy, but she became emotional when she realized it was the end of her collegiate career. She joked with Key about how she won’t know what to do without Key telling her what mileage to run. It was bittersweet for Key since she and Hartwell have spent a lot of time at meets and traveling to meets, and Key will miss Hartwell and her contributions, leading and being the face of the program for the past few seasons.
Key is excited to go into next season with a lot of depth, despite losing Hartwell and some other quality seniors. Key’s looking forward to a lot of talented runners making her job hard with who to bring to big meets.
Smith finished his 10K in 30:03.40 on Thursday. Koby Fraaza from Grand Valley State won in 29:20.62, with Durango’s Paul Knight, running for Colorado School of Mines, in second in 29:22.11. Adams State’s Julian Campos finished third in 29:24.76.
It was an impressive showing of resilience for Smith, who was dealing with a respiratory infection that affected his training leading up to the national championships.
“He was 23rd on the start list, then came in 21st after two scratches and finished 13th,” FLC track and field head coach Dalton Graham said. “I was super happy he stayed confident and understood those things are out of his control at that point. He gave himself a chance, listened to the race plan, stayed patient throughout and navigated a lot of crazy tactics.”
Graham said the 10K was the best executed race of Smith’s career. The race ebbed and flowed for the first part, with Smith staying patient in the back of the pack with his pace as different runners would take the lead, try and stretch out the field, before the race slowed down again. The race really started with about a mile left, and Smith did a great job of knowing when to pass and take risks, according to Graham.
Smith has a full year left of eligibility, so Graham is excited to see him progress into a First-Team All-American next year. Graham thinks as Smith continues to gain more experience in big meets, along with 90 to 100-mile weeks in the summer, will help him take a step up.
As for the rest of the team, Graham thinks the Skyhawk men could have a historic cross-country season with three of their top returners.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
