LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Tara Silverman will represent the Franklin & Marshall women's cross country team at next week's NCAA Division III National Championships. The Diplomats have a qualifier for the first time since the 2012 season as Silverman placed third overall in the field and earned an automatic spot to the national championship as one of the top seven finishers on a non-advancing team. Her finish helped the Diplomats to a third-place team finish which was the team's best placement at a regional championship since the 1991 season.

Silverman ran a career-best time as she crossed the line 21:10.7 which trailed only two runners from team champion Johns Hopkins. While Silverman's spot is guaranteed, the Diplomats also have a chance to get Maren Blanks into the national championship field as well. Blanks placed 12th at the regional championship with a time of 21:39.3.

Blanks is currently ninth on the list of finishers from non-advancing teams. However, if Carnegie Mellon (second place team) is selected to the NCAA Championships, Blanks would move up to sixth on that list and race alongside Silverman at the national meet. Carnegie Mellon is currently ranked 10th in Division III, with the national meet featuring a total of 32 teams.

Franklin & Marshall had three All-Mid-Atlantic Region selections overall as first-year Courtney's personal-best time of 22:21.2 placed her among the top 25 finishers in the field. Seniors Katie Scott (23:06.4) and Jordyn Collie were the team's final two scorers with their respective 45th and 65th place finishes. Senior Hana Hyman (23:49.1) placed 75th in the final cross country race of her career, which was also a career best for the senior. Junior Emily Jones (23:57.2) was the team's seventh finisher as she placed among the top 80 runners.

The official announcement of NCAA qualifiers will be posted in a press release on NCAA.com on Sunday. The 2026 NCAA Division III National Cross Country Championship will be held on Saturday, November 21 in Northfield, Minnesota.