Five Yellowjackets from the University of Rochester women's track and field team combined to earn nine All-America honors at this past week's NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Myrtle Beach, SC, as announced by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday.
 
Senior Madeline O'Connell led UR's five honorees with a trio of All-American honors, while junior Megan Bell and first-year Nora Chen each captured two and seniors Ashley Heffernan and Kate Isaac were recognized once.
 
Athletes of USTFCCCA member institutions who finished in the top 8 of their respective individual events and relays at the 2024 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field took home First-Team All-America honors, while those who placed ninth through 16th individually and ninth and tenth as part of a relay earned Second-Team All-America accolades.
 
O'Connell notched her first two All-America honors on the first two days of the championships, upping her career total to 11. The senior placed fourth in the pole vault on Thursday, successfully surpassing the 3.86m bar to claim First-Team All-America honors in the outdoor pole vault for the first time. Then on Saturday, O'Connell finished 12th in the first round of the 400 meters on Friday to earn a Second-Team All-America award, before picking up the final honor in the 4x400-meter relay on Saturday.
 
Bell, Chen, Isaac and O'Connell each earned First-Team All-America status as members of UR's 4x400-meter relay, winning their preliminary heat to qualify for Saturday's final before finishing third overall with a time of 3:45.40. O'Connell ran the relay's opening lap, with Isaac taking the baton for the second, while Chen and Bell wrapped things up with the final two legs to secure UR's fourth-straight First-Team All-America nod in the outdoor 4x400 relay.
 
Just a few hours before Rochester's 4x400 relay finished third, Bell finished fourth in the 800 meters, crossing the finish line in 2:09.03, a new school record and personal best time, to score her first of two All-America accolades on the day, giving the Wynantskill, NY native six for her career. Bell qualified for Saturday's final with a 2:11.09 time in the prelims, winning the first of three heats to secure an automatic spot in the 800-meter final.
 
Chen added her other All-America accolade in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing ninth in the prelims, just one spot shy of qualifying for Saturday's final, with a time of 1:02.06. Chen's two honors give the first-year three over her first year on the River Campus, while Isaac boosts her total to four.
 
UR's last honor came in the heptathlon, where Heffernan scored 4,472 points to place 15th overall and earn second-team recognition. In capturing her third USTFCCCA award, the senior turned in her best heptathlon-event finish in the 200 meters, placing third (24.99), and added another top-10 result in the 100-meter hurdles (9th, 14.85).
 
Rochester scored 16 points as a team and tied for 11th in the team standings, their best outdoor finish in program history.