National Champions

The growth of women's athletics at CMS since its inception in 1976 was evident in a number of tangible ways. From the run of SCIAC All-Sports trophies, to the increase in SCIAC Championships, to the formation of team dynasties, the Athenas rose quickly and kept rising. Individually, CMS women's student-athletes also started rising … to the top of the NCAA podiums. There have been numerous individual NCAA champions in CMS athletics history, covering a wide range of sports, and a wide range of events within different sports. Here are just some of the standout Athenas over the years, who earned the right to call themselves national champions.

Gwyn Hardesty – Track and Field
The first Athena national champion at CMS had a unique story. Gwyn Hardesty enrolled at Smith College in Massachusetts in 1983, but for her sophomore year, she traveled across the country to attend Harvey Mudd as a visiting student. While attending, she joined the CMS Women's Track and Field team, and took a national championship trophy home with her, capturing the 3000 meters in 9:42.46 at the 1985 NCAA Division III Championships. After graduating from Smith, Hardesty competed in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where she finished 13th in the 10000 meters, and won the USA Track and Field national title in the Marathon in 1998.   

Jennifer Culley – Track and Field
Culley became the first CMS graduate to become a women's track and field national champion when she won the 400 meters at the 1998 NCAA Division III Championships. Her time of 54.11 was so fast that it still stands as the program record almost 30 years later (over a second faster than second place). Culley also came in second in the 200 meters, and was part of a 4x400 relay team that came in fifth place to earn All-America honors. During her career, she was an All-American four times (first, third and fifth in the 400, and second in the 200). She also won the SCIAC title in the 400 meters three times, and added a fourth title in the long jump as well.  

Suzy Nicoletti – Swimming and Diving
Suzy Nicoletti broke new ground for the Athenas swimming and diving program when she touched the wall first in the 200-yard breaststroke at the 2002 NCAA Division III Championships, becoming the first individual national champion in the program's history. She also added two other All-America finishes, earning second place in the 100-yard breaststroke and fifth place in the 200-yard individual medley. During her two seasons, she went 6-for-6 winning individual SCIAC titles, sweeping the 100 breast, 200 breast, and 200 IM at both the 2001 and 2002 SCIAC Championships.  

Kristin Lim - Tennis
Lim became the first member of the Athenas tennis program to win the NCAA Division III singles national championship in 2011, which she accomplished at the newly constructed Biszantz Family Tennis Center, which served as the host site. She finished the 2011 season with a 34-3 singles record, with her only loss to a Division III opponent coming after she was forced to retire after spraining her ankle while leading 6-2, 4-4 in the match. Lim ended her career as a four-time singles All-American and four-time SCIAC Athlete of the Year.

Emily Bassett – Track and Field
By 2018, the Athenas had several track athletes earn national championships, and Bassett became the first field athlete to take first place when she won the hammer throw at the 2018 NCAA Championships. Bassett had a throw of 205 feet, one inch to take first place and earn All-America honors for the third time, after coming in fourth in 2016 and second in 2017. Her 205'1" remains a CMS record, a distance of almost 20 feet longer than second place. She was also a three-time SCIAC Champion in the hammer, and added a second title in the discus as a senior.

Margaret Loncki - Golf
Loncki had a storybook ending to her CMS career, winning the individual national title at the 2018 NCAA Women's Golf Championships, while leading the Athenas to their first-ever team title in the process. Loncki captured the individual title over the first 72 holes, which resulted in a tie between CMS and Williams. Then on the second playoff hole, she sank a 15-foot birdie putt that proved to be the difference in the Athenas winning the national title. Loncki also finished fifth in the NCAA Championships as a junior, and was a member of the Athenas soccer team for four seasons as well. 
 
As part of the 50th Anniversary of Co-Education at Claremont McKenna College (1976-2026) and the Scripps Centennial (1926-2026), the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps athletics department will be celebrating 50 Years of Athenas over the course of the 2026-27 academic year. We will be highlighting just some of the many individuals who have helped make CMS one of the top women's athletic departments in the country.  Our list is not meant to be comprehensive, but will highlight some of the people who have had a significant impact on CMS Athletics, before and after their athletic careers, to help tell the story of the growth and success of the Athenas over the last five decades.

The list was developed with support from the CMC 50 years of co-education Athletics Committee, including staff leads Kerry Steere and Raechel Holmes:

Jodie Burton
Rachana Bhat
Erica Perkins Jasper
Mike Sutton '76
Felicia Davis '01
DT Graves '98
Jenna Grunwald '19
Corie Hack '19
Kathleen Hurley '80
Sue Matteson King '85
Maya Love '20
Shelby McIlroy '26
Jay Tremblay '80
Riley Zitar '26