ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Grove City College senior women's track and field distance runner Lydia Bennett (Bethel, Maine/Gould Academy) captured NCAA Division III All-America honors in the mile Saturday at the NCAA Championships, hosted by Nazareth University. 

Bennett placed seventh in the mile with a school-record time of 4 minutes, 52.30 seconds, earning All-America honors. She is the first indoor track and field All-American in school history.

Bennett entered Saturday's finals as the No. 7 seed after running a time of 4:55.15 in Friday's preliminaries. 

This marked Bennett's second trip to a national championship event during the 2024-25 academic year. She placed 117th at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, held November 23 in Terre Haute, Ind.

Vassar sophomore Haley Schoenegge won the mile Saturday with a time of 4:47.04. 

On the men's side, junior Alex Mitchell (Hummelstown, Pa./Harrisburg Christian) made his debut at the national championships by competing in the 400-meter dash. Mitchell finished 18th in preliminaries Friday with a time of 49.58 seconds. The top eight men advanced to Saturday's finals.

Puget Sound's Alexander Rhodes won the 400 in a time of 46.71 seconds. The top eight finishers in each individual event are awarded All-America distinction. 

Both Bennett and Mitchell earned Track Most Valuable Performer honors February 27 at the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championships in Youngstown, Ohio, as Grove City's women's and men's teams both won conference championships.