Eastern Connecticut State University

In the first 58 seasons of the men’s and women’s cross-country programs, only one individual had achieved NCAA Division III All-America status. In her first and last seasons, Carla D. Thompson earned such accolades with Top 25 finishes at NCAA Division III National Cross Country Championship. In her first season of collegiate competition eight years after graduating from high school, the Stonington resident became the first female and only the second individual from Eastern to qualify for the national cross country championship, placing 24^th overall in a field of 111 finishers. At the New England Regional qualifier that fall, Thompson placed fourth overall in a race which produced two of the top three finishers at the national championship. In her final season, Thompson returned to the nationals – placing 23^rd overall—after finishing fifth overall in a field of 177 at the New England Regional qualifier that fall. Thompson followed up her brilliant freshman cross country season in the spring of 1986 by qualifying for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Championship at 5,000 and 10,000 meters. That season, she won the ECAC Division III championship at 5,000 meters, ran to a second-place finish at 10,000 meters at the New England Open meet and a 12^th place finish at the Division III national championship at 10,000 meters. In track & field, Thompson set program records in the indoor 5,000 meters and the outdoor 800, 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000. A high honors student, Thompson was the female recipient of the E-Club Scholar-Athlete Award as a senior.