(BOSTON, MA (March 10, 2025) – The NCAA announced the list of top 20 qualifiers for the 2025 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships on March 14-15 at the Golisano Training Center on the Campus of Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y. Among the qualifiers, the Beacons' junior hurdler Aryianna Garceau (Dalton, Mass.) will make her first career appearance on the indoor national stage for her current national standing of second overall with her 8.55s finish at the NEICAAA All-New England Championships.

Following her first appearance on the national stage in the 2024 Outdoor season, Garceau is back for the second consecutive national appearance. This time, indoors and over the 60m hurdles.

In a conversation with UMass Boston Athletics earlier this season, Garceau added a brief reflection on her 2024 Outdoor National performance ahead of a potential second national appearance this winter. She said, "It was very exciting, don't get me wrong. But I was less focused on being All-American and more on the fact that I didn't win."

Garceau also noted the key changes in her approach from last season to this year under Beacons' first-year head coach Ozzie Brown. She stated, "Coach Brown is very attentive. He cares about the athletes and how we're feeling physically and mentally, which I think has a huge impact… Last year, I was only able to hurdle maybe once a week, and I wasn't able to really focus on it. Compared to this year, having two or three days to really nail the drills has been key. The workouts are more intense but also more purposeful.".

She then shifted focus to the goals for herself and the Beacons as a unit this 2024-25 indoor season, saying, "We really just want to win. We want to be known as a team to be taken seriously. Personally, I'm going for an indoor and outdoor national championship and I am aiming to break the outdoor national record [13.6], and potentially the indoor [8.33] based on my indoor progression."

She confidently closed the conversation, adding, "Last year, if you told me I was going to be All-American, I wouldn't have ever believed you. I started to actualize it more towards the end of last outdoor season, and now, I think that mindset is paying off because I know I'm capable of winning it. Believing in yourself makes it that much more achievable.".

This Season:

Garceau opened the 2024-25 indoor season at the Beacons' Season Opener from the TRACK at New Balance, where she ultimately finished first at the meet while breaking the school record for the first time this season in 8.79s. Her finish opened this season as one of the top two nationally in the event.

The following week at the Suffolk Relays, Garceau broke her previous record for the second time this season in 8.65s, as she cemented herself as the nation's top hurdler. She held the top spot for a period of seven weeks while continuing to progress down to the top 16 DIII women's 60m hurdle finishes of all time.

At the Yankee Small College Invite (2/1/25), Garceau broke the school record for a third time, finishing in 8.56s to take first overall at the meet and tying the 16^th fastest finish in NCAA DIII 60m hurdles all-time.

For her final performance before heading to Rochester, Garceau collected a fourth school record this season with a new PR at the All-New England Championships, finishing first in preliminaries with an 8.55s finish, tied for 15^th fastest all-time in NCAA DIII (USTFCCCA.com). For reference, the fastest women's DIII 60m hurdle finish all time was ran in 2023 by Gustavus Adolphus' Birgen Nelson, who ran a string of sub 8.40 performances ranging from 8.39-8.33s.

As of today (Mar. 10), Garceau is 0.01s behind the top-ranked Ren Brown of the University of Chicago as the two leaders of the 20-women field on their way to Rochester.

Ahead of their departure, Coach Brown added his own words to Garceau, saying, "Ary is a talented, hard-working athlete and has shown lots of growth over the year so far.  She is honestly one of the best athletes I've ever coached, and makes my job easier with how driven she is.  We've been running great and she is in a good position to run something crazy this weekend!"

Garceau will fly down on Wednesday for two prep days before heading into the preliminary rounds on Friday (Mar. 14) at 1:45. The top eight preliminary qualifiers will advance to the finals heat on Saturday at 3:10 p.m. Tune in for live results (HERE). Tune into the NCAA broadcast (HERE). Tickets to the meet can be purchased online (HERE).

Stay tuned as Garceau looks to culminate one of the most historic runs in UMass Boston Track and Field's recent history, beginning this Friday, as she is seeking a 13^th UMass Boston National Championship in program history.