Six students competed at the USA Climbing 2026 Collegiate Climbing Nationals in late May, earning three medals and making a name for themselves.
Despite being a small team, CC placed fifth out of 99 at the competition, with a score of 3843.5, and also won the Team Speed event. They placed 31st in the Lead Team event and fourth in Boulder Team.
Over 350 students from 105 colleges and universities across the country traveled to Kennesaw, Georgia, to compete in Boulder, Lead, and Speed climbing, both individually and in collegiate teams.
In her Nationals debut, Naomi Lahaie ’29 won the Women’s Advanced Boulder with a score of 84.0—almost ten points higher than the silver medalist. She placed sixth in Women’s Advanced Speed.
Sonia Gutierrez ’27 earned the silver medal in Women’s Speed with a time of 9.51, and placed seventh in Women’s Advanced Boulder. Lahaie and Gutierrez also competed in Women’s Advanced Lead.
“I love this sport and it feels like such a privilege to continually get to compete at this level,” says Gutierrez, a Mathematics and Computer Science double major. “I’ve spent the past few years balancing a handful of part-time jobs alongside academics and training, and it feels very rewarding to keep managing to succeed at the national level.”
Gutierrez has also been on the USA Climbing National Team for four years: the 2023 Speed Youth; the 2024 Speed Collegiate; the 2025 Speed and Boulder Collegiate; and now the 2026 Speed Collegiate National Team.
Benn Wheeler ’27, Max Goode ’29, and Oliver Siegal ’29 competed in the Men’s Advanced Boulder event, placing 18th, 24th, and 62nd respectively. In their Nationals debuts, Goode and Siegal also competed in Men’s Advanced Speed, placing 15th and 16th respectively.
Wheeler has qualified for every Collegiate Climbing Nationals since 2024 and has made the Boulder finals each time.
This was the first year Georgia Emmanuel ’27 qualified for the Nationals, where she finished 56th in Women’s Advanced Boulder.
“Competing this year has gotten me so psyched to train harder for next year,” says Emmanuel, an English and Film & Media Studies double major. “I am so grateful for the opportunity to climb for CC with such an incredible group of people.”
Team scores are calculated by combining the top three female and top three male scores from each school. Because CC sent three male and three female climbers, all six contributed to CC’s score and overall fifth place.
“Placing fifth overall was very exciting, especially with such a small team,” Gutierrez says, adding that they’re already aiming to secure a top-three banner next year.
The team was especially proud to take first place in Team Speed. For the past two years, only Gutierrez competed in Speed Climbing, but this past year, she convinced Lahaie, Goode, and Siegal to join her.
“It was really cool to see them climb so well at their first speed competition,” Gutierrez says, “and it was just enough for us to take the win!”
CC’s team primarily trains at Springs Climbing Center (SCC), a bouldering gym near campus with resources for serious climbers. But since SCC does not have a regulation speed wall, Gutierrez, Lahaie, Goode, and Siegal made several trips to use the one at Movement Centennial before nationals. “I think the camaraderie we gained in the car rides up to Centennial to train on a speed wall were a major factor in our teams result,” says Goode, a Mathematics major and Physics minor.
Goode hopes to qualify for next year’s Nationals in all three disciplines, and credits this year’s success to “the people who supported me, including Chris Starr with her amazing management of all the teams here at CC.”
“I am so proud of their individual and team accomplishments on the national level, especially given that they competed against colleges and universities that have enrollments that are ten times that of CC,” says Starr, Director of Recreation and Fitness Center. “It’s also exciting as a set-up for next year’s National Championships, which is a qualifier for Collegiate Worlds.”
The climbers focus on keeping a positive team environment.
“At CC, the most support definitely comes from my fellow teammates—we don’t have a coach, but train and spend time together all the time,” says Gutierrez, who has captained the team for two years. “We’re also particularly grateful for the Club Sports staff, who continually support us attending competitions and team trips throughout the year.”
