Track and Field Elizabethtown Athletic Communications

Elizabethtown's Cowger Ends Season As All-American for Women's Track & Field

LA CROSSE, Wis. -Sophomore Isabella Cowger concluded her season in style for the Elizabethtown College women's track & field team on Thursday. Cowger competed in the discus at the NCAA Div. III Outdoor Championships and finished sixth overall to become the program's 13th All-American.

Cowger had set the Blue Jays' discus record last season at 43.57m in her first collegiate outdoor meet at the Jim Taylor Invitational at Susquehanna. Though that would end up being her top mark of the season. During the 2026 outdoor season, her lowest mark came on March 28 in the season opener at LVC, 44.72m.

Heading into her sophomore year, Cowger knew she needed to get stronger, so that was the focus heading into the 2026-27 academic year. That work paid off in the form of new school and conference records as well as a national qualification in the discus.

Cowger steamrolled the discus competition all season long, winning the event in seven straight meets, including the Landmark Conference Outdoor title. She was the runner-up at last week's AARTFC Outdoor Championships at Ursinus, and then the following day, was officially announced as an NCAA Div. III qualifier.

Cowger went into the meet, hosted at Wisconsin-La Crosse, as the six-seed with her program and Landmark record throw of 49.05m, set at the Bison Outdoor Classic in mid-April.

The Landmark champion was in the second flight, so she got to watch the first handful of throws take place, with the best mark from flight one at 45.81m.

Cowger's first throw of the preliminaries landed at 43.19m, which put her seventh overall after that throw, and then eighth after all in her flight had taken their first attempts.

After a foul on her second attempt, Cowger was sitting in 12th going into her final attempt and needing at least 44.05m to be able to advance to the finals, which includes the top nine marks from the two flights. Cowger let one fly, a mark of 46.21m, to rocket her all the way up to fifth place and comfortably into the discus final.

In the final, only one thrower moved up the standings ahead of Cowger as she was knocked down a spot to sixth. On her fifth attempt of the day and second in finals, Cowger released a throw of 46.74m (153'4"), her best of the competition.

After the first throw of the last attempts in the finals did not pass her mark, Cowger's All-America status was cemented as she'd remain in sixth and become the first female thrower to reach the podium for Elizabethtown. She was also the only underclassman in the top eight, with six seniors and a junior.