Katherine the Great
The field hockey superlatives for Middlebury College midfielder Katherine Lantzy ’21 are staggering. She started 65 consecutive games during her final three seasons with Division III’s most dominant field hockey program. Her four national championships with Middlebury from 2021 to 2024 — amid a run of seven straight titles for the Panthers — are the most for a Durham Academy alum at the collegiate level. Her program has, as Lantzy writes, changed the game in NCAA athletics — and made a (Green) mountain of lifelong memories together along the way.
Photos by Ryan Hunt and courtesy of Katherine Lantzy '21
By Katherine Lantzy ’21
I can perfectly remember my first season of field hockey at Durham Academy: dazzle cloth uniforms, duct tape holding together the hem of my skirt, pregame dance parties to One Direction’s newest (and last) album, and 30 middle school girls excited to chase an undefeated season.
Now, 10 years, 10 teams, four NCAA championships and a lifetime of memories later, I am left feeling nothing but gratitude for all that field hockey has gifted me and how it serendipitously led me to Middlebury College — a community that I will forever call home.
During my time at Middlebury, the fall has become synonymous with sanctuary. Under the beautiful landscape of Vermont’s Green Mountains and the vibrant hues of the changing foliage, field hockey season guarantees me three months of team dinners, time with my best friends, silliness, hard work, constant laughter and goal celebrations. I can think of no greater privilege than getting to live day-to-day life with the people you love most.
Like most collegiate athletes, my teammates and I have spent our years at Middlebury learning from our mistakes, growing up and having fun playing the sport we love. But we are aware that our experience has not been typical. Every morning, we get up and go about our days knowing that we are making waves in NCAA athletics. Led by Coach Katharine DeLorenzo, Middlebury Field Hockey owns the longest active NCAA title streak regardless of sport, gender or division — winning our seventh consecutive championship last November. My senior class of players graduated with an overall record of 84–3, two undefeated seasons, three New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) titles, four NCAA Championships and a deep appreciation for the people — our families, coaches, trainers and alumni — who have paved the way for us.
So, 10 years, 10 teams, and four NCAA championships later, what am I left with? Success? Sure, that is part of it. But I would argue that the feeling is better described as satisfaction: satisfaction in achieving what we set out to do, satisfaction in leading well and satisfaction in knowing that we are changing the landscape of Division III field hockey for the better. It is an immense source of pride to represent my college and to be surrounded by trailblazing women. I will absolutely carry Middlebury Field Hockey — and all that it represents — with me for the rest of my life.
In full-circle fashion, I won my last national championship on the exact field in Lexington, Virginia, where my coach won her first for Middlebury in 2015. It was the most intense feeling to sit in the locker room where that team had once prepared to play in the same game nine years ago — the same year I played my very first game in my old taped-together uniform. I could feel their nerves, their excitement and their love for one another pulsing through the space. But most of all, I thought of my younger self. I thought of her genuine love for this game and for her dreams. At that moment, I knew she would be proud.
Katherine Lantzy’s college experience was far more than the sum of her national championships. Here are — in her own words — nine glimpses into Lantzy’s life at Middlebury College, where she and her teammates pursued on-field excellence and sustained off-field fellowship.
Top left: The best part about preseason is experiencing Vermont in the summer! Team swimming hole days forever and always!
Top center: Peter Kohn Field is not only home to Middlebury Field Hockey, but also to the best sunsets, amazing mountain moments and rainbows!
Top right: Senior Day was the most special day ever! The underclassmen decorated the locker room and made us feel so special!
Middle left: Our coach lovingly opens her home and farm to us whenever we want to visit! Trips to see the baby goats and her goofy dog, Howard, will always be my favorites!
Middle center: We love supporting other teams and soaking in the Green Mountain views when we have a free afternoon in the fall!
Middle right: Middlebury Field Hockey received an invitation to the White House National Champions Celebration last summer, where we heard from Vice President Kamala Harris on the day she became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. History in the making!
Bottom left: I studied abroad in Buenos Aires last spring. This is me at the famous salt flats in Jujuy!
Bottom center: Post-national championship celebration tradition: watching the sunrise on the field with the trophy!
Bottom right: After the 2023 national championship, we got to fly home from Virginia on a private jet with our newly acquired weighted dinosaur throw pillows from Target! So much fun!