The USA Climbing Foundation named Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ the 2026 Collegiate Team of the Year, honoring the club team that excels on and off the wall.
The team, honored by the USA Climbing Foundation on Oct. 17 in Salt Lake City at the World Climbing Series, exemplifies the USA Climbing Foundation’s awards that honor the people and organizations whose leadership, achievements, service, and dedication are helping shape the future of climbing. With about 70 members on the team and a strong fifth-place showing at the 2026 USA Climbing Collegiate Climbing Nationals this spring, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Climbing Team has built a close community that welcomes climbers at every level.
"Yes, the climbing team did well at Collegiate Nationals, but this award was voted on by their peers. This just goes to show how well respected the club members are among other climbers and competitors,” says Chris Starr, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ’s Director of Campus Recreation & AFP Fitness Center. “I couldn't be prouder of them!”
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ sent six climbers to the 2026 USA Climbing Collegiate Climbing Nationals in May in Kennesaw, Georgia, and came home with three medals, placing the team fifth out of 99 teams. Naomi Lahaie ’29 won gold in the Women's Advanced Boulder Team, while team captain Sonia Gutierrez ’27 earned silver in Women's Speed. The pair teamed up with Max Goode ’29 and Oliver Siegal ’29 to lead Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ to its third medal, a gold in Team Speed.
“The award feels very well deserved because we're such a close team, which I feel like really showed at Nationals,” Lahaie says.
One large family
The team's success shows in its community as much as in its results. With about 70 students on the roster, the popular club team is the biggest it has ever been after a decade of growth.
“We have people of all different abilities and all different goals,” Gutierrez says. “Some people are super focused on competition. Some people only train for the outdoors. Some people are newer to climbing. Some people only really climb in the gym. It's a cool community of people who are all super excited about climbing, all for different reasons.”
Team dinners, ice cream socials, a formal ball and plenty of time climbing together have made the team one large family.
“It's kind of cliché, but it definitely is the community (that is my favorite thing),” Goode says. “We host so many events throughout the year, and they're a great time.”
Lahaie agreed.
“I've totally found my community on the climbing team,” she says.
Gutierrez has watched that culture take shape over four years.
“When I first joined, my focus was on meeting people and having a good time,” she says. “Now it's turned into making sure it's a welcoming space for everyone who wants to join, getting other people excited about climbing in the way that I'm excited about climbing.”
Open to every climber
Through the campus Club Sports Program, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ covers competition costs and a handful of trips for the team, so cost doesn't keep anyone from climbing at the highest level.
For many team members, their climbing journey starts at the Ritt Kellogg Climbing Gym on campus, where Gutierrez works as a manager.
“I see a lot of people who come in once and leave smiling, saying, ‘That was so much fun,’” she says. “Climbing is a really easy sport to love because it's really social, and you can do it with people of any skill level.”
And once they join the team, the energy keeps them going.
“Just being around a group of such psyched people helps you become more excited about the sport,” Gutierrez says.
Get Involved
To learn more about the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Climbing Team and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Club Sports Program, visit.
