SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Lyon of the Week has been announced and track & field student-athlete Camille Coklow is this week’s recipient. The senior captain had a brilliant performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships last week to earn the honor.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Coklow finished third overall – the highest of her career at Nationals – with a school record time of 7.62 in the 60-meter dash. She became just the second runner in Mount Holyoke history to earn All-America honors twice in her career as she appeared at her third NCAA Indoor Championships, this time in Grinnell, Iowa..
Her school record time of 7.62 surpassed her previous mark of 7.63, which she had run in Friday's preliminaries. She also posted a time of 7.63 on March 5 when she captured her second straight ECAC Championship title.
This is the second straight All-America honor for Coklow, who finished sixth in the event last season with a time of 7.72. Coklow posted an outstanding indoor season in 2016, placing third or better in all six meets she competed. The former Latin School of Chicago standout posted four victories in the 60-meter dash, earning third at the Division III New England Championships and Nationals.
This is the third appearance at the Indoor Nationals for Coklow, who also went to the meet as a first year, recording multiple school records as a participant in a number of championship meets. One of her top outings came at the New England Division III Championships, where she finished second overall in the 55-meter dash and garnered All-New England honors.
Coklow joins Langhan Dee '04 as the only two runners to earn Indoor All-America honors twice in their careers. Dee was a 2002 and 2004 All-American in the 400-meter dash. Mount Holyoke's other Indoor All-Americans include Cheryl Daley '94 (55-meter dash - 1994) and Nickawanna Shaw '96 (weight throw - 1996).
The school record holder in the 60-meter dash (7.62) and the 100-meter dash (11.93) in the outdoor records, Coklow has also participated at the Outdoor National Championships in back-to-back years (2013, 2014 & 2015).
During the 2015 outdoor season, Coklow recorded five victories in the 100-dash. She won the event in the season-opening meet at Fitchburg (12.74) and was then victorious at Smith (12.19). Coklow then won at the Aloha Relays (12.82) and went on to capture her second straight NEWMAC All-Conference First Team honor with a NEWMAC Championship victory time of 12.12.
After finishing ninth at the Open New England meet (12.22), Coklow posted her fifth victory at the ECAC Championships, sealing her third bid to Nationals where she finished 19th overall.
As a sophomore, Coklow posted three victories in the 100-dash, winning at the Aloha Relays and claiming her first NEWMAC title and All-Conference honor. She then captured victory at the New England Division III Championships with a then-season's best time of 12.31. Coklow concluded her sophomore season at Nationals, placing ninth in Division III.
As a first year, Coklow became the first rookie to represent the Lyons at both the Indoor and Outdoor National Championships. She recorded first-place finishes in the 100-meter dash at the American International Invitational, the Aloha Relays and the New England Division III Championships.
Additionally, Coklow eclipsed the school record in the 100m-dash three times in 2013 and remains the all-time record holder with a time of 11.93. The previous record had been held since 1993 by Cheryl Daley, who was Mount Holyoke's first track & field National All-American.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on March 26 when it travels to Middletown, Conn., to compete at the Wesleyan Invitational.