Indoor Track and Field Competes in Springfield Invitational

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Dec. 10, 2009) – The Mount Holyoke College women’s indoor track and field team participated in the Springfield College Invitational this evening. A total of five squads competed in the event, which took place at the Springfield College Field House.

Springfield cruised to the team title, racking up 228 points. The Pride were followed by Connecticut College (115), Eastern Connecticut State University (111), Westfield State College (68) and Mount Holyoke (22).

Leading the way for the Lyons were junior Jacinta Edebeli, first year Maddie Ballon and first year Connie Ward. Edebeli picked up third place in the 200 meter dash with a time of 28.63, and Ballon grabbed third place in the pole vault with a height of 2.59 meters. Meanwhile, Ward secured fourth place with a toss of 9.78 meters in the shot put. All three athletes contributed to Mount Holyoke’s final point total.

Other point scorers included sophomore Courtney Carrier, senior Jessica Brezicha, sophomore Miriam Larson-Koester, first year Elizabeth MacLauchlan and sophomore Alicia Forrest.

Carrier crossed the line in 1:51.62 to secure fifth place, while Brezicha collected sixth place in the triple jump with a distance of 9.27 meters. Larson-Koester’s height of 1.34 in the high jump was good for fifth place, and she is now just 11 points shy of the 2,150 needed to qualify for the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships in the heptathlon. MacLauchlan took home sixth place in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 11:57.64, and Forrest posted a sixth place finish in the shot put with her throw of 9.33 meters.

Mount Holyoke will be off until January 23, 2009, when it participates in the Wesleyan University Invitational at 10:00 a.m.