PORTLAND, Maine (Jan. 28, 2012) – Led by seniors Jacinta Edebeli and Miriam Larson-Koester, the Mount Holyoke College indoor track and field team grabbed fifth place at the University of Southern Maine Invitational this afternoon.

A total of 10 teams from around the region took part in the annual competition. Springfield College racked up 165.5 points to take the team title. The Pride were followed by Southern Maine (140.5) and Bates College (118) in the top three.

The Lyons finished the day with 37.5 points with contributions from nine different team members.
 
Edebeli took home top honors in the shot put with her toss of 11.77 meters. In the process, she qualified for the ECAC Division III Championships and contributed 10 points to Mount Holyoke's team total.

The senior finished just in front of Larson-Koester, who qualified for the New England Division III Championships with her third place toss of 11.51 meters in the event. Larson-Koester also chipped in with an eighth place performance in the weight throw (11.70 meters).

The Lyons piled up nine points in the 3,000-meter run. First year Emily Baker crossed the line in 11:18.28 to secure third place. Meanwhile, senior Felicia Cordeiro took sixth place with a time of 11:34.93.

After earning seventh place in the 800-meter run (2:32.30), senior Holly Valenzuela combined with sophomores Bianca Routt, Lucia Garcia and Naomi Miller to take fifth place in the 4x200-meter relay (4:28.89).

Miller added a sixth place performance in the 1-mile run (5:41.69). Meanwhile, junior Maddie Ballon secured seventh place in the pole vault (2.60 meters), and first year Gretchen Rowe collected eighth place in the 600-meter run (1:52.25).

Mount Holyoke will return to action next Saturday at the Smith College Tartan Invitational. The meet is slated to get underway at 10:00 a.m.