It was a changing of the guard for the Lyons as Chris Kibler was named the head coach for the indoor and outdoor track & field teams, in addition to head cross-country coach, in 2018-19. MHC's season was highlighted by personal-bests, school records and the first NEWMAC Championship title since the 2015 season.
The Lyons opened up the indoor season in December for the Smith College Winter Invitational, which saw junior Charleen Theroux finish third in the long jump with a New England DIII Qualifiying mark of 5.19 meters. She then earned second in the triple jump with a distance of 10.61 meters – again earning an NE D3 mark.
Mount Holyoke then headed to Rhode Island College as 15 personal-bests were met, paced by sophomore Simone Jacob, who was third in the 3,000 meter run. Senior captain Hannah Gershone was also outstanding with a second-place finish in the 5,000 meter run.
Following the holiday break, the Lyons were halted in their 2019 opener by mother nature as the GBTC Invitational at Harvard was cancelled. MHC was back in action the next weekend at the Massasoit Classic at Springfield College. Jacob won the 1-mile with a season's best time of 5:33.14, while Theroux earned the win in the long jump with a New England D3 qualifying mark.
The Lyons returned the following weekend at a pair of competitions. Several members of the team, paced by sophomores Hannah Rieders and Madeline Rieders, as both qualified for New England DIII's with marks of 10:29.80 and 10:30.09, respectively. The entire squad was back in action the next day at MIT's Gordon Kelly Invite as rookie Jamie Day was second in the 3,000-meters (11:30.59), while the Lyons three relay groups in the 4x800 meter race went 1-2-3 overall.
A fifth-place finish at the competitive Middlebury College Team Challenge followed the next weekend as Hannah Rieders won the 5,000-meter run, Madeline Rieders was second and Gershone earned third for a 1-2-3 punch. Both Rieders' sisters posted NE D3 qualifying marks as well in the event.
Eight individuals represented the Lyons at the New England Division III Championships to close out February action. The 4x800 relay posted a school-record time of 9:44.48 to take 10th, while the Rieders' sisters were 14th (10:31.91) and 14th (10:32.51), respectively.
To open up the outdoor season, the Lyons traveled to the Wesleyan Invitational in Middletown, Conn. First year Sydney Nash won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:33.43, while Hannah Rieders won the 5,000, crossing the line in 18:51.97. Next up was the Tufts Snowflake Classic, where Theroux was second in the long jump with a personal-best and NE D3 qualifying mark of 5.35 meters. Additionally, rookie Sophia Anderson was fifth in the grueling 10,000-meter run.
The Lyons went on to compete in the Amherst Spring Fling as Hannah Rieders was second in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:56.06, followed closely by Madeline Rieders in third with a mark of 4:56.17. Wohlin also earned sixth in the 100-meter dash, while the 4x400 meter relay was fourth overall.
Mount Holyoke saw select runners head to the Silfen Distance Festival next as six runners were in action across three events. Pacing the way was Hannah Rieders, who finished third in a NE D3 and NEICAAA time of 38:27.60 – also a personal record. Madeline was close behind in fifth as her time of 38:28.33 was also an NE D3 and NEICAAA mark.
Rookie Sarah Hyde helped power the Lyons the following day as the rest of the squad headed to the Penman Relays at Southern New Hampshire University. Hyde was second in the 5000-meter unseeded run with a time of 20:39.69. Senior Emsie Cronin took fourth in the 1-mile run with a time of 5:29.46, while sophomore Tamara Mukulu was 19th with a PR time of 13.18 in the 100-meter dash.
Mount Holyoke concluded its regular season at the Springfield Invitational, where Jacob won the 1500-meter event with a time of 4:59.73. The second win of the day came in the 3000-meters as Hannah Rieders won in a time of 10:38.18. Additionally, senior captain Julia Hecking was fourth in the hammer throw with a personal record of 40.86 meters.
The Lyons were back in Springfield the following week for the NEWMAC Championships as Hannah Rieders became the first Lyon since the 2015 season to win a conference title and earn All-Conference First Team honors. She posted a time of 39:46.07 to win the 10000-meters, followed by Madeline Rieders in second (39:51.14) as she earned All-Conference Second Team recognition. Adding to the outstanding efforts was Jacob, who earned third in the 1500-meter as she notched a personal-best time of 4:54.64.
Action then shifted the next weekend to the Outdoor New England Division III Championships at Williams College as Hannah and Madeline Rieders were fifth (18:00.20) and sixth (18:00.27), respectively in the 5000-meters. Both marks shattered the previous MHC school record in the event – set 15 years earlier by Johanna Thomas '04.
The Lyons next headed to the Open New England Championships at Southern Connecticut State University, earning 27th of 40 total teams. In the 10000-meter run, Hannah Rieders earned fifth, while Madeline Rieders was sixth, followed by Gershone in 19th – who outpaced a number of Division I, II and III runners.
The season finale was in Cambridge as the Lyons saw three student-athletes compete at the Last Chance Qualifier at MIT. Hannah Rieders took first overall in the 5000-meters, while Madeline was second. The event was wrapped up by senior captain Corrin Moss, who was less than a second off the school record as she took eighth in the 800-meter run (2:18.92).
Overall, eight student-athletes earned NEWMAC Academic All-Conference honors, while first year Natalie Rodman was selected to the NEWMAC All-Sportsmanship Team.