Host Lyons finish strong at New Englands with best team finish since at least 2006

Mount Holyoke's 4x100 relay team (left to right: Addison Heintz, Ioanna Tsoni, Aria Mallare, Elle Rimando) placed seventh at the New England Division III Championships at Mount Holyoke on May 4, 2024.

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- While by all accounts Mount Holyoke College served as an outstanding host of the two-day New England Division III Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the host Lyons track and field team excelled in its performances on both days, resulting in their best team finish at the meet in at least 18 years.

In Saturday's portion of the meet, Mount Holyoke got a sixth-place performance from first-year Ioanna Tsoni (Athens, Greece) in the triple jump, as well as a seventh-place performance in the 4x100 relay. Sixteen of Mount Holyoke's points were scored on Friday, by second-place finishes by junior Tessa Lancaster (Mansfield, Mass.) in the 10,000 meters and by sophomore Elle Rimando (Mililani, Hawaii) in the long jump.

The Lyons placed 17th among 36 scoring teams with 21 points, their best team finish at the meet since at least 2006. Mount Holyoke scored four more points than the two teams tied for 18th place, Brandeis and Williams, and was a point behind 16th-place Rhode Island College. MIT won the team titles in both the men's and women's meets.

Triple-jumping 11.27 meters (36'11.75") on her first attempt of the day, Tsoni improved her own team record in the event by 0.11 meters, one week after breaking MHC's 22-year-old record at the NEWMAC Championships. Just a centimeter behind fifth place, Tufts' Maelynn Ugokwe, Tsoni scored three team points in sixth place.

Mount Holyoke's 4x100 relay team became the second-fastest in program history, placing seventh and scoring two team points with a time of 50.34 seconds. Junior Addison Heintz (Apex, N.C.) led off, followed by Tsoni, junior Aria Mallare (Chicago, Ill.), and Rimando.

Junior Kim Beaver (Agawam, Mass.) offered another Lyons highlight on Saturday, going under the 2:20 mark in the 800 meters for the first time in her career to place 12th in 2:19.32.

Mount Holyoke also raced well in the final event of the day, the 4x400 relay, where first-year Anjali Phadnis (San Marcos, Calif.), Beaver, first-year Dalia Luckhardt (Cerritos, Calif.), and junior Greta Trapp (La Crosse, Wis.) finished in 4:14.59, good for 12th place out of 21 squads. The four became the fourth-fastest 4x400 relay in program history.

Mount Holyoke next competes at the all-divisions NEICAAA Championships next weekend at Holy Cross.