Head Coach: Jennifer "Jay" Hartshorn | Phone: 413-538-2501 | Email: jhartshorn@mtholyoke.edu
The Mount Holyoke College track and field program has a tradition of sending athletes to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships, especially for sprints, throws and middle distance races. In addition to producing four All-Americans, the program has sent hundreds of athletes to postseason competitions such as Regional Championships, ECAC Championships and NCAA National Championships.
The indoor track and field season stretches from mid-November through mid-March. Training starts in November, followed by some light competition in December. Team members return in mid-January, attending meets through early March. Training for outdoor track and field begins in mid-February, with the first meet scheduled on the last Saturday in March. The team competes against Williams College, Bates College, Bowdoin College and other Division III schools, as well as New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) institutions, such as Wheaton College and Smith College. The regular season ends on the last weekend in April, and three additional meets are attended by qualifying athletes.
Mount Holyoke claimed the NEWMAC Championship in 1995 and was named runner-up in 1996. The program has produced numerous All-Conference athletes and six All-Americans.
Amanda Salb '99 was a two-time National Champion in the shot put, while sprinter Langhan Dee '04 took home 400-meter dash titles at the 2002 NCAA Regional Championship and the 2003 ECAC Championship. She competed in this event at the NCAA National Championships for three straight years. Leah Serinsky '05 secured NEWMAC titles in the 10,000-meter run for two years in a row. Meanwhile, Johanna Thomas '04 collected top honors in the 1,500-meter run and second place in the 800-meter run at the 2004 NEWMAC Championship.
In 2010, Miriam Larson-Koester '12 earned a NEWMAC Championship in the discus. Jacinta Edebeli '11 repeated the feat in the shot put in 2011, while Camille Coklow '16 became the only rookie in MHC history to compete at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor National Championships during her first season.
During the 2003-04 season, 12 school records were broken, and the team finished sixth at the New England Division III Championships. Eleven different athletes earned All-Region honors at the event. Dee and Thomas advanced to the National Championships, where they each earned All-America status. Dee was named 2004 New England Track Athlete of the Year after placing second in the 400-meter dash, while Thomas finished eighth in the 1,500-meter run.
The Lyons were most recently highlighted in 2015 & 2016 by Camille Coklow '16, who earned National All-America honors in back-to-back indoor seasons. She placed sixth in the 60-meter dash at Nationals as a junior, then proceeded to take third overall in the 60m-dash in 2016 as a senior.
As a Mount Holyoke scholar-athlete, you are driven to excel in the athletic arena as well as the classroom and laboratory. The discipline, sense of accomplishment, and competitive edge that you bring to your sport resonate through every channel of your intellectual life.