WESTFIELD, Mass. (March 24, 2012) – The Mount Holyoke College outdoor track and field team kicked off its 2012 slate at with a seventh place showing at the Jerry Gravel Classic today. A total of 14 teams from around the region took park in the competition, which was hosted by Westfield State University.

Senior Miriam Larson-Koester set the tone for the Lyons with her outstanding work in the throwing events. After grabbing fourth place in the shot put (10.76 meters), she closed out her day with a second place performance in the discus (37.93 meters). In the process, she qualified for the New England Division III Championships in both events and the ECAC Division III Championships in the discus. The senior contributed 13 points toward Mount Holyoke's team total of 39.

The Lyons also received a boost from fellow senior Felicia Cordeiro, who established a new school record with her fourth place time of 12:37.22 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Junior Connie Ward added four points to the team total with her fifth place throw of 10.55 meters in the shot put. Meanwhile, sophomore Maeve Stier secured sixth place in the high jump (1.45 meters), and first year Meara Algama finished sixth in the javelin (30.94 meters).

Other strong performances came from junior Maddie Ballon (pole vault – 7th - 2.60 meters) and first year Anna Rapperport (400-meter dash – 8th - 1:02.93).

Springfield College won the annual meet with 139.5 points. The Pride were followed by American International College (112) and Wesleyan University (106.5) in the top three.

Mount Holyoke will return to action next Saturday at the Coast Guard Academy Invitational.