NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - Led by first year head coach, Chris Kibler, the Mount Holyoke College track & field team opened its 2018-19 season on Saturday. The Lyons competed at the 2018 Smith College Winter Classic - a non-team scoring meet - with several student-athletes having a number of outstanding performances.
In the opening 5,000-meter run, the Lyons saw a bevy of runners, paced by sixth overall from rookie Sydney Nash with a time of 19:30.55. Senior captain Corrin Moss was seventh with a time of 19:32.11, while sophomore Meryl Phair was eighth with a mark of 19:36.17. MHC also saw rookies Sophia Gronbeck (19:54.24) and Jamie Day (19:56.33), senior captain Hannah Gershone (20:11.13), classmate Emsie Cronin (20:51.33) and rookie Sophia Anderson (21:17.88) earn ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively. Additionally, Nash, Moss, Phair, Day and Anderson all recorded personal bests in the event.
In the 60-meter hurdles, Mount Holyoke was paced by rookie Sarah Bishop, who placed seventh overall with a time of 10.96. Sophomore Simone Jacob then took fifth overall in the 1-mile run, crossing the line in a personal best time of 5:21.88, while in the 400-meter dash, rookies Margaret Robb and Michaela Phelan were seventh (1:08.43) and ninth (1:11.04), respectively. The time by Jacob was also a New England Division III qualifying mark.
The 3,000-meter run saw junior Emma Raney earn fifth overall with a time of 11:45.87, while the Lyons 4x400 relay was fifth with a time of 4:29.64.
The field events saw a number of outstanding efforts as well, paced by senior captain Julia Hecking, who finished fourth overall in the weight throw with a personal-best distance of 12.99 meters - besting her previous mark by three feet.
Junior Charleen Theroux also went big in the season opener, posting a New England Division III qualifying mark in the long jump. She was third overall with a mark of 5.19 meters - which was an over 17 foot distance! Theroux then took second in the triple jump, posting a distance of 10.61 meters - over 34 feet - which was another New England D3 qualifying mark.
Following the meet, the squad voted for their weekly team awards, this week's honors going to:
Mount Holyoke returns to action next Saturday when it competes at the Rhode Island College Invitational.
