NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- A breakout performance by junior captain Aria Mallare and a splashy collegiate debut by first-year Ioanna Tsoni highlighted an exciting first indoor meet of the year for the Mount Holyoke track and field team on Saturday at the Mary Grinaker Invitational, a non-scoring meet featuring teams from Trinity, Wellesley, Worcester State, Fitchburg State, and Keene State in addition to Mount Holyoke and host Smith College.
Tsoni (Athens, Greece) shot into second place on Mount Holyoke's all-time performance list in the 60-meter hurdles with her finals time of 9.48 seconds, 0.03 seconds ahead of second-place Makany Camara of Fitchburg State, trailing only program record-holder Isabelle Wohlin's time of 9.41 seconds in 2017.
Mallare (Chicago, Ill.) recorded huge personal records in the 60-meter dash and the long jump among three top-three showings on the day.
Mallare moved from sixth into second place on Mount Holyoke's all-time performance list in the 60 meters with her time of 8.14 seconds -- a remarkable 0.19 seconds faster than her previous PR.
In the long jump, Mallare soared 39 centimeters beyond her previous best to top a field of 18 competitors with her top effort of 5.06 meters (16'7.25"). That remarkable improvement carried Mallare from ninth place into fifth on Mount Holyoke's all-time performance list in the event.
Mallare also placed second out of five athletes in the high jump with a top mark of 1.47 meters (4'9.75"), only a centimeter shy of her career-best mark that has her tied for sixth place in team history.
Sophomore Elle Rimando (Mililani, Hawaii) provided another highlight for Mount Holyoke, taking first place in the triple jump in her return to action after missing her rookie outdoor season with an injury. Rimando's top mark effort of 10.63 meters (34'10.5") shy of her collegiate best in the event, which ranks third in program history.
Tsoni had an impressive second-place showing behind Rimando in the triple jump, at 10.40 meters (34'1.5"), vaulting Tsoni into fifth place on Mount Holyoke's all-time performance list between Charleen Theroux from 2019 (10.61) and Caroline Gillespie (10.38) from 2006.
Mount Holyoke fielded four athletes in the throwing events, and sophomore Em Tetzlaff (Bath, Maine) led the Lyons in both. Tetlaff placed sixth out of 16 athletes in the weight throw, recording a top effort of 9.96 meters (32'8.25"), and was 11th among 18 athletes in the shot put with a top effort of 7.73 meters (25'4.5").
First-year Zivaishe Jaravaza (Harare, Zimbabwe) had a strong collegiate debut in the 400-meters, finishing seventh out of 12 runners in 1:07.84.
Mount Holyoke's next meet, the Branwen Smith-King Invitational at Tufts University, takes place Jan. 20 at 10am.
