Ioanna Tsoni shatters MHC's 60-meter hurdles record at Tufts

Ioanna Tsoni broke Mount Holyoke's team record in the 60-meter hurdles with a preilminary heat time of 9.17 seconds on Jan. 20, 2024 at Tufts University. (RJB Sports file photo)

MEDFORD, Mass. -- Mount Holyoke first-year student-athlete Ioanna Tsoni shattered the Lyons' team record in the 60-meter hurdles and won the long jump Saturday at the Branwen Smith-King Invitational at Tufts University, highlighting an impressive day for the Lyons at the 13-team meet.

Tsoni (Athens, Greece) ran the 60 hurdles in a time of 9.17 seconds in Saturday's preliminary heats, slicing 0.24 seconds off of Mount Holyoke's team record. Tsoni finished the finals in the event in 9.21 seconds, placing second only to Tufts' Sarah Pillone (9.16) among 19 athletes. The Lyons' previous team record of 9.41 seconds was set by Isabelle Wohlin in 2017.

Tsoni also took first place in the long jump, topping a field of 32 competitors with a top mark of 17'1.25" (5.21 meters). That moves her onto Mount Holyoke's top 10 all-time performance list in fourth place, 0.15 meters behind team record holder Grace Zeigler's mark of 5.36 meters.

Mount Holyoke scored 35 points to finish seventh out of 13 squads in the team scoring, one point ahead of Wellesley.

Other highlights for Mount Holyoke included:

Sophomore Elle Rimando (Mililani, Hawaii) placed fifth out of 22 athletes in the triple jump with a top mark of 33'6.5" (10.22 meters).
Junior Tessa Lancaster (Mansfield, Mass.) placed fifth out of 31 runners in the 3,000 meters, with a time of 10:42.84.
Junior Kim Beaver (Agawam, Mass.) placed sixth out of 23 runners in the 1,000 meters with a time of 3:15.72, while junior Olivia Johnson (Mount Desert, Maine) finished ninth in 3:21.33.
Junior Aria Mallare (Chicago, Ill.) placed 10th in the 60-meter dash (8.44 seconds), 11th in the long jump (15'4.25"), and tied for 11th place in the high jump (4'7.5").
Junior Greta Trapp (La Crosse, Wis.) placed 12th out of 28 runners in the mile, with a time of 5:36.65.
First-year Zivaishe Jaravaza (Harare, Zimbabwe) placed 14th out of 26 runners in the 400 meters, with a time of 1:09.15.
Junior Erin Siegel (San Diego, Calif.) led the Lyons in both throwing events. Siegel had a 28th-place showing out of 45 athletes in the weight throw, with a top effort of 9.45 meters (31'0"), and placed 30th out of 54 athletes in the shot put, at 26'7.75" (8.12 meters).