Lyons break team DMR record on first day of NEICAAA Championships

Setting Mount Holyoke's school record in the distance medley relay at the NEICAAA Championships on March 7, 2025 were (left to right) Greta Trapp, Sachi Robinson, Kim Beaver and Tessa Lancaster.

BOSTON -- The Mount Holyoke track and field program's 22-year-old record in the distance medley relay was broken on Friday afternoon by a squad of Lyons who placed fifth in the event, highlighting the first day of the all-divisions New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Championships, held at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Senior Greta Trapp (La Crosse, Wis.) ran the leadoff 1,200-meter leg, followed by first-year Sachi Robinson (Staten Island, N.Y.) in the 400, senior Kim Beaver (Agawam, Mass.) in the 800, and finally senior Tessa Lancaster (Mansfield, Mass.) in the 1,600-meter anchor leg, with a finishing time of 12:38.44.

Mount Holyoke's previous school record in the DMR of 12:40.19 was set in 2003 by Johanna Thomas, Langhan Dee, Niki Lefebvre, and Sarah Sladen.

Mount Holyoke scored four team points by placing fifth in the event, outpacing Stonehill (13:18.63) while trailing four Division I teams in New Hampshire (11:53.94), Quinnipiac (11:57.65), Sacred Heart (12:29.73), and Rhode Island (12:35.26).

The DMR capped a day of strong performances in four events for the Lyons, beginning with the rarely run 500 meters, where sophomore Dalia Luckhardt (Cerritos, Calif.) made her event debut and became the Lyons' second-fastest runner all-time in the event, trailing only Dee's record of 1:15.20.

In the long jump, sophomore Ioanna Tsoni (Athens, Greece) placed 10th out of 24 competitors with a top distance of 5.36 meters (17'7").

In the 5,000 meters, senior Elizabeth Gerbi (Orono, Maine) ran a personal-best time of 18:55.38 to place 13th out of 18 runners, improving her position as Mount Holyoke's No. 9 all-time performer in the event.

The DMR record was the second team relay record broken by the Lyons in the past week -- the 4x200 record was broken last week at the New England Division III Indoor Championships by senior Aria Mallare (Chicago, Ill.), junior Elle Rimando (Mililani, Hawaii), Robinson, and Tsoni.

Mount Holyoke will compete in three additional events at the meet on Saturday, with Tsoni in the 60 hurdles, Rimando in the triple jump, and Trapp, Luckhardt, Robinson and Beaver running the 4x800 relay.