Boston, Mass. - November 6, 2019 - Head Mount Holyoke College cross country coach Chris Kibler has been named the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year following the Lyons' historic performance at this past weekend's conference championship meet.
This marks the first time in 27 years that a head coach from Mount Holyoke College was named the NEWMAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, with the last for the program being earned following the 1992 season.
In his third season at the helm of the Lyons, Kibler has taken the cross country program at Mount Holyoke College to new heights, as the Lyons produced a 10th-place finish in 2017, a sixth-place finish in 2018 and a runner-up finish at the 2019 NEWMAC Cross Country Championships this past weekend. The Lyons' runner-up finish on Sunday was the highest for Mount Holyoke College at the NEWMAC Championships since the 1992 season when they finished first overall.
Additionally, Kibler helped three student-athletes including standout juniors Hannah Rieders (Wellesley, Mass.), Madeline Rieders (Wellesley, Mass.) and first-year Lauren Selkin (Greenwich, Conn.) earn All-Conference accolades, as they each finished inside the Top-17 at Sunday's meet. The Lyons' three student-athletes to earn All-Conference honors is a new program best, as Mount Holyoke College has never had more than two student-athletes earn All-Conference honors in the same season dating back to 1989. Kibler also helped Selkin earn NEWMAC Women's Cross Country Rookie of the Year honors, as the first-year product from Greenwich, Conn. had a stellar beginning to her collegiate career with a 16th-place finish at the NEWMAC Championship meet. Selkin was also the Lyons' top finisher in a pair of meets this season, including a fifth-place finish at the Early Bird Invitational on August 31 and a fourth-place finish at the Jim Sheehan Memorial Invitational on September 7.
Throughout this season, Kibler helped guide Mount Holyoke College student-athletes to 39 personal-best times over the course of four meets, three of which were on 5k courses. At the Western New England Invitational on Saturday, October 19, 17 student-athletes at Mount Holyoke College notched personal-best marks on the 6k course in preparation for the conference championship meet. On September 25, the Mount Holyoke College cross country team broke into the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III Regional Rankings for the first time in program history. Remaining consistent throughout the remainder of the regular-season, the Lyons were ranked No. 10 in the latest poll.
Kibler and the Lyons will next compete among New England's top student-athletes and teams at the 2019 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional meet on Saturday, November 16 at 12:15 p.m.
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