On April 24 the Track and Field Team competed in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship in Springfield, MA. The NEWMAC winner was the 2007 and 2009 champion, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mount Holyoke took sixth place out of eight teams.

Four of Mount Holyoke’s student-athletes qualified for the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Regional Championship on the weekend of April 30. “This meet was a particularly successful day for us. We had several goals for the season, and we feel we met almost all of them, in part due to the personal bests achieved,” said Head Coach Christine Lee. Maddie Ballon ’13 qualified for the pole vault, Alicia Forrest ’12 for the shot put, Bree Hollinger ’11 for the high jump, and Katherine Newman ’10 for the 400-meter dash. Jacinta Edebeli ’11 also qualified for the 100-meter dash in a previous meet. “I’m looking forward to competing,” said Forrest.

Captain Miriam Larson-Koester ’12 obtained eighteen of Mount Holyoke’s thirty-nine points and was awarded Lyon of the Week for April 19-25. Koester participated in the discus, shot put and hammer where she had both a personal best and school record by three meters, 39.90 meters. “I’m happy that I was able to keep my head in the game and pull out my best,” said Koester. Koester earned fourth place with a throw of 11.97 meters and earned NEWMAC First Team All-Conference honors with a first place finish in the discus. “Winning the NEWMAC discus was not one of my goals for the day, so it was all the more wonderful to receive honors from my solid performance,” continued Koester.

A serious competitor for Mount Holyoke, Koester hopes to continue lifting and running in the summer to prepare for competition. Yet training is not her main focus. Koester will be studying abroad in Switzerland for the following year and is unsure of what athletics she will participate in overseas but wants to finish off this season strong. “[I’m] proud of our team’s performances…I think everyone has come a long way this season,” she said. In addition to Regionals, Koester has also qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships.

“This weekend our goal is to continue to strive for personal bests in each event. We hope to lower the times for both relays, as well,” said Coach Lee. Regionals will take place at Tufts University this weekend.

Related posts:

1. Track & Field hosts spring invitational
2. Track and Field take third at Coast Guard Invitational
3. Lyons Field Hockey drops NEWMAC Championship to MIT in overtime, but successful season continues
4. Seven Sisters Championship preps Lyons for NEWMAC, sets hype for future races
5. Indoor Track Competes At Smith