BY LEXI LOBDELL ’20
On Saturday, April 15, Mount Holyoke Track & Field hosted nine colleges at the Spring Fling Invitational. The Lyons’ efforts earned 99 points, featuring four event victories. “I’m proud of my team’s performance — a lot of us PRed and raced well,” said Mia Barnes ’18, who sealed Mount Holyoke’s first victory of the day in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 41:30.89. Hannah Gershone ’18 followed, clocking in at 44:08.72 for fourth place.
Following that, Emma Raney ’20 made her 3,000-meter steeplechase debut, clocking in at 13:24.45 for a fourth place finish.
Minerva Veeser-Bobea ’20, Kayla Taylor ’20, Shante Henderson ’18 and Donari Yahzid ’19 climbed to a second place finish in the 4x100m relay with a time of 52.83. “Our team did amazing this meet, and I’m so proud of everyone who competed and how well everyone did,” said Veeser-Bobea.
In the 1,500-meter run, Mount Holyoke saw Corrin Moss ’19 lead the way to a second place finish with a time of 5:14.74. Emsie Cronin ’19 came in at 5:26.75 for sixth, shortly followed by Michelle Serrano ’20 at 5:35.09 to claim ninth.
Henderson continued the Lyons’ momentum, claiming victory in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.93.
Sophie Desnoyers ’19 finished in a tie for 16th place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 16.67.
In the 800-meter run, Alicia Moroyoqui ’20 led the Lyons with a third place finish in a time of 2:28.66. Moss, Serrano and Julia Criscione ’18 followed Moroyoqui finishing sixth (2:37.16), ninth (2:47.66) and 10th (2:53.49), respectively.
In the 200-meter dash, Veeser-Bobea took the win, clocking in at 28.10. Yahzid placed third at 28.47, while Caitlin Lynch ’20 and Taylor earned seventh (29.76) and eighth (30.60), respectively.
In the 4x400m relay, Veeser-Bobea, Taylor, Kelly Stevens ’18 and Brigit Wolf ’20 crossed the finish line at 4:45.53 for third.
Julia Hecking ’19 carried the Lyons to victory on the field with her 35.09 meter hammer throw. She also finished fourth in the discus with a throw of 26.70 meters. Maria Lewis ’18 threw the javelin 20.41 meters for eighth.
This weekend was Hecking’s first time throwing the hammer in competition and a personal record performance. She emphasized, “I always look forward to practice everyday, because I love to push myself physically and mentally. Don’t get me wrong, most of the time the work is challenging and very frustrating, but when you do finally get that beautiful moment when it all comes together, it is a magical feeling.”
Hecking reflected on the Lyons’ performance as a whole, noting, “Mount Holyoke performed well this weekend. We had many good individual performances and I could feel that the team spirit was high. I am very excited for the team as a whole and especially the athletes that proved themselves this past weekend! It is so great to be a part of a team that cheers each other on every step of the way.”
Smith College took the Spring Fling Title with 191 points, followed by Eastern Connecticut State with 148 points. Mount Holyoke College rounded out the top three with 99 points. Sage College and Hampshire College finished in fourth (62) and fifth (45), respectively.
Keep an eye out for MHC Track & Field as they head north to Bowdoin College to contest the 2017 Aloha Relays on Saturday, April 22.