Track & Field Overview

Outdoor Head Coach: Tina Lee
Phone: 413-538-2501

Indoor Head Coach: Jason Hewitt
Phone: (413) 538-3087

The Mount Holyoke College track and field program has a tradition of sending athletes to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships, especially for sprints, throws, and mid-distance races. The indoor track and field season stretches mid-November to mid-March. Training starts in November, followed by some light competition in December. Team members return in mid-January, attending meets through early March. The program has produced four All-Americans, and has sent hundreds of athletes to post-season competition, which includes New England, ECAC, and NCAA championships. During the 2003-2004 season, 12 school records were broken and the team finished sixth at the Division III New England Championships, where 11 different athletes earned All-New England honors. Seniors Langhan Dee and Johanna Thomas advanced to the NCAA Division III Championships, where each earned All-American status: Dee, the 2004 New England Track Athlete of the Year, placed second in the 400m dash, and Thomas finished eighth in the 1500m run.

The Indoor Track & Field team kicked off the season by qualifying three athletes for the New England Division III Championships at a non-scoring meet hosted by Wesleyan. Jessica Brezicha ’10 began her rookie debut by placing second in the 55HH. Senior Andi Villasenor broke the Lyon’s Shot Put record three times during the season, ultimately recording a career-best distance of 38’5.05”. Grace Zeigler earned multiple top finishes in the long jump. At the second Wesleyan meet of the season, Zeigler blasted the previous MHC indoor long jump record by a foot, with a mark of 17’7”. In postseason competition, Zeigler placed 4th in the long jump (17’00.75”) at New England Div. III’s where the Lyons took 19th out of a field of 21 teams.  Zeigler took 6th at the ECAC Championships in the long jump (17’02.75”). Her three points earn the team 46th out of 55 squads.

Training for outdoor track and field begins in mid-February, with the first meet scheduled on the last Saturday in March. The team competes against Williams, Bates, Bowdoin, and other Division III schools, as well as New England Women's and Men's Athletics Conference (NEWMAC) schools, such as Wheaton and Smith. The regular season ends on the last weekend in April, and three additional meets are attended by qualifying athletes. The team was named Conference Champion in 1995 and runner-up in 1996. The program has produced numerous All-Conference athletes and six All-Americans, including Amanda Salb '99, a two-time National Champion in the Shot Put. Sprinter Langhan Dee '04 was the 2002 New England Champion and the 2003 ECAC Champion in the 400m dash, and competed in this event at nationals for three straight years. Leah Serinsky '05 was named NEWMAC Champion in the 10k for two years in a row, and Johanna Thomas '04 earned NEWMAC Champion status in the 1500m and placed second in the 800m at the 2004 championship.

The Outdoor Track & Field team raced to a second place finish at the Westfield Invitational to ignite the spring season. The Lyons registered seven first place finishes, including Gretchen Sminkey’s top finishes in the hammer and the discus. First year Ebony Williams also dashed to a win in the 400m (1:03.86). The Lyons cruised to a third place mark at the Coast Guard Invitational. A week later, Zeigler took first in the long jump at the Wesleyan Invitational (15’09.9”). Villasenor garnered top honors in the shot put (37’10.75”) and Sminkey finished first in the Discus (107’01”). Another school record was shattered, when first year Joan Meiners recorded a time of 12:49.70 at the Aloha Relays, hosted by Bowdoin. At NEWMAC’s, the Lyons finished 5th overall. Sminkey was named NEWMAC Champion in the discus, recording a top finish, while Villasenor garnered All-NEWMAC second team honors with her runner-up finish in the shot put. Villasenor continued her postseason success in the ECAC Championship, earning All-ECAC recognition for her fifth place finish. Zeigler was also named to the All-ECAC team with a 4th place tally in the long jump.

As a Mount Holyoke scholar-athlete, you are driven to excel in the athletic arena as well as the classroom and laboratory. The discipline, sense of accomplishment, and competitive edge that you bring to your sport resonate through every channel of your intellectual life.

The desire to achieve -- it's all part of the mind-body connection.