Indoor Track & Field Participates in Dartmouth Relays

DARTMOUTH, N.H. (Jan. 14, 2008) - The Mount Holyoke College women's indoor track and field team participated in the 39th annual Dartmouth College Relays this weekend, which took place in the Leverone Field House. Competing against some of the top track athletes from around the nation, several Lyons achieved personal records and recorded qualifying times.

Mount Holyoke's short sprinters had a chance to compete at a distance of 60-meters for the first time. Senior Charisse Pickron (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) earned a 26th place finish in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.83. In the 60-meter high hurdles, sophomore Jessica Brezicha (Olympia, Wash./Olympia) took home 13th place with a time of 10.51.

Sophomore Crystal Boateng once again led the way for the Lyons in the 400-meter dash. She crossed the line in 67.05 to secure 27th place. Meanwhile, classmate Natasha Payes (Novata, Calif./Abraham Lincoln) turned in a 34th place result (70.35) in her collegiate debut.

Mount Holyoke also received a boost from senior Halaina Demba (Harvard, Mass./Bromfield), who posted a personal record (21st - 5:26.38) in the one mile run. First year Senia Bachir-Abderahman competed in the one mile run as well, establishing a new personal best (39th - 5:56.44) in the process.

Two more personal records were achieved in the 3,000-meter run. Senior Meghan Lynch (South Hadley, Mass./Holyoke Catholic) turned in a time of 10:54.96 (14th), while classmate Catherine Riffin (Weston, Mass./Weston) finished the race in 11:17.06 (21st).

Demba and Lynch each qualified for the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships in their respective events with their times.

Mount Holyoke will return to action on Saturday, when it competes in the Reggie Poyau Memorial, hosted by Brandeis University. The meet is slated to get underway at 10:00 a.m.

Complete Team and Individual Results