Outdoor Track and Field Participates in Swanson Invitational

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (April 12, 2008) - The Mount Holyoke College women's outdoor track and field team traveled to Wesleyan University today to compete in the non-scoring Swanson Invitational.

Leading the way for the Lyons was senior Grace Zeigler (Oak Hill, Ill./Neuqua Valley), who grabbed a first place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.55. Her time was just off the mark of 13.46 needed to qualify for the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships.

Sophomores Crystal Boateng (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug) and Ebony Williams (Detroit, Mich./University Liggett) each broke 28 seconds in the 200-meter dash for the first time this season. Boateng turned in a third place time of 27.96. She finished just in front of Williams, whose time of 27.98 was good for fourth. Both Mount Holyoke sprinters fell just short of the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship qualifying time of 27.64.

Five Lyons posted personal bests at the meet. Junior Jessamyn Rising (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) completed the 5,000-meter run in 20:28.28, while senior Jill LaRosa (Dover, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) notched a time of 5:36.77 in the 1,500-meter run. In the 3,000-meter run, sophomores Senia Bachir-Abderahman (Tindouf, Algeria/Red Cross Nordic) and Stephanie Sluyter (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) registered times of 11:36.87 and 13:16.33, respectively. Meanwhile, classmate Natasha Payes (Novata, Calif./Abraham Lincoln) added a second place time of 1:13.34 in the 400-meter hurdles.

Mount Holyoke is slated to participate in Bowdoin College's Aloha Relays next weekend. The event will begin on Friday and conclude on Saturday.

Complete Team and Individual Results