First Year Sydney Holmes Breaks 60m Hurdle Record at ECACs

March 4, 2017

BOSTON – Though the Yale women’s track and field team had few athletes at afternoon’s Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships, they were all nothing short of spectacular. Freshman Sydney Holmes broke the Yale record in the 60-meter hurdles to qualify for tomorrow’s final. Meanwhile the 4x800-meter relay also qualified for tomorrow’s finals with a strong performance.

When first-year athlete Holmes first ran in the hurdling event in December, she was well on her way to breaking the record. At the Yale Season Opener, she ran a time of 8.81s, flirting with the possibility. This time around, she set a new personal best with a record of 8.71s, breaking a record set by Yale alumna Mackenzie Mathews ‘16 back in 2015. Holmes ran 8.71s in just the first round of the 60-meter hurdles, easily qualifying her for the semi-final round. She later repeated the performance, with another time of 8.71s to earn the final qualifying spot for the final. The final will be the first individual event tomorrow afternoon.

In the 4x800-meter relay, the team of junior Calleigh Higgins, freshman Arianna Lord, sophomore Gabrielle Rinne and senior Delaney FitzPatrick as the anchor dropped a fast time of 9:04.75 to finish third in their heat. Though they did not earn an automatic spot, their time earned them a spot in tomorrow’s 8-team final. Even more impressive is the fact that Yale is the fourth-fastest qualifier for tomorrow. That final will be among the last tomorrow afternoon.

Live results will continue to be available for tomorrow’s events at the links above. The finals kick off at 11:45 with the women’s 60-meter hurdle championship.

Recap by Ariel A. Sánchez ‘19, Yale Sports Publicity 

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