The Moravian College Department of Athletics & Recreation recently honored the nine senior members of the Greyhounds’ women’s track and field squad who missed out on their Senior Day after their 2020 season was canceled by COVID-19.

The group has helped the women’s track & field program capture three Landmark Conference Indoor Championships and three Landmark Conference Outdoor titles in their careers, as well as three runner-up finishes at the Landmark Conference Cross Country Championships.

Among the seniors honored were Northwestern High School graduates Vanessa Blose and Rachel Mikols. Blose competed in the throwing events for four seasons at Moravian, while Mikols competed in distance events all four years on both the cross-country and track and field teams.

Blose, who participated in the shot put and weight throw indoors, and the shot put, discus, javelin and hammer throw outdoors, was named to the Landmark Conference Winter and Fall Academic Honor Rolls three times apiece, and also made Moravian’s dean’s list seven times. She is a member of Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society, and is majoring in secondary education and English with a minor in history.

Blose is the daughter of Kimberly and Harold Blose.

“Vanessa took a short hiatus from the team during her time here due to a lot of obligations and other responsibilities she juggles back at home, but Coach Jon and I were extremely happy when she rejoined us her junior season at a time when our team was taking hits in many events,” said Director of Cross-country and Track & Field Jesse Baumann. “We were thinner in the throws, and she helped to score points for us and contribute to our narrow team wins in both seasons. She always demanded perfection from herself, and at times was almost too hard on herself, but the silver lining to that is she’s never content with being satisfactory, which is a great example to set for the team, and certainly to carry on into her teaching career and life beyond college.”

She is a three-time selection to the Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll in each of the fall, winter and spring seasons while being selected to Moravian’s dean’s list four times and the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society.

Mikols is the daughter of Carolyn and Greg Mikols, and is majoring in graphic design with a minor in marketing.

“Rachel has battled through a number of nagging injuries throughout her career, including a stress fracture as we adapted our training to what worked best for her,” stated Baumann. “She had a number of reasons to be discouraged as things didn’t go as easily as we’d hope, but like her teammates will say, she’s tough, devoted, and loyal to her team, the program, and her training. I still vividly recall an unseasonably warm day in cross-country where she ran herself to exhaustion during some 400 repeats on the track, and the entire team jumped in to help her out with water, Gatorade, and cool towels. She was revered by her team, and this was just one of many reflections of that. In addition to that, she was a very strong student, routinely making the dean’s list, extremely loyal to her family, and overall was a passionate athlete in our program. She was one of the better steeplechasers we’ve had in recent years, very versatile, and a constant strength for our team in cross-country.”