Friday, February 17
Boston, Mass.
ALL DAY
Lehigh University
at
Patriot League Indoor Championships
Photo by: Don Paul
Women’s Track and Field Set for Run at a Patriot League Championship
2/16/2017 9:21:00 PM | Women's Track and Field
Meet Information | Heat Sheets | Live Stats
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After competing in 11 different meets since the beginning of December, the Lehigh women's track and field team is ready to make a run at bringing home a Patriot League Championship. The Mountain Hawks will enter the meet with three athletes holding No. 1 seeds, plus four No. 2 seeds and a trio of No. 3 rankings.
"Overall, the league is really good," said head coach Matt Utesch. "I look at the descending order list across the board and it is astounding to see how far this league has come since I started here 20 years ago."
In the field events, senior Courtney Avery will look to take home her fourth indoor high jump title in as many years as she enters the weekend with the highest jump in the Patriot League this season at 1.79 meters, just two centimeters off her league record leap at last year's indoor championships. This year's top jump also currently ranks 25th nationally. The reining outdoor All-American leads in what is a dominating event for Lehigh, which occupies each of the top five spots in the high jump. Sarah Cassidy, Brittany Le Jouan and Jordan Otto are all tied for second at 1.65 meters, and Tyler Bannister comes in fifth at 1.64. All will be looking to continue a string of strong high jump showings from Lehigh in recent years.
"Courtney will be defending and looking for a national qualifier spot," Utesch said. "We have in our mind what it will take to get her there, but you never know. She's there to win it first, and then to qualify for nationals."
Elsewhere in the field events, sophomore Kaitlyn Toman enters with the No. 2 ranked pole vault this season. She has broken the school record twice this year, which now sits at 3.65m. Last year, she tied the then-school record with her third place, 3.60 meter vault.
"Katie is jumping better than she ever has," Utesch said. "She also is ready to go even higher. I think we can look for a school record there and I think she will be on the podium as well."
Junior Amanda Youngblood leads the Mountain Hawks in the throws. After resetting her PR several times throughout the season, she rounds out the top three in the league in the weight throw (16.71m) and currently sits fourth in the shot put (13.64m). Lehigh also has two other athletes ranked in the top six of the weight throw in Paige Grossman and Michaela Bubak. Senior Kiana Wright, the school record holder in the triple jump, leads the team by ranking ninth in both the long jump (5.38m) and triple jump (11.32m).
"Amanda is coming off a nice little break," Utesch said. "She's looking fresh and ready to drop some bombs."
Over in the multis, senior Sarah Cassidy will start the weekend's events on Friday in the pentathlon, which she enters with the top score in the league this season, scoring a personal-best 3,392 points at the Thundering Herd Invitational. She also enters the weekend as the No. 6 seed in the shot put (13.03m).
On the track, sophomore Maura Henderson set new school records this year in the mile and 5,000 meter run. After taking fifth place overall at the cross country league championships in October, she has been a force in the Patriot League in the distance events, ranking fourth in the league with her school record mile (4:53.32), second in the 3K (9:42.93#), and holds the No. 1 ranking in the 5K with her school benchmark of 16:52.59.
"She is ranked very high in the league and capable of doing much more," Utesch said. "We're looking for her to go and do great things as well this weekend."
In the sprints, senior Katie Hatler finds herself with the second best time in the 60m hurdles this season (8.64), just six hundredths of a second off the school record and putting herself in position to contend for the title.
"She's fully capable of winning the whole thing, and if not she should be on the podium in the top three," Utesch said.
Senior Marissa Karl is coming off putting up the No. 4 time in the league in the 1,000m run at last weekend's Bucknell Tune-Up.
Last year, Lehigh took home a league title and set a new school record in the distance medley relay, courtesy of Hannah Leskow, Rachel Okun, Tyler Scanlin and Karl. This year, Lehigh will look to defend its title and enters with the fourth fastest DMR on the season (12:02.68) from Karl, Okun, Mary Casey and Laura Barnes.
"In the sprint/middle distance events, that group is so packed in the league," Utesch said. "It's really amazing to see how far the league has come in those event groups. And seeing where we're at with our DMR, it makes it really exciting."
The weekend kicks off on Friday at noon with the start of the multis. The pentathlon will wrap up on Friday with the heptathlon spilling over into Saturday morning. Saturday's field events will begin at 11am with the track events getting underway at 1 p.m. The final day of competition on Sunday will get underway at 10 a.m. with the field events, followed by track at noon.
LEHIGH'S RANKINGS IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
60m
16. Leah Ferguson (7.95)
500m
7. Brooke Schaeffer (1:15.39#)
8. Hanna Brosky (1:15.51#)
800m
9. Hanna Broksy (2:14.79#)
1000m
4. Marissa Karl (2:52.86)
Mile
4. Maura Henderson (4:53.32)
3,000m
2. Maura Henderson (9:42.93#)
5,000m
1. Maura Henderson (16:52.59)
60m Hurdles
2. Katie Hatler (8.64)
4x400 Relay
6. Brosky, Fischer, Schaeffer, Lavallee (3:55.09)
4x800 Relay
3. Henderson, Mickens Barnes, Hayes (9:26.92#)
Distance Medley Relay
4. Karl, Okun, Casey, Barnes (12:02.68)
High Jump
1. Courtney Avery (1.79m) (#25 nationally)
2. Sarah Cassidy (1.65m)
2. Brittany Le Jouan (1.65m)
2. Jordan Otto (1.65m)
5. Tyler Bannister (1.64m)
8. Alexis Wintle (1.60m)
Long Jump
9. Kiana Wright (5.38m)
Triple Jump
9. Kiana Wright (11.32m)
Pole Vault
2. Kaitlyn Toman (3.65m)
Shot Put
4. Amanda Youngblood (13.64m)
6. Sarah Cassidy (13.03m)
Weight Throw
3. Amanda Youngblood (16.71m)
5. Paige Grossman (15.71m)
6. Michaela Bubak (15.64m)
Pentathlon
1. Sarah Cassidy (3,392)
# - converted for track size
Follow Lehigh Track and Field on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After competing in 11 different meets since the beginning of December, the Lehigh women's track and field team is ready to make a run at bringing home a Patriot League Championship. The Mountain Hawks will enter the meet with three athletes holding No. 1 seeds, plus four No. 2 seeds and a trio of No. 3 rankings.
"Overall, the league is really good," said head coach Matt Utesch. "I look at the descending order list across the board and it is astounding to see how far this league has come since I started here 20 years ago."
In the field events, senior Courtney Avery will look to take home her fourth indoor high jump title in as many years as she enters the weekend with the highest jump in the Patriot League this season at 1.79 meters, just two centimeters off her league record leap at last year's indoor championships. This year's top jump also currently ranks 25th nationally. The reining outdoor All-American leads in what is a dominating event for Lehigh, which occupies each of the top five spots in the high jump. Sarah Cassidy, Brittany Le Jouan and Jordan Otto are all tied for second at 1.65 meters, and Tyler Bannister comes in fifth at 1.64. All will be looking to continue a string of strong high jump showings from Lehigh in recent years.
"Courtney will be defending and looking for a national qualifier spot," Utesch said. "We have in our mind what it will take to get her there, but you never know. She's there to win it first, and then to qualify for nationals."
Elsewhere in the field events, sophomore Kaitlyn Toman enters with the No. 2 ranked pole vault this season. She has broken the school record twice this year, which now sits at 3.65m. Last year, she tied the then-school record with her third place, 3.60 meter vault.
"Katie is jumping better than she ever has," Utesch said. "She also is ready to go even higher. I think we can look for a school record there and I think she will be on the podium as well."
Junior Amanda Youngblood leads the Mountain Hawks in the throws. After resetting her PR several times throughout the season, she rounds out the top three in the league in the weight throw (16.71m) and currently sits fourth in the shot put (13.64m). Lehigh also has two other athletes ranked in the top six of the weight throw in Paige Grossman and Michaela Bubak. Senior Kiana Wright, the school record holder in the triple jump, leads the team by ranking ninth in both the long jump (5.38m) and triple jump (11.32m).
"Amanda is coming off a nice little break," Utesch said. "She's looking fresh and ready to drop some bombs."
Over in the multis, senior Sarah Cassidy will start the weekend's events on Friday in the pentathlon, which she enters with the top score in the league this season, scoring a personal-best 3,392 points at the Thundering Herd Invitational. She also enters the weekend as the No. 6 seed in the shot put (13.03m).
On the track, sophomore Maura Henderson set new school records this year in the mile and 5,000 meter run. After taking fifth place overall at the cross country league championships in October, she has been a force in the Patriot League in the distance events, ranking fourth in the league with her school record mile (4:53.32), second in the 3K (9:42.93#), and holds the No. 1 ranking in the 5K with her school benchmark of 16:52.59.
"She is ranked very high in the league and capable of doing much more," Utesch said. "We're looking for her to go and do great things as well this weekend."
In the sprints, senior Katie Hatler finds herself with the second best time in the 60m hurdles this season (8.64), just six hundredths of a second off the school record and putting herself in position to contend for the title.
"She's fully capable of winning the whole thing, and if not she should be on the podium in the top three," Utesch said.
Senior Marissa Karl is coming off putting up the No. 4 time in the league in the 1,000m run at last weekend's Bucknell Tune-Up.
Last year, Lehigh took home a league title and set a new school record in the distance medley relay, courtesy of Hannah Leskow, Rachel Okun, Tyler Scanlin and Karl. This year, Lehigh will look to defend its title and enters with the fourth fastest DMR on the season (12:02.68) from Karl, Okun, Mary Casey and Laura Barnes.
"In the sprint/middle distance events, that group is so packed in the league," Utesch said. "It's really amazing to see how far the league has come in those event groups. And seeing where we're at with our DMR, it makes it really exciting."
The weekend kicks off on Friday at noon with the start of the multis. The pentathlon will wrap up on Friday with the heptathlon spilling over into Saturday morning. Saturday's field events will begin at 11am with the track events getting underway at 1 p.m. The final day of competition on Sunday will get underway at 10 a.m. with the field events, followed by track at noon.
LEHIGH'S RANKINGS IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
60m
16. Leah Ferguson (7.95)
500m
7. Brooke Schaeffer (1:15.39#)
8. Hanna Brosky (1:15.51#)
800m
9. Hanna Broksy (2:14.79#)
1000m
4. Marissa Karl (2:52.86)
Mile
4. Maura Henderson (4:53.32)
3,000m
2. Maura Henderson (9:42.93#)
5,000m
1. Maura Henderson (16:52.59)
60m Hurdles
2. Katie Hatler (8.64)
4x400 Relay
6. Brosky, Fischer, Schaeffer, Lavallee (3:55.09)
4x800 Relay
3. Henderson, Mickens Barnes, Hayes (9:26.92#)
Distance Medley Relay
4. Karl, Okun, Casey, Barnes (12:02.68)
High Jump
1. Courtney Avery (1.79m) (#25 nationally)
2. Sarah Cassidy (1.65m)
2. Brittany Le Jouan (1.65m)
2. Jordan Otto (1.65m)
5. Tyler Bannister (1.64m)
8. Alexis Wintle (1.60m)
Long Jump
9. Kiana Wright (5.38m)
Triple Jump
9. Kiana Wright (11.32m)
Pole Vault
2. Kaitlyn Toman (3.65m)
Shot Put
4. Amanda Youngblood (13.64m)
6. Sarah Cassidy (13.03m)
Weight Throw
3. Amanda Youngblood (16.71m)
5. Paige Grossman (15.71m)
6. Michaela Bubak (15.64m)
Pentathlon
1. Sarah Cassidy (3,392)
# - converted for track size
Follow Lehigh Track and Field on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Players Mentioned
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Mid-Distance
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Sprint/Mid-Distance
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Throws
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Multis
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/ Women's Track and Field
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/ Women's Track and Field
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/ Women's Track and Field
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/ Women's Track and Field
Sprint/Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
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