Mountain Hawks look back at 2012 season at annual banquet
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Women's Cross Country
Posted: 12/18/2012
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women’s cross country team held its annual banquet on December 9 to reflect on yet another strong season. The Mountain Hawks gathered at the University Center to hold a luncheon, awards ceremony and a season reflection by head coach Debbie Utesch.
The Scholar Athlete of the Year award was presented to senior Tori Berard for her contributions on the course and in the classroom, exemplifying the true meaning of the phrase "student-athlete." Berard placed ninth at the Lehigh-Lafayette Dual Meet, 13th at the Lehigh Invitational and 31st at the Patriot League Championships, among other finishes, and served as one of two co-captains for the 2012 squad. She not only excelled on the course, but also in the classroom owning a 3.27 GPA as a Chemical Engineering major working to take the small-scale work of a chemist and apply it to large-scale processes and products.
The Athlete of the Year was awarded to senior Julia Perry as she dominated in her first season on a collegiate cross country team. The Environmental Engineering major was consistently one of the Mountain Hawks’ best performers of the season, winning the Lehigh-Lafayette Dual Meet in her first collegiate race before finishing as Lehigh’s top performer at the 39th Paul Short Run. Perry was the Mountain Hawks’ top performer four times this past season as she now continues her record-breaking career on Lehigh’s track team.
Lehigh’s Coaches Award was presented to junior Hannah Pierce, the student-athlete who made noteworthy contributions to the team in areas of attitude, improvement and leadership. Pierce was consistently at the front of the pack throughout the 2012 campaign, finishing sixth at the Lehigh Invitational, second at the Lehigh-Lafayette Dual Meet and becoming Lehigh’s second-best performer at the 39th Paul Short Run.