Mountain Hawks turn in impressive performances Patriot League Championships
5/7/2011 11:27:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
EASTON, Pa. – The Lehigh track and field teams completed action on Saturday afternoon at the Patriot League Championships, with the women's team finishing third and the men's team finishing fourth. Bucknell's men's and women's teams were crowned league champions. For Lehigh, Patrick Ciez earned Patriot League Rookie of the Meet and Stephen Tutunjian won Male Field Athlete of the Meet.
"I can't be more proud of this team," said Lehigh head coach Matt Utesch. "This is hands down our greatest performance ever in the Patriot League Championships. I really need to thank our coaching staff. We scored points all over the place, which really shows the great work they have done with this team."
The Mountain Hawks had an All-Patriot League performance in the high jump, as Ciez won the event and earned 10 points for Lehigh. Ciez posted a distance of 2.09 meters, which was an IC4A qualifying distance. Kyle Forrest was also a Patriot League Champion in the men's decathlon with 6606 points, an IC4A qualifying mark. The Mountain Hawks also had an All-Patriot League performance in the decathlon, as Alex Maurer scored 6588 points, good for second place. Overall, Lehigh scored 20 points in the multi event.
Ciez's teammate Stephen Rumizen also finished in third in the high jump, giving the Mountain Hawks a combined 16 points in that event. Rumizen also hit an IC4A qualifying mark of 2.04 meters. Over in the triple jump, Tutunjian earned an All-Patriot League performance by finishing second with an IC4A qualifying mark of 15.13 meters.
Evans Kosgei earned eight points for the Mountain Hawks and second-team All-Patriot League in the 3000 meter steeplechase, as he hit a time of 9:18.82. Lehigh also picked up four points in the 4x100 meter relay when the team of Makura Compton, Martin Otieno, Devin Monroe and Ryan Paquin earned fourth place with a time of 41.96 seconds.
Monroe earned a combined seven more points for a sixth-place finish in the 200 meter dash and third-place finish in the 400 meter dash. Niall Buckley earned six points for Lehigh in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:52.
On the women's side, Khaaleedah Smith earned two points for Lehigh after she finished in fifth place in the 100 meter dash. Kristin Slotnick followed with a third-place finish in the 200 meter dash with a time of 25.07 seconds. Over in the 800 meter run, Jessica Kendzor posted a time of 2:12.52 to earn two points for Lehigh. Julia Perry also picked up a point with sixth place finish in the 1500 meter run.
Katherine Pierce had a nice performance over in the 5000 meter run, earning a fourth place finish with a time of 17:46.89. Pierce earned four points with the finish. In the 400 meter hurdles, points were earned as Jessica Perone finished in fourth place (1:04.02). Andrea Mascaro finished in third place in the 3000 meter steeplechase, clocking a time of 11:12.64. Lehigh's 4x100 meter relay team also had a strong day, as Smith, Slotnick, Alexandra Doersam and Melissa Knapp finished in third place with and ECAC qualifying time of 47.89 seconds.
Doersam also earned a point in the triple jump, as she hit a distance of 11.45 meters, well enough for a sixth-place finish. Rebecca Duhamel earned a point in the discus throw with an ECAC qualifying throw of 43.15 meters.Brooke Astor also earned points for Lehigh in the heptathlon, as she scored an ECAC qualifying 4505 points to earn her third place.
Lehigh will now turn to the ECAC and IC4A Championships, which will begin on Thursday.
Male Field Athlete of the Meet: Steve Tutunjian
Men's First Team All-Patriot League: Kyle Forrest, (decathlon); Patrick Ciez, (high jump); Stephen Tutunjian, (long jump); Evans Kosgei, (10,000)
Men's Second Team All-Patriot League: Alexander Maurer, (decathlon); Stephen Tutunjian, (triple jump); Evans Kosgei, (3,000 steeplechase);
Women's Second Team All-Patriot League: Emily Settle, (hammer throw)
