Lehigh University Athletics
Getting her feet wet on the track
2/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
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By Maxie McCoy ‘09
Katherine Pierce, a freshman on the Lehigh Cross Country and Track team, could be considered a rookie for more reasons than her class. This standout freshman who has made a huge impact for the Mountain Hawks is only in her first season of indoor track and second season of cross country, ever.
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It wasn’t until her senior year in high school that she ran cross country to prepare for Lehigh. And in her rookie cross country and indoor track season with the Mountain Hawks, Pierce has proved that she is no fish out of water.
Pierce blazed into her first cross country races wearing the Brown and White, ready to help the team from the outset, but she admits she was a little intimidated by the long distance training, which she had little experience with in her high school career.
Upperclassmen Alexis Weiner and Captain Shannon Alejandro remember Pierce running with them in one of their long nine-mile preseason runs. Pierce was just happy to be allowed to run with such accomplished runners and thanked her mentors for letting her learn from them.
“We laughed when she thanked us because we all knew she was ready to run with the front pack,” Alejandro said.
Pierce showed in her first two collegiate races she was ready to compete with the best of the area’s runners, too. Pierce finished fifth in her first race at the Lehigh Valley Championship, and she followed that up with a second place finish against archrival
Alejandro said Pierce is not only fast for a freshman, but smart as well. Those dual talents paired with her performance against
“I had no idea how big of a deal it was,” Pierce said. “I didn’t expect it at all. I was really excited.”
Pierce said being named Rookie of the Week helped boost her confidence, which showed not only in the rest of her cross country races but in her indoor track debut as well.
Pierce made her indoor track debut at the Bucknell Invitational on Jan. 17, and she did so with a bang, winning the 5,000 meters. She had never competed on the smaller indoor track before, and she found a way to score Lehigh’s only individual win at the meet. Pierce followed that performance up by winning the 3,000 against Lafayette two weeks later, and set a new personal record at the New Balance Invitational at the New York Armory the week after that. Then Pierce came up with the most impressive finish of her young career on Feb. 12, finishing sixth in the Patriot League Championships in the 5,000, with a time of 18:34.0.
Women’s head cross country coach Debbie Utesch attributes Pierce’s successes to her durability and competitiveness which, she says, “will lead to a lot of great races ahead.”
Pierce explained that indoor track is quite a challenge for her because it requires a different strategy than cross country, but she relies on coaching and advice to overcome that challenge.
“Coach Deb always gives me a strategy before the race and I trust what she says so I always do it,” Pierce said. “Also, my dad was a great runner so I talk to him before I race and he usually gives me ideas about what may happen.”
Despite the challenge, Pierce likes that indoor track offers a controlled environment, unlike the cross country courses she became accustomed to in the fall.
“You don’t have to deal with the rain, wind, cold, etc.,” Pierce said. “Also, it is easier to see where your competitors are and hear instructions from the coaches.”
Pierce, who is in the IDEAS program at Lehigh, majoring in civil engineering and architecture, said while she has been making the notable transition from high school to college and having much success in running, she sometimes misses swimming.
However, “running has become my life,” she said. As Pierce progresses through her current indoor track season and then onto outdoor, Weiner believes “this is just the beginning of what is going to be a very successful road for Katherine.”
