Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh track heads to Lewisburg on Friday
4/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
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“We want the races to create a pace that allows us to run faster than we have,” Utesch said. “You run faster in a group of people than you do when you’re alone.”
The program kicks off on Friday with its bread and butter, the distance events at 5 p.m. The Bison Outdoor Classic consists of several distance events, including the steeplechase, the 1500, 5K and 10K, all under the lights on Friday night.
“There is certainly an ambiance to running at night,” Utesch said. “You always feel like you’re running faster than you are.”
Lehigh has battled through tough conditions over the first half of the season. When the team traveled to
“We’re ready to have a great performance,” Utesch said. “We should have pretty good weather and pretty good depth. Hopefully our kids will respond to that.”
The Mountain Hawks talk a lot about building for the Patriot League Championships at the end of every season. The goal is to make sure their best performances are on the biggest stages. Although the stage at Bucknell is not a championship stage, the fact that five Patriot League teams will be in attendance adds some importance to a mid-season meet.
“I think it will give us a good indication of how we’ll look compared to those teams,” Utesch said. “But truthfully, we’re only halfway through the season, so there’s a long way to go between now and then.”
Keep an eye on…
The 10K: This is likely one of the last opportunities for the Lehigh men and women to put up good times in the longest outdoor track race on the schedule. Utesch said the athletes can’t physically race a 10K every week, so the times here could be essential in terms of Patriot League seeding.
Katherine Pierce: Pierce earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors last week and became the first female athlete to win the award in both cross country and outdoor track in league history.
Jon Wetzel: Wetzel comes up big on the biggest stages, and the lights at Bucknell might bring the fire out of the senior on Friday night in the 5K.
