Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh returns to course with high hopes
11/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
Lehigh returns to the course this weekend when the Mountain Hawks travel to Lock Haven to compete in the NCAA District II Championships. Lehigh has been off since November 1 when both the men and the women ran to a fifth place finish at the Patriot League Championships. Head Coach Deb Utesch says that her team is ready for the race, and has been training for the longer course. “This is a very flat, fast course that we’ll be running on. We have been doing some fast training and we’ll be ready to go.” Utesch adds, “This is a new distance for the men at 10K, but they have been great all year and are prepared for this race.”
The Lehigh men, ranked 14th in the Mid-Atlantic Region, are led by sophomore Rob Hampson, who has had a wonderful season so far, already being named the Patriot League’s Runner of the Week on one occasion. Hampson was honored for his 16th place finish at the Patriot League Championships, by being named to the All-Patriot League Second Team. Coach Utesch says that the men are excited and ready to come out to see where they match up with some of the best teams around. “We’ll have to pick off some big teams in order to finish in the top-ten, but more realistically we’re looking at a top-twelve finish for the men. We are shooting to defeat Bucknell, who is ninth in the region, and also Delaware, Maryland and St. Joe’s,” explains Utesch.
On the women’s side, junior Andrea Luebbe has led the Mountain Hawks in every race so far this season. She also was an All-Patriot League selection, but she was a first-team pick after racing to a stellar eighth place finish at the league championships. Coach Utesch says that this will be a good opportunity for Luebbe to shine and also to get some of the younger Mountain Hawks experience for next season. “We have some people out on the women’s side, so we again will not be at full strength. We will be running three freshmen, so it’s a great chance for them to pick up some exposure and experience towards next season.” Utesch adds, “As for Andrea, she should have a solid race and be looking to improve on what she did last year.”
The men’s 10K race is scheduled to begin at 11:00, while the women will get their 6K run going at 12:15.
