Lehigh University
Patriot League Championships
Men finish 4th, women 5th at PL Championships
2/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
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Army claimed the men’s title with 188 points, 59 points ahead of Bucknell in second. The Mountain Hawks earned 93 points on the men’s side to finish third. Navy took the women’s team title with a score of 151 points, nine points ahead of Bucknell. Lehigh finished with a score of 64 points to earn fifth place.
“I’m very proud of our team,” Lehigh head coach Matt Utesch said. “They came to work and they got the job done this weekend. We pretty much earned every point we could.”
Uqdah won the men’s pole vault after missing nearly the entire indoor season due to an injury suffered in the John Covert Classic in January. Uqdah’s vault of 16’ 6 3/4” was more than one full foot higher than the nearest competitor and tied his career high on indoor vaults.
“It says that he’s the class of the field for sure,” Utesch said of Uqdah’s ability to overcome the time off. “When you have that kind of athletic ability that’s what you can do.”
Therkorn ran away with the title in the 800 meters with a time of 2:15.99, finishing nearly half a second ahead of Jenny Dalzell from Bucknell. It was Therkorn’s second championship of the weekend after being a member of the Patriot League record-setting 4X800 team on Saturday.
Serwo joined Therkorn as a multiple winner when she claimed the championship in the 1,000 meters. Therkorn’s teammate on the 4X800 relay team finished more than three seconds ahead of the nearest opponent with a time of 2:54.34.
“That whole event group has phenomenal depth,” Utesch said of Therkorn and Serwo. “They’ve both had great careers and they did a great job this weekend.”
The three winners joined E.J. Schuck and the 4X800 women’s relay team as Patriot League champions from the weekend. The relay team became the first team in Patriot League history to crack the nine minute mark with its dominating win on Saturday, led by Therkorn, Serwo, Alexandra Neville and Shannon Alejandro. Schuck gave Lehigh its first winner of the weekend by using a dramatic second-place victory in the 1,000 meter portion of the heptathlon to set a new personal record with 5,011 points to claim the overall title.
Lehigh also had several top five finishers throughout the weekend. On the men’s side, Jon Wetzel earned a second place finish in the 3,000 with a time of 8:23.90 after earning a third place finish on Saturday in the 5,000 with a 14:31.82 mark. Domenic Aversa finished third in the pole vault behind Uqdah with a vault of 14’ 11.” Franklin Johnson earned a second place finish in the triple jump with a jump of 48’ 4 3/4.” Schuck added a fourth place finish in the hurdles and the high jump, as well as a second place finish in the long jump to his heptathlon title. Scott Robinson finished fifth, just behind Schuck in the hurdles with a time of 8.35 seconds, and he came in third in the 400 meters with a time of 49.64. Nick Ray earned a second place finish in the shot put with a throw of 53’ 3 1/2.”
On the women’s side, Latasha Watson finished fifth in the 200 with a time of 25.70. Neville finished fifth in the 800 behind Therkorn with a time of 2:18.33. Emily Settle earned a third place finish in the weight throw with a toss of 51’ 7.” Catherine Bigelow finished fourth in the pentathlon on Friday and added another fourth place finish in the high jump with a 5’ 3” jump. Katie McLaughlin finished just behind Bigelow with a fifth place in the pentathlon on Friday. The women’s 4X400 relay team came within 0.23 of giving Lehigh its second relay champion, but the group of Neville, Therkorn, Serwo and Watson had to settle for second place in the event.
The top two finishers in any event are named All-Patriot League athletes.
“Any time you’re named an All-Patriot League athlete that’s impressive,” Utesch said. “There are 25 people in a lot of these events, so if you’re in the top five or six that’s a great accomplishment.”
Women’s Team Standings
|
Team |
Points |
|
1. Navy |
151 |
|
2. Bucknell |
142 |
|
3. Army |
94 |
|
4. Holy Cross |
79 |
|
5. Lehigh |
64 |
|
6. Colgate |
52 |
|
7. |
30 |
|
8. American |
8 |
Team Champions: Navy
Track Athlete of the Meet: Amy Watson, Navy
Field Performers of the Meet: Chelsea Musante, Bucknell and Jessica Buzzell, Lafayette
Rookie of the Meet: Stephanie Fulmer, Bucknell
Coach of the Year: Carla Criste, Navy
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Erica Ziel, Navy
Men’s Team Standings
|
Team |
Points |
|
1. Army |
188 |
|
2. Bucknell |
129 |
|
3. Navy |
103 |
|
4. Lehigh |
93 |
|
5. |
48 |
|
6. American |
40 |
|
7. Colgate |
12 |
|
8. Holy Cross |
7 |
Team Champions: Army
Track Athlete of the Meet: Brandon Thurman, Army
Field Performer of the Meet: Drew Fitzgerald, Bucknell
Rookie of the Meet: Michael Hutchins, Army
Coach of the Year:
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Mark Van Orden, Navy
