Lehigh University
Penn Relays
Mountain Hawks have strong day at Lehigh Games
4/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – On a warm, sunny afternoon, the Mountain Hawks hosted the 2009 Lehigh Games in their final tune up before the Patriot League Championships. Emily Settle wrapped up an impressive weekend as she followed her medal-winning throw on Thursday at the Penn Relays with a throw of 50.83-meters in the hammer throw, good for second place, while Andrew Jervis (9:51.99) and Kathleen McClernand (12:22.80) won the men’s and women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively.
In the men’s events, Scott Robinson crossed first in the 400-hurdles with a time of 54.70 seconds, Nick Ray took second in the shot put after throwing 15.53-meters, Stephen Tutunjian took fourth in the long jump after he jumped 6.41-meters, and Kyle Forrest established his personal record in the same event with a leap of 6.51-meters. Forrest also competed in the 400 where he crossed in third place.
Also on the men’s side, James Pachucki took first in the javelin with a throw of 57.55-meters and Dominic Aversa placed third in the pole vault after clearing 4.35-meters. Franklin Johnson (14.63-meters) and Tutunjuan (14.19-meters) went one-two in the triple jump, and Alexander Maurer won the high jump after clearing 1.94-meters.
In the 1500-meters, Chris Contino placed second (4:02.93) and Jordan Inacio took fourth (4:04.41), while Niall Buckley finished fifth in the 800 with a time of 1:59.10.
On the women’s side of things, Idelis Matias earned her first collegiate win as she took first in the 100-hurdles with a time of 14.86 seconds, with Theresa Fromm in second with a time of 15.55. Ashlee Atwell and Krista Belick both took first in the pole vault after clearing 3.20-meters, and Charrell Mack earned first place in the long jump with a leap of 5.38-meters and fourth place in the 100, while Alexandra Doersam placed second in that event after jumping 5.13-meters. Doersam also won the 200-meters, as she closely edged the closest competitor with a time of 26.40 seconds.
Kaitlin Grimm took third in the 1500 with a time of 4:48.27, while Kim Scotto (4:51.17) and Liz Robinson (4:51.57) placed fifth and sixth, respectively and in the 400-hurdles Lauranne Kline placed third after crossing in a time of 1:06.71. Three Mountain Hawks placed in the top-five of the 800 as Jill Randolph (2:17.84) took second, Alexandra Neville (2:18.25) crossed in third place and Andrea Mascaro finished fourth with a time of 2:20.85.
“We had a very nice day all around,” Mountain Hawks head coach Matt Utesch said afterwards. “It was a nice way to end our regular season at home. For our seniors such as Kathleen McClernand, it was a nice way to end their careers at home.”
“I think we’re in a good position heading into the league championships next weekend.”
Lehigh had a strong alumni presence at the race on Saturday as well with numerous former Mountain Hawks in town to catch the action.
Chris Bryce, the school record holder in the hammer, competed on Friday evening and established a facility record with a first-place throw of 67.89-meters. “It was great to have Chris back competing,” Utesch explained. “He had a chance to meet our current throwers and I know they were excited to meet him.” Jeff Eggert, Jim Shunk, Brian Voorhis, Greg Horn and Kelly Lyons were among the other track and field alumni in attendance.
Utesch was pleased with the performance of his team as well as the Lehigh parents, many of whom make the trip to Bethlehem to see the meet. “We’d like to give our parents a big thank you for all of their support today and all season long. They do a great job of supporting our athletes and today was no different.”
Also on Saturday, five Mountain Hawks competed at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia as the women’s 4x800 relay team of Jen Therkorn, Shannon Alejandro, Lauren Sternick and Sarah Serwo placed seventh against a loaded field of the nation’s fastest teams. The Mountain Hawks crossed in a time of 8:59.69, defeating eighth place Princeton by seven seconds. Tennessee won the event and set a new American, collegiate and Penn Relays record in the process.
Sophomore James Pachucki competed on Saturday in the javelin and his throw of 188’10” placed him in 15th place out of 30 competitors.
