Lehigh University Athletics
Women's cross country set to host Lehigh Invitational Friday
8/31/2011 8:52:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's cross country team is set to kick off its 2011 season when it hosts the Lehigh Invitational on Friday at the Goodman Campus Course at 6:15 p.m. The Mountain Hawks finished second in last year's race and return four runners who finished in the Top 20 including Katherine Pierce who finished second overall with a time of 22:31.8.
"It's a starting point race for us," said head coach Debbie Utesch. "It gives us a comparison of where we are year-to-year as we start the season from a performance standpoint."
Carolyn Morse (23:04.9) and Katherine Howley (23:06.1) placed 13th and 14th respectively last year while Hannah Pierce crossed the line in 18thwith a time of 23:38.0.
"We are going to set up packs and match some people up, but I will definitely be looking for those returning girls to be leading some of those packs," said Utesch.
The Mountain Hawks recorded a score of 45 for the meet, finishing just eight points higher than Navy. Lafayette took third, Kutztown placed fourth, Rider took fifth, DeSales finished sixth, Muhlenberg placed seventh and Moravian and Cedar Crest took eighth and ninth, respectively.
While Navy won't be racing on Friday, Patriot League foe Lafayette returns and regional power LaSalle will join in the mix. LaSalle is ranked No. 6 in the Mid-Atlantic region and was picked to finish first in the Altantic-10.
"They are a Top 10 program consistently," said Utesch. "We are excited to have them on our course and match up some of our girls against them."
Lehigh is hoping to pick where it left off at the end of the 2010 season when the team finished ninth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. It was the Mountain Hawks' second highest NCAA Regional finish under Utesch, who hopes her team can use that momentum as 2011 gets underway on its home course.
"It's nice to run on your home course, but any time you run on a course, you get a different feel when it's a race compared to just training," said Utesch. "It's critical to build off of getting experience racing on our course because we have a lot of big home races this year."
It will be the first collegiate meet for the six freshmen on the team and while Utesch is excited to see them compete, she knows there are going to be some nerves.
"I am sure they are full of anxiety," said Utesch. "They just came off of preseason camp, they are running our course for the first time and wearing the Lehigh uniform for the first. It's a lot of new things thrown at them. They've been doing very well, though, and I'm confident in their ability to perform on Friday."
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