Mountain Hawks secure best-ever showing at PLC with second-place finish

Friday, May 2

Annapolis, Md.

Lehigh University

Patriot League Championships

Mountain Hawks secure best-ever showing at PLC with second-place finish

5/3/2014 6:50:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

Results

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Lehigh women's track and field team secured its best outdoor Patriot League Championship finish in program history Saturday at Navy's Ingram Field as the Mountain Hawks finished the two-day meet in second place. Seniors Danielle Albergo and Jessica Kendzor won individual events, while Albergo, freshman Courtney Avery and senior Brooke Astor both set new school records.

"I'm very happy with the results," said head coach Matt Utesch. "I'm so incredibly proud of our seniors who just came out and put it all on the line. They set the bar very high for themselves and it feels great to watch them achieve so much."

Boston University claimed the crown with 203.50 total points, while the Mountain Hawks followed with 140.50. Defending champion Bucknell (129), Navy (109) and Army (91) rounded out the top five.

Albergo became the first Lehigh woman to ever win the 400 meter dash championship after crossing the line in 55.31 seconds. The blistering pace set a new Lehigh record and surpassed her own previous school record of 55.84 that was set earlier this season. Freshman Kaitlyn Ruffing also scored points for the Mountain Hawks in the event as she finished seventh with a mark of 57.56.

Kendzor claimed the 800 meter run title after crossing the line in 2:10.91, becoming just the second Lehigh woman to ever win the race. Junior Victoria Mullane (2:14.88) finished eighth in the race to also score points for the Mountain Hawks.

Avery set a new Lehigh record in the high jump as she placed second with a leap of 1.76m. The impressive jump bested her own previous school record of 1.75m that was set last weekend at the Penn Relays. Avery's second-place finish earned eight points for the Mountain Hawks, while senior Brooke Astor tied fourth with a leap of 1.60m to bring in 4.5 points.

Astor finished second in the heptathlon with a total of 5,160 points, finishing behind BU's Allison Barwise. Junior Natalie Bates (4,414) finished third and sophomore Gabrielle Wardle (4,348) was right behind in fourth as the three women combined to secure 18 team points.

Astor continued her busy day with a third-place finish in the 100 meter hurdles as she crossed the line in a new school record of 14.19. The mark bested the previous record of 14.21 that was set by Justina Barone in 2002. Junior Serenah Polite (14.51) and freshman Katie Hatler (14.69) were right behind in fourth and fifth, respectively, as the three Mountain Hawks secured 15 points.

After her 10,000 meter championship Friday, sophomore Elizabeth Weiler continued her impressive showing with a second-place finish in the 5,000 meter run. Weiler crossed the line in 17:05.41.

Polite finished third in the triple jump with a leap of 11.54m, while freshman Courtney Wu took eighth (11.04m) to also score team points. Junior Babette Hohrath finished eighth in the 400 meter hurdles with a mark of 1:05.22. Senior Katie Baglio placed eighth in the discus throw with a launch of 40.31m.

Albergo, Kendzor and Ruffing joined freshman Lindsay Voltz in the 4x400 meter relay. The group finished fourth in a time of 3:50.84.

The 4x100 meter relay team of Leah Ferguson, Danielle Albergo, Katie Hatler and Serenah Polite took sixth after crossing the line in 48.28 seconds. Senior Peggy Lai finished seventh in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 11:18.42.

Next up, those Mountain Hawks that have qualified will head to the ECAC Outdoor Championships from May 16-17 at Princeton.