Saturday, October 29
Easton, Pa.
11 a.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Patriot League Championships
Photo by: Don Paul
PREVIEW: Lehigh with High Hopes Heading into Patriot League Championships
10/28/2016 9:02:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Patriot League Championship Central
Patriot League Record Book
Lehigh 2016 Stats/Results Sheet
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the Lehigh women's cross country team finds itself in a position to make a run at a Patriot League Championship this Saturday. The women's 6K championship will begin at 11 a.m. at the Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex in Easton, Pa. Lehigh has had several opportunities to familiarize themselves with the championship course at Lafayette, having competed in two meets there this season, in addition to a couple of team workouts to accustom themselves with the hilly terrain.
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Lehigh was picked to finish sixth in the league's preseason poll, a lower number that did not surprise head coach Debbie Utesch. But with a number of talented upperclassmen leaders returning to the mix and a crop of promising young talent entering the fold, Utesch believed her team could really surprise people at the end of the year if everything came together.
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"We gear up for this race and the NCAA regional race, and we have some upperclassmen that are very focused on these championships," Utesch said. "They've done a tremendous job setting the tone all season for the team with the big goal of walking away with the trophy from the Patriot League Championship, and they're prepared to do their part and run to the best of their ability to try and make that happen."
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A large amount of that success has come from two of the newcomers in sophomore Maura Henderson and freshman Hannah Bonaguidi. Henderson has led the team in three of her four races so far, finishing runner-up to Bonaguidi at the Lehigh-Lafayette dual meet, and taking home first place out of 156 runners at the Ted Owen Invitational. Bonaguidi captured the individual titles in each of her first two meets this season before finishing second on the Mountain Hawks and 74th overall in the Gold Race at the Paul Short Run. Henderson's time of 20:39.5 at Paul Short was the second fastest-time ever run by a Lehigh female on the 6K Goodman Campus Course, with Bonaguidi's time of 21:06.9 ranking fifth all-time. The duo has combined to win five weekly awards from the Patriot League this season, the most of any team in the league.
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Lehigh also expects major contributions from the other members of its pack, who will need to contribute to give the team a chance at making a run at the title. Senior Marissa Karl has finished in the team's top three in all four races this season, including a runner-up finish at the Ted Owen Invite. She set a new personal-best time of 21:50.1 at the Paul Short Run at was second on the team at the Penn State Nationals on Oct. 14 (22:04.7). Amanda Ruschel has also had a strong senior season, finishing 10th overall at the Lehigh Invitational and coming within two seconds of her PR at the Paul Short Run (21:51.1.).
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"The work over the last two weeks has been to taper off and go into more of a rest period," Utesch said. "The mileage and weigh room workouts have tapered off, and the workouts have been very specific. We're really trying to focus on the pack that's backing up our frontrunners and moving them a little bit closer to the front runners. Hopefully we can get to the line pretty antsy and ready to race."
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Fellow senior Ashley Strysko has scored in three meets this season, highlighted by a season-best time of 22:34.5 at the Paul Short Run, three seconds shy of her PR. Sophomore Stephanie Hayes is just one of two Mountain Hawks to have run in five meets this season, scoring team points in four of them, including a 16th place finish at the Ted Owen Invitational and a new PR at Paul Short (22:27.0). Junior Laura Barnes, one of the team's frontrunners from a season ago, is coming off her best time of the season at the Penn State Nationals and looks to round into form at the PLC after being unavailable earlier this season.
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In addition to Bonaguidi, a number of freshman have made a splash in the team's pack this season, including Ashleigh Crawford, who has finished in the team's top five all season, Diana Hammerstone (PR- 22:17.1 at Penn State Nationals) and Jenn Mickens (22:56.0 at Paul Short).
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Check LehighSports.com for a complete recap following the race, and be sure to follow @LUTF on Twitter for live updates of both the men's and women's races.
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Patriot League Record Book
Lehigh 2016 Stats/Results Sheet
Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the Lehigh women's cross country team finds itself in a position to make a run at a Patriot League Championship this Saturday. The women's 6K championship will begin at 11 a.m. at the Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex in Easton, Pa. Lehigh has had several opportunities to familiarize themselves with the championship course at Lafayette, having competed in two meets there this season, in addition to a couple of team workouts to accustom themselves with the hilly terrain.
Â
Lehigh was picked to finish sixth in the league's preseason poll, a lower number that did not surprise head coach Debbie Utesch. But with a number of talented upperclassmen leaders returning to the mix and a crop of promising young talent entering the fold, Utesch believed her team could really surprise people at the end of the year if everything came together.
Â
"We gear up for this race and the NCAA regional race, and we have some upperclassmen that are very focused on these championships," Utesch said. "They've done a tremendous job setting the tone all season for the team with the big goal of walking away with the trophy from the Patriot League Championship, and they're prepared to do their part and run to the best of their ability to try and make that happen."
Â
A large amount of that success has come from two of the newcomers in sophomore Maura Henderson and freshman Hannah Bonaguidi. Henderson has led the team in three of her four races so far, finishing runner-up to Bonaguidi at the Lehigh-Lafayette dual meet, and taking home first place out of 156 runners at the Ted Owen Invitational. Bonaguidi captured the individual titles in each of her first two meets this season before finishing second on the Mountain Hawks and 74th overall in the Gold Race at the Paul Short Run. Henderson's time of 20:39.5 at Paul Short was the second fastest-time ever run by a Lehigh female on the 6K Goodman Campus Course, with Bonaguidi's time of 21:06.9 ranking fifth all-time. The duo has combined to win five weekly awards from the Patriot League this season, the most of any team in the league.
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Lehigh also expects major contributions from the other members of its pack, who will need to contribute to give the team a chance at making a run at the title. Senior Marissa Karl has finished in the team's top three in all four races this season, including a runner-up finish at the Ted Owen Invite. She set a new personal-best time of 21:50.1 at the Paul Short Run at was second on the team at the Penn State Nationals on Oct. 14 (22:04.7). Amanda Ruschel has also had a strong senior season, finishing 10th overall at the Lehigh Invitational and coming within two seconds of her PR at the Paul Short Run (21:51.1.).
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"The work over the last two weeks has been to taper off and go into more of a rest period," Utesch said. "The mileage and weigh room workouts have tapered off, and the workouts have been very specific. We're really trying to focus on the pack that's backing up our frontrunners and moving them a little bit closer to the front runners. Hopefully we can get to the line pretty antsy and ready to race."
Â
Fellow senior Ashley Strysko has scored in three meets this season, highlighted by a season-best time of 22:34.5 at the Paul Short Run, three seconds shy of her PR. Sophomore Stephanie Hayes is just one of two Mountain Hawks to have run in five meets this season, scoring team points in four of them, including a 16th place finish at the Ted Owen Invitational and a new PR at Paul Short (22:27.0). Junior Laura Barnes, one of the team's frontrunners from a season ago, is coming off her best time of the season at the Penn State Nationals and looks to round into form at the PLC after being unavailable earlier this season.
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In addition to Bonaguidi, a number of freshman have made a splash in the team's pack this season, including Ashleigh Crawford, who has finished in the team's top five all season, Diana Hammerstone (PR- 22:17.1 at Penn State Nationals) and Jenn Mickens (22:56.0 at Paul Short).
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Check LehighSports.com for a complete recap following the race, and be sure to follow @LUTF on Twitter for live updates of both the men's and women's races.
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Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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