Lehigh University Athletics
Photo by: Don Paul
Track and Field Announces 2017-18 Season Schedule
11/3/2017 2:57:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
View Full Schedule | Meet Information
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With the season now just under one month away, Lehigh head coach Matt Utesch has announced the 2017-18 indoor and outdoor schedules for the men's and women's track and field programs.
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Much like last season, the Mountain Hawks will begin the indoor campaign at home in Rauch Fieldhouse with a pair of meets in the Lehigh Season Opener on Friday, Dec. 1 and the Fast Times Before Finals on Dec. 8-9.
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"It's a super exciting time of the year to be able to host and finish up with training to really see where the team is," Utesch said. "When you're at a highly selective academic institution, being at home is a premium and we have such excellent facilities that it's sort of a double advantage for us. Our indoor schedule is outstanding and we're really excited to see how the season unfolds."
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After a break for final exams and the holidays, the team will head to the Ocean Breeze Track on Staten Island for the Wagner Invitational on Jan. 5 before returning home for two more meets with the Angry Birds Challenge on Jan. 13 and the annual dual meet with Lafayette on Saturday, Jan. 20.
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"The dual meet is always a good one," Utesch said of the rivalry meet. "Both institutions look at it as an opportunity to really hype their kids up and go after it. I've always said it doesn't matter how good they are or how bad they are, our kids really come to compete and really go at it. So we always look forward to that meet and the kinds of marks we're going to get out of it."
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Lehigh will conclude the month of January with three meets on the final weekend, highlighted by the 26th annual John Covert Classic at Rauch Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 27. Lehigh will also be represented that weekend at the Dr. Sander Invitational at the Armory Track in NYC and the Villanova Open at the Ocean Breeze Track.
Â
"In many ways it's not like a normal meet, it goes quickly," Utesch said regarding Ocean Breeze meets. "We go there, get it done and it's good competition. Our kids get to see a much more regional selection of teams and athletes. It's a great opportunity for our top kids to compete at a higher end meet in a national caliber facility."
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Lehigh will head back to the Ocean Breeze complex on February 3 for the Villanova Invitational before preparing for the Patriot League Championships on Feb. 9 at the Bucknell Tune-Up. Bucknell will then host the PLC meet the following weekend on Feb. 17-18 to conclude the indoor season.
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"Bucknell's facility is a lot like ours," Utesch said. "The Bucknell Tune-Up is a great meet because both institutions are looking at it as a place where kids can have fast times, and we can set up some races where kids get into some really fast sections. Literally, six days before the championships, we're getting a mark in that moves our kids into a faster section. That's always been a good meet for us and it's good to have it on our schedule."
Â
The outdoor season will commence in mid-March with a Spring Break training trip to Tampa, Fla., highlighted by a trip to Orlando for the Black and Gold Challenge at UCF.
Â
"We'll get to be around some of our alums, and it's a place where we can have some out of region competition and our kids get to a see a little bit different competitor," Utesch said.
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Lehigh will follow with back-to-back trips at the Carolinas on Mar. 22 with the Winthrop Invitational and the Raleigh Relays on Mar. 30. After two meets at Lafayette, including the annual dual meet on April 7, LU will head to the Bison Outdoor Classic in mid-April along with a pair of meets at Moravian College. On April 21, several Lehigh athletes will compete against some of the top competition in the nation at the Virginia Challenge.
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The following week, qualified athletes will head to the prestigious Penn Relays to face off against some of the nation's best track and field athletes at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Lehigh has had several athletes compete the last few years at the meet, including Courtney Avery '17 who last year became just the eighth female in Penn Relays history to win multiple High Jump Championship of America events, successfully defending her title with a school record leap of 1.82 meters.
Â
On April 27-28, Lehigh will host the annual Lehigh Games at Goodman Campus, the first meet Lehigh will host following the recent renovations to the track complex.
Â
The postseason ramps up on May 4 and 5 at Lafayette's Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex as the Leopards will host the 2018 Patriot League Championships.
Â
"It's like a home meet for us in a lot of ways," Utesch said. "We get to sleep in our own bed and take a short drive over there to run on a familiar track. It's like a wind tunnel over there, but we're used to that because we run at a couple of meets there during the season. Other teams may come and be shocked by what the conditions may be like even if it's a nice day, but we'll be ready for that."
Â
The ECAC/IC4A Championships follow on May 11-12 at Princeton, along with the NCAA First Round in Tampa on May 25-26 and the NCAA Championships on June 6-9 in Eugene, Ore. Lehigh has had seven First Round qualifiers and three nationals qualifiers over the last two years, including two Second Team All-America performances and one First Team All-American.
Â
"Five years ago, we made it a mission to have a good crowd at the First Round and it's amazing to see from that discussion up to today, we've had five All-Americans over four years. We have put the bar up there and the kids have achieved. I expect we'll take a good crowd of kids down to that meet in Florida and if they move on to Oregon, it will show just the kind of competitors our kids are."
Â
Follow Lehigh Cross Country/Track and Field on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Â
Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With the season now just under one month away, Lehigh head coach Matt Utesch has announced the 2017-18 indoor and outdoor schedules for the men's and women's track and field programs.
Â
Much like last season, the Mountain Hawks will begin the indoor campaign at home in Rauch Fieldhouse with a pair of meets in the Lehigh Season Opener on Friday, Dec. 1 and the Fast Times Before Finals on Dec. 8-9.
Â
"It's a super exciting time of the year to be able to host and finish up with training to really see where the team is," Utesch said. "When you're at a highly selective academic institution, being at home is a premium and we have such excellent facilities that it's sort of a double advantage for us. Our indoor schedule is outstanding and we're really excited to see how the season unfolds."
Â
After a break for final exams and the holidays, the team will head to the Ocean Breeze Track on Staten Island for the Wagner Invitational on Jan. 5 before returning home for two more meets with the Angry Birds Challenge on Jan. 13 and the annual dual meet with Lafayette on Saturday, Jan. 20.
Â
"The dual meet is always a good one," Utesch said of the rivalry meet. "Both institutions look at it as an opportunity to really hype their kids up and go after it. I've always said it doesn't matter how good they are or how bad they are, our kids really come to compete and really go at it. So we always look forward to that meet and the kinds of marks we're going to get out of it."
Â
Lehigh will conclude the month of January with three meets on the final weekend, highlighted by the 26th annual John Covert Classic at Rauch Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 27. Lehigh will also be represented that weekend at the Dr. Sander Invitational at the Armory Track in NYC and the Villanova Open at the Ocean Breeze Track.
Â
"In many ways it's not like a normal meet, it goes quickly," Utesch said regarding Ocean Breeze meets. "We go there, get it done and it's good competition. Our kids get to see a much more regional selection of teams and athletes. It's a great opportunity for our top kids to compete at a higher end meet in a national caliber facility."
Â
Lehigh will head back to the Ocean Breeze complex on February 3 for the Villanova Invitational before preparing for the Patriot League Championships on Feb. 9 at the Bucknell Tune-Up. Bucknell will then host the PLC meet the following weekend on Feb. 17-18 to conclude the indoor season.
Â
"Bucknell's facility is a lot like ours," Utesch said. "The Bucknell Tune-Up is a great meet because both institutions are looking at it as a place where kids can have fast times, and we can set up some races where kids get into some really fast sections. Literally, six days before the championships, we're getting a mark in that moves our kids into a faster section. That's always been a good meet for us and it's good to have it on our schedule."
Â
The outdoor season will commence in mid-March with a Spring Break training trip to Tampa, Fla., highlighted by a trip to Orlando for the Black and Gold Challenge at UCF.
Â
"We'll get to be around some of our alums, and it's a place where we can have some out of region competition and our kids get to a see a little bit different competitor," Utesch said.
Â
Lehigh will follow with back-to-back trips at the Carolinas on Mar. 22 with the Winthrop Invitational and the Raleigh Relays on Mar. 30. After two meets at Lafayette, including the annual dual meet on April 7, LU will head to the Bison Outdoor Classic in mid-April along with a pair of meets at Moravian College. On April 21, several Lehigh athletes will compete against some of the top competition in the nation at the Virginia Challenge.
Â
The following week, qualified athletes will head to the prestigious Penn Relays to face off against some of the nation's best track and field athletes at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Lehigh has had several athletes compete the last few years at the meet, including Courtney Avery '17 who last year became just the eighth female in Penn Relays history to win multiple High Jump Championship of America events, successfully defending her title with a school record leap of 1.82 meters.
Â
On April 27-28, Lehigh will host the annual Lehigh Games at Goodman Campus, the first meet Lehigh will host following the recent renovations to the track complex.
Â
The postseason ramps up on May 4 and 5 at Lafayette's Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex as the Leopards will host the 2018 Patriot League Championships.
Â
"It's like a home meet for us in a lot of ways," Utesch said. "We get to sleep in our own bed and take a short drive over there to run on a familiar track. It's like a wind tunnel over there, but we're used to that because we run at a couple of meets there during the season. Other teams may come and be shocked by what the conditions may be like even if it's a nice day, but we'll be ready for that."
Â
The ECAC/IC4A Championships follow on May 11-12 at Princeton, along with the NCAA First Round in Tampa on May 25-26 and the NCAA Championships on June 6-9 in Eugene, Ore. Lehigh has had seven First Round qualifiers and three nationals qualifiers over the last two years, including two Second Team All-America performances and one First Team All-American.
Â
"Five years ago, we made it a mission to have a good crowd at the First Round and it's amazing to see from that discussion up to today, we've had five All-Americans over four years. We have put the bar up there and the kids have achieved. I expect we'll take a good crowd of kids down to that meet in Florida and if they move on to Oregon, it will show just the kind of competitors our kids are."
Â
Follow Lehigh Cross Country/Track and Field on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Â
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