Thursday, May 23
Jacksonville, Fla.
Lehigh University
vs
NCAA East Prelims
Trio of Mountain Hawks wrap up season with strong efforts at NCAA East Prelims
5/24/2019 10:21:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three Lehigh track and field student-athletes wrapped up their seasons at the NCAA East Preliminaries as senior Clare Severe, sophomore Sean Brown and junior Kip Yegon put forth strong efforts on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Severe (1500m) finished in 41st overall, five spots better than her seed, Brown (1500m) finished a sophomore campaign which saw him win a Patriot League Championship and Yegon (3000m steeplechase) finished 36th overall, competing in the NCAA East Prelims for a second straight year.
"I believe the biggest contribution these three made to the rest of our team, and maybe even to our entire athletics department, is that it's possible," said Lehigh head coach Matt Utesch. "It's possible for us to get to the national championships. I told the ones who made it here that they're here because they belong here. I hope not just our team, but also the entire athletic department catches that we belong. This is where we're supposed to be."
Competing on Friday night in the final event of the day, the 3000m steeplechase, Yegon finished 11th in his heat, and 36th overall, with a time of 9:15.56.
"I have to say, the field was remarkable," Utesch said. "Kip went out very fast and stayed right with the group. He stuck his noise in there and stayed right with it. Then some guys shift and it can be difficult to cover. It's all or nothing; be in the race as long as possible. I think he did a great job. I am pleased with him and his season."
Yegon reached the NCAA East Preliminaries for the second consecutive year after winning the IC4A title with a personal record time of 8:53.36 back on May 11. The 2018 Patriot League outdoor champion in the steeplechase, Yegon finished seventh at the Patriot League Championships. Friday marked Yegon's sixth steeplechase race of the outdoor season. Last year, Yegon finished 37th at the NCAA East Preliminaries in Tampa.
On Thursday, Severe and Brown competed in the 1500 meters. Severe finished 41st in the women's 1500m with a time of 4:33.27. She improved five spots from her original seed of No. 46. Brown ran 4:03.14 in the men's race. Both Severe and Brown were making their first NCAA East Preliminary appearances.
"Clare finished higher than where she was ranked," Utesch said. "That's outstanding. She ran faster than she did at ECACs so I couldn't be more proud of her. It was truly a special honor for Clare to get one more shot. She represented us really well, both on the soccer field and on the track. She is what we're looking for at Lehigh."
Thursday's race capped an outstanding career for Severe, a two-sport standout who also was a four-year contributor on Lehigh's women's soccer team. Severe won a pair of Patriot League indoor titles, as part of the Distance Medley Relay team as a junior and the 4x800m relay as a senior. She owns individual school records in the indoor mile (4:45.41) and the outdoor 1500m (4:22.78) and her Patriot League championship-winning 4x800m relay team set school, facility and Patriot League championship meet records. Severe received the Karen A. Adams Award as Lehigh's outstanding graduating female athlete at the year-end Convocation earlier this month.
Brown completed a sophomore campaign in which he won a Patriot League championship in the 1500m and earned All-East recognition with an eighth place finish at IC4As. He set a school record with a time of 3:45.72 in his Patriot League Championship victory. Brown also earned second team All-Patriot League honors during the indoor season with a runner-up finish (to teammate Kyle Berman) in the 1000m. In addition to his Patriot League and IC4A recognition and qualifying for the East Prelims, Brown's sophomore outdoor season included a win in the 800m at the Lehigh-Lafayette dual meet and strong performances in the 1500m at the Bison Outdoor Classic and the Larry Ellis Invitational.
"He's still young, and he's very talented," Utesch said. "What happened today and what we saw throughout his sophomore season is that Sean saw how good he could be. He also came to this meet and saw that he can be even better. This experience gave him fuel for the fire. I think you'll see a different Sean next year on the track. He's more confident and you may see a little chip on his shoulder."
The Lehigh trio was among 37 athletes representing the Patriot League at this year's East Preliminaries. All participants in Jacksonville this weekend rank as the top 48 of each event in the NCAA's East Region. The top 12 placers in each event this weekend will qualify for the final round of the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas June 5-8, where they will be joined by the top 12 placers from this weekend's West Preliminary round in Sacramento, Calif.
Follow Lehigh Cross Country/Track and Field on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
"I believe the biggest contribution these three made to the rest of our team, and maybe even to our entire athletics department, is that it's possible," said Lehigh head coach Matt Utesch. "It's possible for us to get to the national championships. I told the ones who made it here that they're here because they belong here. I hope not just our team, but also the entire athletic department catches that we belong. This is where we're supposed to be."
Competing on Friday night in the final event of the day, the 3000m steeplechase, Yegon finished 11th in his heat, and 36th overall, with a time of 9:15.56.
"I have to say, the field was remarkable," Utesch said. "Kip went out very fast and stayed right with the group. He stuck his noise in there and stayed right with it. Then some guys shift and it can be difficult to cover. It's all or nothing; be in the race as long as possible. I think he did a great job. I am pleased with him and his season."
Yegon reached the NCAA East Preliminaries for the second consecutive year after winning the IC4A title with a personal record time of 8:53.36 back on May 11. The 2018 Patriot League outdoor champion in the steeplechase, Yegon finished seventh at the Patriot League Championships. Friday marked Yegon's sixth steeplechase race of the outdoor season. Last year, Yegon finished 37th at the NCAA East Preliminaries in Tampa.
On Thursday, Severe and Brown competed in the 1500 meters. Severe finished 41st in the women's 1500m with a time of 4:33.27. She improved five spots from her original seed of No. 46. Brown ran 4:03.14 in the men's race. Both Severe and Brown were making their first NCAA East Preliminary appearances.
"Clare finished higher than where she was ranked," Utesch said. "That's outstanding. She ran faster than she did at ECACs so I couldn't be more proud of her. It was truly a special honor for Clare to get one more shot. She represented us really well, both on the soccer field and on the track. She is what we're looking for at Lehigh."
Thursday's race capped an outstanding career for Severe, a two-sport standout who also was a four-year contributor on Lehigh's women's soccer team. Severe won a pair of Patriot League indoor titles, as part of the Distance Medley Relay team as a junior and the 4x800m relay as a senior. She owns individual school records in the indoor mile (4:45.41) and the outdoor 1500m (4:22.78) and her Patriot League championship-winning 4x800m relay team set school, facility and Patriot League championship meet records. Severe received the Karen A. Adams Award as Lehigh's outstanding graduating female athlete at the year-end Convocation earlier this month.
Brown completed a sophomore campaign in which he won a Patriot League championship in the 1500m and earned All-East recognition with an eighth place finish at IC4As. He set a school record with a time of 3:45.72 in his Patriot League Championship victory. Brown also earned second team All-Patriot League honors during the indoor season with a runner-up finish (to teammate Kyle Berman) in the 1000m. In addition to his Patriot League and IC4A recognition and qualifying for the East Prelims, Brown's sophomore outdoor season included a win in the 800m at the Lehigh-Lafayette dual meet and strong performances in the 1500m at the Bison Outdoor Classic and the Larry Ellis Invitational.
"He's still young, and he's very talented," Utesch said. "What happened today and what we saw throughout his sophomore season is that Sean saw how good he could be. He also came to this meet and saw that he can be even better. This experience gave him fuel for the fire. I think you'll see a different Sean next year on the track. He's more confident and you may see a little chip on his shoulder."
The Lehigh trio was among 37 athletes representing the Patriot League at this year's East Preliminaries. All participants in Jacksonville this weekend rank as the top 48 of each event in the NCAA's East Region. The top 12 placers in each event this weekend will qualify for the final round of the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas June 5-8, where they will be joined by the top 12 placers from this weekend's West Preliminary round in Sacramento, Calif.
Follow Lehigh Cross Country/Track and Field on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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