Saturday, February 29
Bethlehem, Pa.
Lehigh University
vs
Patriot League Championships
Women's Track and Field eager to turn heads at Patriot League Championships this weekend
2/28/2020 9:50:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's track and field team has waited for this weekend all season, all season long they have trained and prepared for the 2020 Indoor Patriot League Championships. Well, the time has come, as Rauch Fieldhouse will host the two-day event starting Saturday morning and concluding Sunday afternoon. The Mountain Hawks are looking for a better finish than the previous two years in which they finished in fifth-place.
This marks the fourth time that the Mountain Hawks have hosted the Indoor Patriot League Championships and the first time since 2005. The Midshipmen of Navy took first last year, unseating the Bucknell Bison who had won the previous two championships.
Fifth-place finishes, that is where the Mountain Hawks have placed in the last two Indoor Patriot League Championships. This year's team has the potential and ability to finish better than that. The last time the Brown and White cracked the top-3 was in in 2016 where they finished third.
Lehigh is coming into this weekend riding a hot streak, as the Mountain Hawks have had back-to-back solid performances at Monmouth and Bucknell in preparation for the PLC. At Bucknell, the women pounded out multiple wins and 22 athletes had PRs. The PRs are not a surprise because every single weekend had double-digit PRs for the Brown and White. With no injuries and coming in hot, Lehigh is ready.
"I want to see vicious competitors. I don't want anyone letting up. I want them to push all the way through no matter where are in a race," said head coach Matt Utesch. "their mindset coming into this weekend has to be that they're going to do their absolute best. They need to be confident and believe in themselves that they have what it takes. Their training and hard work has set them up to be successful."
The Mountain Hawks have a handful of favorites who are expected to compete for first-place finish this weekend. Jordan Otto won the title last year in the high jump at 1.70m and Brittany Curtin took first in the weight throw at 18.29m. Brooke Schaeffer has been fantastic all season and is on the verge of breaking a school record. The best part about these three women is that they have been getting hot at the right time.
With those three leading the way, Lehigh has a plethora of other athletes who has what it takes to put fear in other teams, as Jade Sessions, Calista Marzolino, Madison Hackman, Morgan McConnell and the distance runners all can compete at the top.
"Jade (Sessions) is going to surprise people. She is the future of the team as a sophomore and has progressed extremely well this year. She has what it takes to reach the podium," Utesch said. "Calista (Marzolino) is healthy and despite being ranked 11th, I think she has a shot to win the whole thing. We can go one-two with her and Jordan (Otto). Our sprinters will always give us a shot and our relay teams and distance ladies keep on getting better and better."
"This is the time where we find out if athletes are competitors. Will they rise to the occasion or crumble? I'm confident in our team, we've had more PRs in the PLC than people we've sent in recent years. I think you're going to see a ton of our athletes break PRs this weekend."
The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday with the multi events. The field events will start at 11:00 a.m., while the track events will begin at 1:00 p.m.
This marks the fourth time that the Mountain Hawks have hosted the Indoor Patriot League Championships and the first time since 2005. The Midshipmen of Navy took first last year, unseating the Bucknell Bison who had won the previous two championships.
Fifth-place finishes, that is where the Mountain Hawks have placed in the last two Indoor Patriot League Championships. This year's team has the potential and ability to finish better than that. The last time the Brown and White cracked the top-3 was in in 2016 where they finished third.
Lehigh is coming into this weekend riding a hot streak, as the Mountain Hawks have had back-to-back solid performances at Monmouth and Bucknell in preparation for the PLC. At Bucknell, the women pounded out multiple wins and 22 athletes had PRs. The PRs are not a surprise because every single weekend had double-digit PRs for the Brown and White. With no injuries and coming in hot, Lehigh is ready.
"I want to see vicious competitors. I don't want anyone letting up. I want them to push all the way through no matter where are in a race," said head coach Matt Utesch. "their mindset coming into this weekend has to be that they're going to do their absolute best. They need to be confident and believe in themselves that they have what it takes. Their training and hard work has set them up to be successful."
The Mountain Hawks have a handful of favorites who are expected to compete for first-place finish this weekend. Jordan Otto won the title last year in the high jump at 1.70m and Brittany Curtin took first in the weight throw at 18.29m. Brooke Schaeffer has been fantastic all season and is on the verge of breaking a school record. The best part about these three women is that they have been getting hot at the right time.
With those three leading the way, Lehigh has a plethora of other athletes who has what it takes to put fear in other teams, as Jade Sessions, Calista Marzolino, Madison Hackman, Morgan McConnell and the distance runners all can compete at the top.
"Jade (Sessions) is going to surprise people. She is the future of the team as a sophomore and has progressed extremely well this year. She has what it takes to reach the podium," Utesch said. "Calista (Marzolino) is healthy and despite being ranked 11th, I think she has a shot to win the whole thing. We can go one-two with her and Jordan (Otto). Our sprinters will always give us a shot and our relay teams and distance ladies keep on getting better and better."
"This is the time where we find out if athletes are competitors. Will they rise to the occasion or crumble? I'm confident in our team, we've had more PRs in the PLC than people we've sent in recent years. I think you're going to see a ton of our athletes break PRs this weekend."
The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday with the multi events. The field events will start at 11:00 a.m., while the track events will begin at 1:00 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps/Multis
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Middle Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
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