Women's Track and Field finishes fourth at Indoor PLC; Lehigh finishes inside top-3 in four events

Women's Track and Field finishes fourth at Indoor PLC; Lehigh finishes inside top-3 in four events

3/1/2020 7:45:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's track and field team concluded the 2020 Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Championships with a fourth-place finish. The Mountain Hawks finished the two-day event with 82.33 points. This year's finish bests the last two finishes for the Brown and White, as Lehigh came in fifth in back-to-back years.

Navy took home the team crown with 204.5 points, while Army West Point finished second at 133 points. Boston University finished third at 111.5 points.

It was another busy day for sophomore Jade Sessions who competed in the Mile Finals. After winning bronze in the 4x800 relay and having to qualify for the mile run, Sessions came into today less-fresher than the majority of her opponents, who did not race the 4x800 yesterday. Despite not having the fresher legs, the sophomore showed a gutty performance to take third at 5:06.57. Sessions garnered her first individual medal with the gutsy performance.

In the 60mH, Brett DeWeese took silver with a time of 8.87. The third-place finisher came in at 8.89. DeWeese's time was almost identical as yesterday's qualifying time of 8.86. Today's effort gained the sophomore her first collegiate medal.

Like head coach Matt Utesch predicted, the Mountain Hawks went one-two in the high jump, as Jordan Otto won gold and Calista Marzolino took silver. Otto's jump came in at 1.70m, while Marzolino came in at 1.65m. With today's win, Otto has now won back-to-back gold medals in the high jump.

In the 4000 DMR, Lehigh's Brooke Schaeffer, Alexis Smith, Mary Casey and Nicole Abbondandelo took second at 12:04.87. Schaeffer also then took fourth in the 800m at 2:11.17. Going into the final lap, the senior moved into the top-3, however was passed in the last 60m to fall outside of the top-3.

In the 3000m event, Susie Poore finished sixth with a time of 10:01.07. Poore started off patient and calm, while then moving up over 10 spots in the final seven laps to finish sixth. Senior Ashleigh Crawford finished 10^th for the Mountain Hawks at 10:11.19. Competing alongside DeWeese in the 60mH, Elke Knecht finished seventh with a time of 9.05, better than her qualifying time of 9.13.

The 4x400 relay team of Morgan McConnell, Monica McGavin, Camari Griffin and Elyse Barkstrom won their heat but finished seventh overall with a time of 4:04.93.

Check back tomorrow afternoon for a full list of the PRs that were broken, along with coach Matt Utesch's reaction from the past two days.

TEAM RANKINGS

Navy – 204.5
Army West Point – 133
Boston University – 111.5
Lehigh – 82.33
Bucknell – 69.33
Holy Cross – 59.33
Loyola (Md.) – 31
Colgate – 5
Lafayette – 4
American – 2

DAY ONE
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's track and field team concluded the first day of the 2020 Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Championships inside Rauch Fieldhouse on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks had two events in which they took third. Going into the second day of events, Lehigh sits in fourth overall with 26 points. Holy Cross is in third with 31 points, Army West Point in second 37 and Navy is leading with 83 points.

Susie Poore put on a tremendous show in the 5000m with a third-place finish. Her time of 17:09.45 gave the Mountain Hawks six points and gave herself a bronze medal. Poore's podium finish was the first of many still to come.

The next podium finish came in the final event of the day, as the 4x800 relay team of Elyse Barkstrom, Nicole Abbondandelo, Mary Casey and Jade Sessions took third with a time of 9:06.46. The finish brought the raucous crowd inside Rauch Fieldhouse to its feet.

In the pentathlon, Maddy Harding fell one single point away from placing and getting third, instead Harding's highlight effort day came to an end with a fourth-place finish with 3,427 points. Harding's performance included 9.49 in the 60mH, 1.62m in the high jump, a throw of 9.62m in the shot put, 5.22m in the long jump and a time of 2:26.83 in the 800m.

Moving onto the qualifying rounds of the day, the sophomore Sessions took first in her heat and first overall in the mile run at 5:01.12. Being in second the entire race, Sessions made her move to first during the last lap, after getting passed on the final turn, the junior used a late surge in the final 30m and inched out a victory with a time of 5:01.12.

Brooke Schaeffer is moving onto tomorrow's 800m Finals after winning her heat today with a time of 2:15.35. It was a tough race for the senior being boxed in most of the race. Entering the final lap of the event, Schaeffer was in fourth-place. Schaeffer showed her determination and competitiveness by jumping three spots in the final lap to win her heat.

In the 60mH, Brett DeWeese and Elke Knecht are also moving onto tomorrow's big day, as the strong duo took one-two in their heat to move on. DeWeese had the fifth fastest time at 8.86, while Knecht registered a time of 9.13.

Mary Casey just missed out on advancing to tomorrow's Finals in the 800m. The senior finished fourth in her heat with a time of 2:14.66, good enough for seventh overall.

In the weight throw, Brittany Curtin threw over 18m again, as this time the junior finished fifth overall with a throw of 18.25m. Teasha McKoy finished eighth at 17.09. In the pole vault, Madisyn Hawkins finished fifth at 3.80m.

In the 200m, Alexis Smith, Madison Hackman and Camari Griffin finished back-to-back-to-back, Smith finished 10^th overall with a time of 25.82, while Hackman and Griffin recoded the same the time of 26.01.

The Mountain Hawks will look to hold onto their third-place lead going into tomorrow, while having more athletes place on the podium. Events resume tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

TEAM RANKINGS
1. Navy 83
2. Army West Point 37
3. Holy Cross 31
4. Lehigh 26
5. Boston University 25
6. Bucknell 21
7. Loyola Md. 8
8. Lafayette 2
9. Colgate 1