Friday, November 12
Bethlehem, Pa.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional
Photo by: Don Paul
Mountain Hawks Wrap Up Season With 17th-Place Finish at NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional
11/12/2021 6:02:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Racing on its home course, the Lehigh women's cross country team wrapped up its season with a 17th-place finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Friday. Senior Jamie Zamrin paced the Mountain Hawks, coming in 77th, as five Lehigh runners finished in the top 100.
"The [17th place] finish is a little bit of a disappointment because we wanted to maintain that top 15 ranking and we finished just outside of it," said Lehigh head coach Debbie Utesch. "But the things that we've put in place to be able to be in the top 15, like having our top five all in the top 100, we checked those boxes. I felt like we ran our final 2K of this competition much better than we did at the Patriot League Championship. Even just evaluating the women's faces coming through with 800 meters to go, there was just a different fire in their eyes. They were still chasing athletes down and fighting the whole way to the finish in this race much better than two weeks ago."
Following Zamrin on Friday was senior Jade Sessions in 82nd (22:33.1), sophomore Christina Yakaboski in 85th (22:35.1), first-year Maddison Hayes in 94th (22:42.2) and junior Andrea Miller in 96th (22:47.4).
"I think our team did a tremendous job of pulling each other and fighting together in the middle of the race," said Utesch. "They traded places back and forth. They were all really racing together the whole way. They were essentially on top of each other, really trying to close together. They kept working."
Junior Annalise Davis and senior Kara Bonner placed 127th (23:20.5) and 137th (23:27.6), respectively, to round out the Mountain Hawk finishers.
Friday marked the end of the 2021 cross country season for the Mountain Hawks, one that saw plenty of highlights and a team that stayed together throughout, and continued to fight for each other.
"We're competitors, so we always want more," said Utesch. "It's interesting, you wonder how much the COVID year skews everything for your athletes. You're looking at two classes who had never trained and raced an entire cross country season until this year. It's interesting to think if that skews it, but I'm very proud of the way they persevered and the way they have tackled those obstacles together."
"The [17th place] finish is a little bit of a disappointment because we wanted to maintain that top 15 ranking and we finished just outside of it," said Lehigh head coach Debbie Utesch. "But the things that we've put in place to be able to be in the top 15, like having our top five all in the top 100, we checked those boxes. I felt like we ran our final 2K of this competition much better than we did at the Patriot League Championship. Even just evaluating the women's faces coming through with 800 meters to go, there was just a different fire in their eyes. They were still chasing athletes down and fighting the whole way to the finish in this race much better than two weeks ago."
Following Zamrin on Friday was senior Jade Sessions in 82nd (22:33.1), sophomore Christina Yakaboski in 85th (22:35.1), first-year Maddison Hayes in 94th (22:42.2) and junior Andrea Miller in 96th (22:47.4).
"I think our team did a tremendous job of pulling each other and fighting together in the middle of the race," said Utesch. "They traded places back and forth. They were all really racing together the whole way. They were essentially on top of each other, really trying to close together. They kept working."
Junior Annalise Davis and senior Kara Bonner placed 127th (23:20.5) and 137th (23:27.6), respectively, to round out the Mountain Hawk finishers.
Friday marked the end of the 2021 cross country season for the Mountain Hawks, one that saw plenty of highlights and a team that stayed together throughout, and continued to fight for each other.
"We're competitors, so we always want more," said Utesch. "It's interesting, you wonder how much the COVID year skews everything for your athletes. You're looking at two classes who had never trained and raced an entire cross country season until this year. It's interesting to think if that skews it, but I'm very proud of the way they persevered and the way they have tackled those obstacles together."
Take a look back to some 📹 from the Mountain Hawk Women at Friday's NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional! 🏃♀️ pic.twitter.com/7SgH09otEC
— Lehigh TF & XC (@LehighTFXC) November 14, 2021
Presenting today's top three women's finishers at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals, held on the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course! pic.twitter.com/o86BX3bCW7
— Lehigh TF & XC (@LehighTFXC) November 12, 2021
We caught up with women's cross country head coach Debbie Utesch following today's NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional! pic.twitter.com/DOpqgsLYrj
— Lehigh TF & XC (@LehighTFXC) November 12, 2021
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
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