Lehigh Dominates Lafayette 113-68

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh's women's track and field team returned to Rauch Fieldhouse on Saturday for their final home meet of the indoor season against Lafayette in the Rivalry presented by Lehigh Valley Health Network and Coordinated Health. The Mountain Hawks dominated the Leopards 113-68.

The women won 14 of the 17 events, finishing with 22 PRs and their 13th straight victory on Saturday.

"I have no complaints," said head coach Matt Utesch. "We asked the kids to go to the well and they did and even as late as last night, we substituted some kids into events because of illness or injury and the kids did not miss a beat. That's the greatest part about being a track coach or being in athletics, the kids under awesome circumstances always end up putting on a great show."

On the track, the distance group asserted their dominance quickly for Lehigh. Seniors Jade Sessions (2:14.44) and Kara Bonner (2:16.29) and first-year Lauryn Heskin (2:20.97) all earned PRs in the 800m, placing first, second and third, respectively. The Mountain Hawks competing in the 1000m followed suit, all earning PRs while sweeping the event. Senior Julia Dorley finished first with a time of 2:56.89 and juniors Elena Perez-Segnini (2:59.07) and Andrea Miller (3:00.68) finished second and third, respectively.

Graduate student Kaja Skerlj finished the 500m with a new PR. Skerlj finished with a time of 1:18.17, four seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Senior Jamie Zamrin added a first-place finish in the 3000m while earning a new PR of 10:10.57. In the mile, senior Hetty McMillan earned a huge PR of 5:05.38 with her second place finish.

"Autumn Sands from Lafayette brought out the best in Hetty McMillan today and the rest of our team used Hetty's race to set the tone," said Utesch. "There was no give up in Hetty today. She raced that race really well, really smart. She had 40 more meters to hold on and it just didn't happen for her but that's exactly the kind of effort that we saw time and time again. Because she started us off that way, everybody fed off of that and I'm really pleased with her race and the leadership she's provided, not just today and this year but all through COVID."

For the sprints, first-year Melissa Cunningham continued to dominate, grabbing first-place finishes in both the 60m (7.75) and the 200m (25.94). Lehigh swept the 400m with sophomore Jordyn Hock (1:00.20) finishing first and seniors Camari Griffin (1:02.21) and Carly Carpino (1:04.65) finishing second and third, respectively.

First-year Shelby Dejana finished her first Lehigh-Lafayette dual meet with an impressive performance. Dejana finished first in the 60m hurdles with a new PR of 9.05 and is now ninth all-time. Senior Chae Kim and junior Ashley Griesmeyer followed suit, finishing second and third respectively.

"Shelby surprised herself today," said Utesch. "I think the best thing about it is, it's a huge confidence builder for her. You're only going to see her continue to improve. I guess what I should do is thank Lafayette because they brought out the best in our kids today, including Shelby."

First-years dominated the jumps events on Saturday for the Mountain Hawks. Leading the way was Casey Talamini-Kelemen who finished with a huge PR in the triple jump (11.69m). Talamini-Kelemen finished first in the triple jump and second in the pole vault (3.34m).

"Casey just started pole vaulting last year or maybe a year and a half and she's just really strong for as small as she is and she understands where her body is and what it's doing and that's what makes her a great triple jumper and pole vaulter," said Utesch.

First-year Keisha Modi brought the energy to Rauch on Saturday. Modi finished first in the long jump with a new PR of 5.60m.

"First of all Keisha beep bops around the track all the time and brings a lot of joy and happiness all the time," Utesch said. "But today, she put all that away and brought some heat and brought some great jumps early on. I don't think we've seen the best of her yet either, she's got quite a bit left in the tank and she's delivering like we thought she would."

Brooke Acoveno is another first-year who contributed for Lehigh on Saturday. Acoveno finished tied for second in the high jump with a new PR of 1.60m. She tied with sophomore Kerry Perna (1.60m). Junior Calista Marzolino finished first for the Mountain Hawks in the high jump with a mark of 1.65m.

Lehigh will head to New York on Feb. 4-5 to compete at the Dr. Sanders Invitational at the Armory.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brooke Acoveno

Kara Bonner

Carly Carpino

Melissa Cunningham

Shelby Dejana

Julia Dorley

Ashley Griesmeyer

Camari Griffin

Lauryn Heskin

Jordyn Hock

Chae Kim

Calista Marzolino

Hetty McMillan

Andrea Miller

Keisha Modi

Elena Perez-Segnini

Kerry Perna

Jade Sessions

Kaja Skerlj

Casey Talamini-Kelemen

Jamie Zamrin

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