Women's Track and Field Opens Outdoor Season in Philadelphia
3/18/2022 1:40:00 PM | Women's Track and Field
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh women's track and field team will hit the road to begin its outdoor season on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks will head to Philadelphia to compete in the Penn Challenge, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.Â
The Mountain Hawks have a busy outdoor season ahead of them, with 12 meets on the schedule. Following the Penn Challenge on Saturday, Lehigh will be on the road for three consecutive meets, including the Lafayette Dual in Easton on April 2. The women's team will return home on April 9 to host the Lehigh Invitational at the Goodman Track and Field Complex.Â
The last three weeks of April, Lehigh will be competing in two meets each weekend. The Mountain Hawks will head to the Bison Outdoor Classic and Greyhound Invitational on April 15. The following week, Lehigh will head to the Coach P Invitational and Virginia Challenge before preparing for the Penn Relays and Carol & John Covert Classic a week later.Â
The Mountain Hawks will travel to Annapolis, Md. in May for the Patriot League Championships on May 6-7.Â
During the 2021 outdoor season, Lehigh finished fifth at the Patriot League Championships, earning a spot on the podium in four events. Graduate student Kaja Skerlj is returning for her final outdoor season as a Mountain Hawk. Skerlj finished second in the 400m hurdles at last year's outdoor championships.Â
The women's 4x800 also finished second at the 2021 Patriot League Championships. Seniors Jade Sessions and Hetty McMillan are two student-athletes from that relay team returning to compete for Lehigh this outdoor season. Sophomore Kerry Perna was the third member of the Lehigh women's track and field team to earn a spot on the podium at last year's championships. Perna finished third in the high jump with a mark of 1.66m.Â
Lehigh finished the 2021-22 indoor season with some stellar performances as well. At the indoor Patriot League Championships in Lewisburg, Pa., the Mountain Hawks made it to the podium in five different events.Â
Leading the way for Lehigh was the 4x800 relay team who earned Lehigh's first first-place finish at the two-day meet. Seniors McMillan, Sessions, Julie Dorley and Kara Bonner made up the relay team which set a new facility record at Gerhard Fieldhouse at Bucknell.
The distance medley relay team earned a place on the podium at the indoor championships in February. Skerlj, McMillan, Christian Yakaboski and Amanda Mircovich were members of the second-place relay team.Â
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First-years Melissa Cunningham and Casey Talamini-Kelemen showed no signs of nerves at their first indoor Championship. Cunningham earned a third-place finish in the 60m while breaking her own school record. Talamini-Kelemen also earned a spot on the podium, finishing third in the triple jump. Junior Calista Marzolino also found success in the field at Bucknell in February. Marzolino placed third in the high jump with a mark of 1.70m.Â
The Mountain Hawks will look to continue to build on their momentum from the indoor season as they begin their outdoor season on Saturday.Â
Throws will kick off the Penn Challenge, beginning with women's javelin at 11 a.m. Women's long jump will begin at 1 p.m. with other jumps events beginning shortly after. On the track, the 2000m steeplechase will start at 1:30 p.m.Â
The schedule for the Penn Challenge can be found here and live results can be found here. Check back to lehighsports.com for a full recap on Saturday.Â
Follow Lehigh Cross Country/Track and Field on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
The Mountain Hawks have a busy outdoor season ahead of them, with 12 meets on the schedule. Following the Penn Challenge on Saturday, Lehigh will be on the road for three consecutive meets, including the Lafayette Dual in Easton on April 2. The women's team will return home on April 9 to host the Lehigh Invitational at the Goodman Track and Field Complex.Â
The last three weeks of April, Lehigh will be competing in two meets each weekend. The Mountain Hawks will head to the Bison Outdoor Classic and Greyhound Invitational on April 15. The following week, Lehigh will head to the Coach P Invitational and Virginia Challenge before preparing for the Penn Relays and Carol & John Covert Classic a week later.Â
The Mountain Hawks will travel to Annapolis, Md. in May for the Patriot League Championships on May 6-7.Â
During the 2021 outdoor season, Lehigh finished fifth at the Patriot League Championships, earning a spot on the podium in four events. Graduate student Kaja Skerlj is returning for her final outdoor season as a Mountain Hawk. Skerlj finished second in the 400m hurdles at last year's outdoor championships.Â
The women's 4x800 also finished second at the 2021 Patriot League Championships. Seniors Jade Sessions and Hetty McMillan are two student-athletes from that relay team returning to compete for Lehigh this outdoor season. Sophomore Kerry Perna was the third member of the Lehigh women's track and field team to earn a spot on the podium at last year's championships. Perna finished third in the high jump with a mark of 1.66m.Â
Lehigh finished the 2021-22 indoor season with some stellar performances as well. At the indoor Patriot League Championships in Lewisburg, Pa., the Mountain Hawks made it to the podium in five different events.Â
Leading the way for Lehigh was the 4x800 relay team who earned Lehigh's first first-place finish at the two-day meet. Seniors McMillan, Sessions, Julie Dorley and Kara Bonner made up the relay team which set a new facility record at Gerhard Fieldhouse at Bucknell.
The distance medley relay team earned a place on the podium at the indoor championships in February. Skerlj, McMillan, Christian Yakaboski and Amanda Mircovich were members of the second-place relay team.Â
Â
First-years Melissa Cunningham and Casey Talamini-Kelemen showed no signs of nerves at their first indoor Championship. Cunningham earned a third-place finish in the 60m while breaking her own school record. Talamini-Kelemen also earned a spot on the podium, finishing third in the triple jump. Junior Calista Marzolino also found success in the field at Bucknell in February. Marzolino placed third in the high jump with a mark of 1.70m.Â
The Mountain Hawks will look to continue to build on their momentum from the indoor season as they begin their outdoor season on Saturday.Â
Throws will kick off the Penn Challenge, beginning with women's javelin at 11 a.m. Women's long jump will begin at 1 p.m. with other jumps events beginning shortly after. On the track, the 2000m steeplechase will start at 1:30 p.m.Â
The schedule for the Penn Challenge can be found here and live results can be found here. Check back to lehighsports.com for a full recap on Saturday.Â
Follow Lehigh Cross Country/Track and Field on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
High Jump
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprint/Middle Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprint/Middle Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
High Jump
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Hurdles/Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Long Jump/Triple Jump
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