Mountain Hawks Conclude Bison Outdoor Classic With Solid Performances

Thursday, April 14

Lewisburg, Pa.

10:00 AM

Lehigh University

Bison Outdoor Classic

Mountain Hawks Conclude Bison Outdoor Classic With Solid Performances

4/16/2022 9:13:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Lehigh women's track and field team finished the three-day Bison Outdoor Classic with solid performances, tallying 21 PRs and an impressive first-place finish from senior Jamie Zamrin. Zamrin won the 3000m with a new PR of 10:01.73 to become fifth all-time in Lehigh history.

"She ran totally alone and I think the reality is she was probably a little disappointed in the time but you can't really argue with the win so you take it out the way she took it out and run it as fast as she did and you end up where you end up and that's what happens," said head coach Matt Utesch.

The Mountain Hawks faced tough competition in Lewisburg, competing against Bucknell, Cornell, Maryland, Penn State and several other schools. The women's track and field team continued to show improvement as they prepare for the upcoming Patriot League Outdoor Championships on May 6-7.

On the track, Lehigh's distance group continued to put up impressive times. In the 1500m, four Mountain Hawks finished with new personal bests on Friday. Leading the way was senior Hetty McMillan who finished with a time of 4:31.52 to better her spot as fifth all-time. Fellow senior Julia Dorley and sophomore Christina Yakaboski also earned PRs in the 1500m, finishing with respective times of 4:35.73 and 4:36.36. Junior Annalise Davis was the fourth member to earn a new personal record, finishing with a time of 4:44.63.

In the 5000m, all three members of the Lehigh women's track and field team who competed earned a new personal record. First-year Savanah Beavers led the way with a time of 17:33.75. Sophomores Andrine Larsen and Abigail Tenreiro both finished with respective PRs of 18:15.39 and 18:27.39.

"To see a bunch of different women winning their heats in different events and today I think it was Christina and Elena who went one and two in their heats, they didn't win the events like Jamie did but that's racing," said assistant coach Deb Utesch. "Final time or not because they're all in this mode because they're chasing marks but I like to see them racing and I saw the kids race with some grit and that was good."

On Saturday, Lehigh continued to finish with solid times on the track. McMillan finished fourth overall in the 800m with a time of 2:14.29 while Yakaboski earned her second personal best of the weekend, finishing with a time of 2:16.45. Junior Elena Perez-Segnini was the second Mountain Hawk to finish the 800m with PR. Perez-Segnini finished with a time of 2:16.71.

Junior Ashley Griesmeyer finished Saturday with two new personal records for Lehigh. Griesmeyer finished the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.87 and the 100m with a time of 13.09. Junior Elke Knecht competed alongside Griesmeyer in the 100m hurdles, finishing with a PR of 14.89. First-year Melissa Cunningham also joined Griesmeyer in the 100m, finishing ninth overall with a time of 12.30.

"We had some kids who are normally the kids we talk about week in and week out and they might not of run a personal record and it's such a pleasure as a coach to have to say to those kinds of kids, 'Look at where we are. We're in the middle of the season and we're not running as fast as we can and you're upset because you didn't PR, I love you have that desire but let's wait until that time of the season where girls like Hetty McMillan are going to drop another two seconds on their overall 800m,'" said Matt Utesch. "It's a pleasure to be coaching kids who have such high expectations of what they're doing."

First-year Melissa Cunningham went on to finish the 200m with a new personal record. She finished seventh overall with a time of 25.29 to become fourth all-time. Sophomore Ashley Struck ran alongside Cunningham in the 200m and also finished with a personal record of her own. Struck finished with a time of 25.64 on Saturday.

Lehigh's relay team continued to have success on the track. Graduate student Kaja Skerlj and sophomore Jordyn Hock ran alongside Cunningham and Struck in the 4x400 relay on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks finished second overall with a time of 3:53.66.

"They hung around for about eight to ten hours, through the rain and through the chill," Deb Utesch said. "They crushed their season best in not great conditions. I thought it was a really good performance for them at the end of a really long day."

Senior Carly Carpino returned to the heptathlon where she finished eighth overall with a new personal record of 4143. First-year Chelsi Chevannes joined Carpino in the heptathlon, earning PRs in the 100m hurdles (16.07), high jump (1.55m) and javelin (24.60m).

"As she was going through it, Carly had a difficult multi and she sort of looked back and said 'Oh wow look how good I did,'" said Matt Utesch. "She had what we now coined as a 'senior PR' where you're a first-year you PR in five of seven events, you're so excited about those PRs. Carly didn't PR in any single, individual event and yet she had a PR overall which really just shows how consistent she is becoming in all of her events."

The Mountain Hawks continued to put up solid marks in the field events on Saturday in Lewisburg. In the pole vault, first-year duo Randi Conroy and Casey Talamini-Kelemen both finished with personal records in the pole vault. Conroy tied her PR of 3.70m in her eighth place finish while Talamini-Kelemen finished with a PR of 3.55m. Talamini-Kelemen went on to finish eighth in the triple jump as well with a mark of 11.46m.

"I think any time a first-year performs the way Randi's performing it is so encouraging to a coach because you think 'Okay we did the right thing recruiting here. This kid is on track,'" Matt Utesch said. "I think she's doing a great job and she has a lot more in her."

In the high jump, junior Calista Marzolino and sophomore Kerry Perna both finished with strong marks. Marzolino finished sixth with a mark of 1.61m while Perna finished tied for seventh with a mark of 1.56m.

Lehigh will return to Bethlehem to prepare for another two-meet weekend next weekend. While some members of the team will compete at Moravian's Coach P Invitational others will head to Charlottesville, Va. to compete at the Virginia Challenge. Both meets will be held on Friday April 22 and Saturday April 23.