Mountain Hawks Emphasize Tradition as They Prepare to Host Lafayette
9/15/2022 12:15:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Two meets into the 2022 season, the Mountain Hawks will compete in one of their most important meets this year: the Lafayette dual meet. The Lehigh women's cross country team will be the first program to take on Lafayette this year, hosting the Leopards on Friday at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course in the Rivalry presented by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute. The women will run a 6k beginning at 5:15 p.m. as they search for their 17th consecutive victory over Lafayette.Â
"We take special pride in being the first sport to go against Lafayette in the athletic department in the year-long series," said head coach Debbie Utesch. "These athletes get to know each other. They go head-to-head in cross country, indoor and in outdoor track and field so over the course of a four-year career, they're going against these same Lafayette student-athletes 12 times.Â
"By the time they're seniors, they know these kids pretty well. I think for the first-years it's the beginning of Lafayette sightings in our sport and for the seniors they've been fortunate to win in indoor, win in outdoor and win in cross country and they want to keep that going."Â
Two weeks ago, the Mountain Hawks opened up the season by hosting the annual Lehigh Invitational. Lehigh finished second overall, with four runners finishing in the top 20. Leading the way for the Mountain Hawks was senior Maddie Zaun, who finished sixth overall (22:06.3).
Last weekend, Lehigh traveled to University Park, Pa. to compete in Penn State's Harry Groves Invitational. Junior Christina Yakaboski was a top-finisher for the Mountain Hawks, finishing 29th with a time of 22:18.4. Seniors Andrea Miller (23:05.3) and Annalise Davis (23:05.5) were the second and third finishers for Lehigh, finishing 48th and 49th, respectively.Â
Miller, along with the rest of her senior class, are taking on different roles this year as they prepare to take on Lafayette. As a leader, Miller is looking forward to seeing how her teammates perform on Friday.Â
"I'm curious and excited to see how we do as a full team since this is the first meet we are all racing together this season," said Miller. "It makes it extra special that we get to test our strength against Lafayette.Â
"As a senior, being so far undefeated against Lafayette and having a 16 year winning streak on our backs just motivates me even more to race hard and come out of the dual meet being able to say that we never lost to Lafayette."
Heading into Friday's meet against the Leopards, Utesch is expecting her seniors to step up in their final rivalry meet of their cross country careers.Â
"This is a group that struggled through COVID and missed some rivalry opportunities that they traditionally would have had so I think in this being a more traditional performance year, they want this to be the first of three victories over the course of the year between cross country, indoor and outdoor track," Utesch said. "They have big shoes to fill in the student-athletes that came before them in terms of winning.Â
"We've been fortunate to be on the W side of a 16-year win streak but that by no means means we're going to underestimate Lafayette," continued Utesch. "We know they have good front runners. We know they have good first-year runners but so do we. We're going to be ready for whatever they line up on the starting line and our goal is to continue the streak."Â
While Lehigh's seniors have a familiarity of the rivalry and tradition that is associated with competing against Lafayette, Utesch has made it a point to educate the first-years on not only the importance of the rivalry but also the importance of keeping the Bryan Mundy Memorial Trophy in Bethlehem. Â
The Bryan Mundy Memorial Trophy, which is presented to the winning teams following the meet, was named after the Lehigh track and field alumnus, who tragically passed away in 2001. The trophy is used for the cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field dual meets.Â
"Our goal is to keep the trophy at home, at Lehigh which is where we think it belongs," said Utesch. "For the first-years, it's a chance for them to really see what the tradition means but the upperclass student-athletes are really going to have to set the tone with the importance of this dual meet.Â
"I think often because it's a dual meet it can be overlooked in importance. It's not one of the super mega invitationals with 40 teams on the starting line. It's just a head-to-head all grit competition. You have to remain competitive and tough for your whole 6,000 meters because it's really a head-to-head competition. You can't hide in the numbers of the mega meet."Â
Although the dual meet format is different from the typical format the Mountain Hawks are used to, Lehigh will have a slight advantage over Lafayette by hosting the meet at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course this Friday.Â
"They've been able to get on the course and do some work and have some strategic points that they're going to work through during the race," Utesch continued. "It's nice to be at home and have that familiarity. They know the type of race that they need to run on their home course to be able to challenge Lafayette for the win."Â
While the Lehigh women's cross country team will be the first team within the athletic department to face Lafayette this year, it will not be the last time the Mountain Hawks face the Leopards in the 2022-23 school year. Lehigh will see Lafayette at at least two more cross country meets this season before the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons begin.Â
"The other piece is every time they do go head-to-head with Lafayette across the three sports, they are three different sports," said Utesch. "It might be the same athletes but the role changes a little bit. Competing in a cross country race is a little different than competing in an indoor event and then they can turn around and compete in a completely different outdoor event. They can have a cross country runner, an indoor miler and an outdoor steeplechaser and it all be the same person."Â
While the Mountain Hawks may change events and roles throughout the 2022-23 school year, their goal at the end of each dual meet remains the same: beat Lafayette.Â
"We take special pride in being the first sport to go against Lafayette in the athletic department in the year-long series," said head coach Debbie Utesch. "These athletes get to know each other. They go head-to-head in cross country, indoor and in outdoor track and field so over the course of a four-year career, they're going against these same Lafayette student-athletes 12 times.Â
"By the time they're seniors, they know these kids pretty well. I think for the first-years it's the beginning of Lafayette sightings in our sport and for the seniors they've been fortunate to win in indoor, win in outdoor and win in cross country and they want to keep that going."Â
Two weeks ago, the Mountain Hawks opened up the season by hosting the annual Lehigh Invitational. Lehigh finished second overall, with four runners finishing in the top 20. Leading the way for the Mountain Hawks was senior Maddie Zaun, who finished sixth overall (22:06.3).
Last weekend, Lehigh traveled to University Park, Pa. to compete in Penn State's Harry Groves Invitational. Junior Christina Yakaboski was a top-finisher for the Mountain Hawks, finishing 29th with a time of 22:18.4. Seniors Andrea Miller (23:05.3) and Annalise Davis (23:05.5) were the second and third finishers for Lehigh, finishing 48th and 49th, respectively.Â
Miller, along with the rest of her senior class, are taking on different roles this year as they prepare to take on Lafayette. As a leader, Miller is looking forward to seeing how her teammates perform on Friday.Â
"I'm curious and excited to see how we do as a full team since this is the first meet we are all racing together this season," said Miller. "It makes it extra special that we get to test our strength against Lafayette.Â
"As a senior, being so far undefeated against Lafayette and having a 16 year winning streak on our backs just motivates me even more to race hard and come out of the dual meet being able to say that we never lost to Lafayette."
Heading into Friday's meet against the Leopards, Utesch is expecting her seniors to step up in their final rivalry meet of their cross country careers.Â
"This is a group that struggled through COVID and missed some rivalry opportunities that they traditionally would have had so I think in this being a more traditional performance year, they want this to be the first of three victories over the course of the year between cross country, indoor and outdoor track," Utesch said. "They have big shoes to fill in the student-athletes that came before them in terms of winning.Â
"We've been fortunate to be on the W side of a 16-year win streak but that by no means means we're going to underestimate Lafayette," continued Utesch. "We know they have good front runners. We know they have good first-year runners but so do we. We're going to be ready for whatever they line up on the starting line and our goal is to continue the streak."Â
While Lehigh's seniors have a familiarity of the rivalry and tradition that is associated with competing against Lafayette, Utesch has made it a point to educate the first-years on not only the importance of the rivalry but also the importance of keeping the Bryan Mundy Memorial Trophy in Bethlehem. Â
The Bryan Mundy Memorial Trophy, which is presented to the winning teams following the meet, was named after the Lehigh track and field alumnus, who tragically passed away in 2001. The trophy is used for the cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field dual meets.Â
"Our goal is to keep the trophy at home, at Lehigh which is where we think it belongs," said Utesch. "For the first-years, it's a chance for them to really see what the tradition means but the upperclass student-athletes are really going to have to set the tone with the importance of this dual meet.Â
"I think often because it's a dual meet it can be overlooked in importance. It's not one of the super mega invitationals with 40 teams on the starting line. It's just a head-to-head all grit competition. You have to remain competitive and tough for your whole 6,000 meters because it's really a head-to-head competition. You can't hide in the numbers of the mega meet."Â
Hear from our women's cross country team on what makes our rivalry so special 🎥
— Lehigh TF & XC (@LehighTFXC) September 15, 2022
Tomorrow, the Mountain Hawks will host Lafayette in the Rivalry presented by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute, part of @LVHN. pic.twitter.com/kYRQ59eaJS
Although the dual meet format is different from the typical format the Mountain Hawks are used to, Lehigh will have a slight advantage over Lafayette by hosting the meet at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course this Friday.Â
"They've been able to get on the course and do some work and have some strategic points that they're going to work through during the race," Utesch continued. "It's nice to be at home and have that familiarity. They know the type of race that they need to run on their home course to be able to challenge Lafayette for the win."Â
While the Lehigh women's cross country team will be the first team within the athletic department to face Lafayette this year, it will not be the last time the Mountain Hawks face the Leopards in the 2022-23 school year. Lehigh will see Lafayette at at least two more cross country meets this season before the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons begin.Â
"The other piece is every time they do go head-to-head with Lafayette across the three sports, they are three different sports," said Utesch. "It might be the same athletes but the role changes a little bit. Competing in a cross country race is a little different than competing in an indoor event and then they can turn around and compete in a completely different outdoor event. They can have a cross country runner, an indoor miler and an outdoor steeplechaser and it all be the same person."Â
While the Mountain Hawks may change events and roles throughout the 2022-23 school year, their goal at the end of each dual meet remains the same: beat Lafayette.Â
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/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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