Saturday, October 28
Hamilton, N.Y.
11:30 AM
Lehigh University
at
Patriot League Championship
Photo by: Olivia Hokanson
Smigo Earns Rookie Of The Year, Lehigh Places 5th At Patriot League Championships
10/28/2023 3:05:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Patriot League's best gathered on Saturday morning in Hamilton, N.Y. for the league's 8k championship run. Lehigh ran 12 runners in the race and finished in fifth place as a team. In addition, the Mountain Hawks placed three runners in the top 20, including two who earned All-Patriot League selections.
Lehigh's top finisher was first-year Thomas Smigo, who finished sixth overall with a time of 25:04.2. Smigo's top-seven finish earned him a spot on the All-Patriot League first team, making him the first Lehigh runner to do so since 2014.
In addition, Smigo was the event's top first-year runner, making him the 2023 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. Smigo is the first-ever Lehigh runner to win Rookie of the Year, with the award having been created back in 2004.
"What a day and what a season for Thomas," said head coach Todd Etters. "We are all very proud of what he was able to accomplish, but none of us were surprised. He was an elite performer in high school at the biggest meets and he has continued that at Lehigh. The conference is loaded with talent and he deserves a lot of credit for earning first-team recognition. The Rookie of the Year was just a bonus."
Junior Aidan Lynch was Lehigh's second finisher, placing 14th with a time of 25:22.1. Lynch's 14th place finish earned him a spot on the second team, which matches Tyler French's 14th place showing and second team selection at the Patriot League Championships a year ago. Junior Kevin Harvey finished in third for the Mountain Hawks, clocking in at 25:27.4 to finish in 17th.
"I want to congratulate Aidan on earning All-League and Kevin for putting together a strong race," said Etters. "We count on those two for a lot and I know that they aren't satisfied with our team finishing fifth. We will need them to keep propelling our program forward."
Other finishers for Lehigh included Noah Zahn (51st, 26:39.1), Dan Malatesta (61st, 26:53.7), Alex Heidemann (70th, 27:08.4), Max Leffler (88th, 27:54.8), Thomas Arnold (91st, 27:59.2), Connor Malinger (92nd, 28:00.1), and Henry Burd (109th, 37:27.8).
The team placed fifth overall in the conference, posting 129 points on the day. The team improved upon their finish from last year's Patriot League Championship, where they posted a sixth-place finish with 145 points.
"Overall, we knew we were going to be in a dogfight with American and Bucknell. It looks like it was tight between both teams throughout the race and as cross country meets typically do, it came down to just a few points," said Etters. "Our top three ran really strong races and I am sure every guy on the team is looking at results and feeling like they could have moved up a few places. It's always easy to think that post race and I want today to be a catalyst for our team moving forward. We need more consistency in all that we do and we have a younger team that needs to be looking to challenge the top of the league going forward."
The Mountain Hawks will have two weeks of rest before returning to action at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. Lehigh will be hosting the race this year at its Goodman Campus cross country course on November 10.
"I am looking forward to the Mid-Atlantic Regional in two weeks," said Etters. "We have momentum building and three points behind Bucknell leaves a bad taste in our mouths. We will recover from today and we will need to bring a more complete team effort over a 10k distance."
Follow Lehigh men's cross country on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Lehigh's top finisher was first-year Thomas Smigo, who finished sixth overall with a time of 25:04.2. Smigo's top-seven finish earned him a spot on the All-Patriot League first team, making him the first Lehigh runner to do so since 2014.
In addition, Smigo was the event's top first-year runner, making him the 2023 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. Smigo is the first-ever Lehigh runner to win Rookie of the Year, with the award having been created back in 2004.
"What a day and what a season for Thomas," said head coach Todd Etters. "We are all very proud of what he was able to accomplish, but none of us were surprised. He was an elite performer in high school at the biggest meets and he has continued that at Lehigh. The conference is loaded with talent and he deserves a lot of credit for earning first-team recognition. The Rookie of the Year was just a bonus."
Junior Aidan Lynch was Lehigh's second finisher, placing 14th with a time of 25:22.1. Lynch's 14th place finish earned him a spot on the second team, which matches Tyler French's 14th place showing and second team selection at the Patriot League Championships a year ago. Junior Kevin Harvey finished in third for the Mountain Hawks, clocking in at 25:27.4 to finish in 17th.
"I want to congratulate Aidan on earning All-League and Kevin for putting together a strong race," said Etters. "We count on those two for a lot and I know that they aren't satisfied with our team finishing fifth. We will need them to keep propelling our program forward."
Other finishers for Lehigh included Noah Zahn (51st, 26:39.1), Dan Malatesta (61st, 26:53.7), Alex Heidemann (70th, 27:08.4), Max Leffler (88th, 27:54.8), Thomas Arnold (91st, 27:59.2), Connor Malinger (92nd, 28:00.1), and Henry Burd (109th, 37:27.8).
The team placed fifth overall in the conference, posting 129 points on the day. The team improved upon their finish from last year's Patriot League Championship, where they posted a sixth-place finish with 145 points.
"Overall, we knew we were going to be in a dogfight with American and Bucknell. It looks like it was tight between both teams throughout the race and as cross country meets typically do, it came down to just a few points," said Etters. "Our top three ran really strong races and I am sure every guy on the team is looking at results and feeling like they could have moved up a few places. It's always easy to think that post race and I want today to be a catalyst for our team moving forward. We need more consistency in all that we do and we have a younger team that needs to be looking to challenge the top of the league going forward."
The Mountain Hawks will have two weeks of rest before returning to action at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. Lehigh will be hosting the race this year at its Goodman Campus cross country course on November 10.
"I am looking forward to the Mid-Atlantic Regional in two weeks," said Etters. "We have momentum building and three points behind Bucknell leaves a bad taste in our mouths. We will recover from today and we will need to bring a more complete team effort over a 10k distance."
Follow Lehigh men's cross country on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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