Saturday, October 28
Hamilton, N.Y.
10:30 AM
Lehigh University
at
Patriot League Championship
Photo by: Don Paul
Mountain Hawks Finish In 5th At Patriot League Championships
10/28/2023 6:41:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
HAMILTON, N.Y. – Lehigh women's cross country traveled up north on Saturday to Colgate University for the Patriot League's 6k championship race. Lehigh ran 12 runners in the race and finished in fifth place overall.
Lehigh's top finisher was senior Christina Yakaboski, who crossed the finish line in 22:57.9 to claim 18th place overall in the race. The Mountain Hawks placed three other runners in the top thirty, those being senior Lindsay MacLellan (21st, 23:10.3), junior Savanah Beavers (24th, 23:19.1), and junior Maddison Hayes (27th, 23:22.0).
Other finishers in the race for the Mountain Hawks included Lucy Afansewicz (42nd, 23:44.5), Elisa Brear (49th, 24:03.1), Grace Kolbe (52nd, 24:11.4), Athiel Mading (62nd, 24:33.6), Abigail Tenreiro (65th, 24:38.7), Andrine Larsen (70th, 24:53.2), Siri Hellenbrand (78th, 25:25.4), and Aurora Wilson (84th, 25:43.5).
"I'm extremely proud of how we competed," said head coach Debbie Utesch. We've been challenged to finish with a low stick all year, which proved to be the case today. Christina went out and raced in the top 10 for the first two-thirds of the race and really set the tone for our women to take a risk."
Lehigh finished in fifth place with a score of 127 on the day. The Mountain Hawks were 76 points ahead of the sixth-place team, that being Lafayette who scored 203. Utesch saw many of her runners take chances to try and climb up the leaderboard, but ultimately Lehigh was unable to do so.
"On paper going into this championship, it looked like we were sitting fifth," said Utesch. "We could settle racing for fifth or we talk about taking a risk, go compete to mix things up and race for a higher finish. What I saw today was a group of women who came to take a chance, mix it up with teams early, and then continue to rebound and compete on a course that is very unforgiving."
The Mountain Hawks will return to action in two weeks at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. Lehigh is set to host the event at its cross-country course on Goodman Campus on November 10. Lehigh entered Saturday's race ranked 13th in the Mid-Atlantic region.
"We have been holding steady in the regional rankings all season, and the NCAA meet with give us one final chance to bump up in the rankings," said Utesch. "Cross country is a brutal sport of attrition and one of the biggest challenges is to get your squad to the starting line after a year of high demands on your body. We have an upper-class team that will be ready to cover their own Goodman Campus course one more time."
Follow Lehigh Cross Country/Track and Field on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Lehigh's top finisher was senior Christina Yakaboski, who crossed the finish line in 22:57.9 to claim 18th place overall in the race. The Mountain Hawks placed three other runners in the top thirty, those being senior Lindsay MacLellan (21st, 23:10.3), junior Savanah Beavers (24th, 23:19.1), and junior Maddison Hayes (27th, 23:22.0).
Other finishers in the race for the Mountain Hawks included Lucy Afansewicz (42nd, 23:44.5), Elisa Brear (49th, 24:03.1), Grace Kolbe (52nd, 24:11.4), Athiel Mading (62nd, 24:33.6), Abigail Tenreiro (65th, 24:38.7), Andrine Larsen (70th, 24:53.2), Siri Hellenbrand (78th, 25:25.4), and Aurora Wilson (84th, 25:43.5).
"I'm extremely proud of how we competed," said head coach Debbie Utesch. We've been challenged to finish with a low stick all year, which proved to be the case today. Christina went out and raced in the top 10 for the first two-thirds of the race and really set the tone for our women to take a risk."
Lehigh finished in fifth place with a score of 127 on the day. The Mountain Hawks were 76 points ahead of the sixth-place team, that being Lafayette who scored 203. Utesch saw many of her runners take chances to try and climb up the leaderboard, but ultimately Lehigh was unable to do so.
"On paper going into this championship, it looked like we were sitting fifth," said Utesch. "We could settle racing for fifth or we talk about taking a risk, go compete to mix things up and race for a higher finish. What I saw today was a group of women who came to take a chance, mix it up with teams early, and then continue to rebound and compete on a course that is very unforgiving."
The Mountain Hawks will return to action in two weeks at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. Lehigh is set to host the event at its cross-country course on Goodman Campus on November 10. Lehigh entered Saturday's race ranked 13th in the Mid-Atlantic region.
"We have been holding steady in the regional rankings all season, and the NCAA meet with give us one final chance to bump up in the rankings," said Utesch. "Cross country is a brutal sport of attrition and one of the biggest challenges is to get your squad to the starting line after a year of high demands on your body. We have an upper-class team that will be ready to cover their own Goodman Campus course one more time."
Follow Lehigh Cross Country/Track and Field on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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