Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh University
Lafayette Invitational
Highduch Wins Individual Title at Lafayette Invitational
9/11/2026 9:07:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
EASTON, Pa. - Junior Kaitlyn Highduch led the Mountain Hawks in their second meet of the season, winning the individual title at the Lafayette Invitational on Friday night. Â
Highduch completed the 6K course in 21:33.9 to finish first among the 32 competitors. This is her second time winning the individual title at the Lafayette course, as she finished first in last year's Lehigh vs. Lafayette dual. Â
Friday marked Highduch's first outdoor race since February after missing the 2026 outdoor track season with a stress fracture. Head coach Debbie Utesch was pleased to see the junior return to competition and deliver a strong performance in her season debut.Â
"Kaitlyn had an incredible indoor track season, and it was really disappointing to see her sidelined for outdoor season," said Utesch. "For her to be able to open up cross country season with that much poise and confidence after a long time off, it bodes well for the rest of the season and we're incredibly proud of her."Â
Senior Devon Sutton was the second Mountain Hawk to cross the finish line, placing eighth with a time of 22:36.7. Rounding out the top three for Lehigh was Brenna Dahlgren, finishing 14th overall (23:15.5). Lehigh finished third in the team standings with 59 points. Host Lafayette won the team title with 28 points, followed by Rider (47), Lehigh (59) and NJIT (105).Â
UP NEXT: Lehigh will return to the same course in two weeks for a dual meet at Lafayette on Sept. 25. The women will race at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men at 6 p.m.Â
RESULTSÂ
1) Kaitlyn Highduch, 21:33.9Â
8) Devon Sutton, 22:36.7Â
14) Brenna Dahlgren, 23:13.5Â
15) Emerson Skatell, 23:26.8Â
23) Katelyn Nolan, 24:16.6Â
