The Brown & White

The men's and women's track and field teams fell to the Lafayette College Leopards in their annual dual meet Saturday at Moravian College in Bethlehem.

The battle for the men's title came down to the final few events for the second consecutive year, while the women were defeated by a score of 116-87 on the day. The men's final score was 105-98.

Junior Scott Robinson was awarded MVP of the meet after taking first place in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.79 seconds, as well as the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 53.99 seconds.

Robinson also placed second in the men's high jump clearing a personal best 6 feet 4 inches. Robinson's 110 meter hurdles time was also a personal record and good enough to qualify him for the IC4A Championships in May.

Robinson said the intensity and importance of this meet especially unites the team.

"This meet is probably the best example of track and field as a team sport because we all realize that on this day how you do is going to affect how everyone else does," Robinson said.

This is the first year that an MVP award was given out at this meet. On the women's side, Lafayette freshman sprinter Asia Hollis was named MVP, with victories in both the 200 and 400 meter dashes.

Robinson said there was added pressure Saturday because of injuries and lack of depth on the team.

"We have a lot of winners on our team but not much depth so it's up to the younger guys and the guys that are usually second and third to step up," Robinson said. "Overall, Lafayette is strong in places that we're not. The advantage goes to them because they cover all the bases more easily, but it was definitely a good meet."

Freshman Dan McClimon said the Lafayette dual meet is different mentally for the athletes.

"Everyone was really fired up and showing the spirit of our team," he said. "Our goals weren't really about getting certain times but just going out there and beating every Lafayette kid you could."

The Leopards swept the 4x100 meter relays, with a men's time of 41.87 and a women's time of 48.01.

Junior Jennifer Filiberto finished second in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 11:40.65 behind Lafayette sophomore Kerry Taylor who, coming in at 11:27.96, earned the third-fastest time in school history.

In the men's steeplechase, sophomore Matt Sheridan finished at 9:28.33, but it was only good enough for second place as he was edged out by Lafayette freshman Ryan Stasioski's lean at the line at 9:28.06.

Junior Shannon Alejandro won the women's 1500 meters with a time of 4:42.13 over Lafayette freshman Margaret Bruno-Metzger, avenging a loss to Bruno-Metzger in the indoor women's mile in February.

The Hawks came out on top in both the men's and women's 800 meters, with senior Kyle Manning winning at 1:53.4, and junior Sarah Serwo winning at 2:14.6.

Robinson and sophomore Evan Green had a one-two finish for Lehigh in the men's 400 meter hurdles, finishing in 53.99 and 54.89, respectively.

Lehigh swept the 5000 meter races as freshmen Alexis Weiner, who ran 18:15, and Dan McClimon, who ran 14:49, took the titles. Junior Katie McClernand came in behind Weiner with a personal record time of 18:31. McClimon pulled away from Lafayette senior Alex Wechsler, who won the 1500 meters earlier in the day, for the victory.

McClimon said he was able to beat Wechsler because he executed Lehigh's game plan for the race.

"Alex is a very solid runner, and I really wanted to beat him because of what I know historically as well as what I have seen myself," McClimon said. "He sat on me the whole last mile, and I was just trying to surge every turn and hoped he wouldn't be able to catch me on my kick. I was happy with how it turned out."

Junior Theresa Fromm earned a second-place finish in the women's 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:07.33, coming in behind Lafayette freshman Janica Austin who finished in 1:04.81.

The Lehigh women's 4x400 meter relay, consisting of juniors Sarah Serwo and Jen Therkorn and sophomores Jillian Randolph and Caroline Schwarzkopf, took a victory in 4:01.88, ending the women's events on a high note.

Freshman sprinter Latasha Watson finished second for the Hawks in both the 200 and 400 meter dashes, with times of 26.72 and 59.72, respectively.

The Hawks dominated the pole vault event as sophomore Khalil Uqdah and junior Domenic Aversa went one-two for the men's team, vaulting 14 and 15 feet, respectively. Senior captain Emily Roth won for the women with 11 feet, and sophomore Ashlee Atwell came in second at 10 feet 6 inches.

Sophomore Franklin Johnson won the men's triple jump with a jump of 14.14 meters, and placed second in the long jump with a jump of 6.97 meters.

Sophomore Nick Ray won the men's shot put with a throw of 15.75 meters, edging out Lafayette sophomore Connor McGee who threw for 15.74 meters.

Freshman James Pachucki won the men's javelin with a throw of 59.74 meters, while senior Mark Mattei won the hammer throw with a throw of 48.29 meters.

McClimon said he thinks the Hawks are better than Saturday's score reflects.

"With three of our four captains out hurt, we were still able to make it a close meet," McClimon said. "People improved where needed, and that's where the strength in our team lies."

The track and field team will travel to Bucknell University Friday for the Bucknell Distance and Multi Classic.