BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's track and field team has high expectations entering the 2021-22 season with a combination of hardworking returning athletes and impressive first-year additions. The Mountain Hawks will return to Rauch Fieldhouse on Dec. 3-4 for their season opener, Fast Times Before Finals. 
 
The men's team returns many of the key pieces that led to their first place finish at last year's Patriot League Indoor Challenge, which took the place of the annual Patriot League Championship, and their fourth place finish at the outdoor Patriot League Championships. 
 
"For the indoor season we're looking to have Patriot League champions and people on the podium," said head coach Matt Utesch. "We want Patriot League scorers. We take 32 men to the Patriot League Championships and we're looking for each athlete to score." 
 
The first chance to catch the Mountain Hawks in action will be late Friday afternoon in the Fast Times Before Finals (PDF) at Rauch Fieldhouse. The unscored meet is set to begin at 5 p.m. and will feature DeSales, Kutztown, Moravian, Muhlehberg, Temple, Stevens Institute of Technology and West Chester. 
 
"It's been a long time since we competed like this. We're looking to jump right into it and compete," Utesch said. 
 
Multis
Senior Matthew Fisher and junior John Siani return for Lehigh as the leaders of the multis group. Fisher, who did not compete in the 2021 season, finished tenth in the heptathlon at the 2019 Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge. Siani finished ninth overall in the decathlon at the 2021 outdoor Patriot League Championship. 
 
First-year athletes Gideon Coprivnicar and Jack Murphy are joining the Lehigh multis group this year. Utesch has very high expectations for this group this season.  
 
"It's a young group all the way around," said Utesch. "The multi isn't always a high school event and in a lot of ways this is their first go around. I'm hoping for big things because this is a solid group we have this year."

Pole Vault
The Mountain Hawks have three experienced athletes returning to the pole vault group. Junior Louis Logsdail is returning after having a solid 2021 season for Lehigh. He placed second at the Patriot League Indoor Challenge and added a fourth place finish at the Lafayette Open. Adam Stavash will be making his debut for the Mountain Hawks after not competing in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. 
 
Conor Reilly, a sophomore, is looking to have an explosive third year for the Mountain Hawks. He won the pole vault in both the Lehigh Triangular Meet as well as the Patriot League Indoor Challenge and also finished third overall at the outdoor ECAC/IC4A Championships as a freshman. 
 
Jumps
In the jumps group, Lehigh returns several athletes who will continue to contribute to the team's success. The Mountain Hawks have junior Ian Scott returning in the long jump, triple jump, and high jump. He finished sixth overall in the high jump and eighth in the triple jump at the ECAC/IC4A Championships while setting a PR of 14.33m. 
 
"Ian Scott is the most interesting athlete returning coming off of his IC4A performances. He's the guy to watch, he's a leader for us," said Utesch. 
 
The Mountain Hawks are adding three first-year athletes to the jumps group this year. Mulenga Malama, Jordan Layos, and Jalen Blango are set to compete in the long jump and triple jump this season. 
 
In the high jump, Lehigh has several experienced athletes returning including Brittann Pierce who finished third at the Patriot League Indoor Challenge and seventh at the outdoor Patriot League Championships. Christian O'Neal, who did not compete in the 2021 indoor season, and Vincent Polignano are both looking to have an impressive indoor season this year. They finished fifth and ninth, respectively, at the indoor Patriot League Championships in 2020. 
 
"Christian O'Neal is back. It's great to see him back and I'm interested to see what he does," said Utesch. "With everyone, we're looking at them with fresh eyes due to them training for a full year. We're hoping it will be really good."
 
Throws
Junior Quinn Conlan returns after a strong finish to the 2021 indoor season. He set a new personal record in the weight throw (13.54m) at the Patriot League Indoor Challenge where he finished third. After an impressive first year, Achilles Mouzakis returns. The sophomore placed fifth overall in the weight throw at the Patriot League Indoor Challenge. 
 
Junior Stephen Grant is also back for the Mountain Hawks this season. He finished sixth at the Lehigh-Lafayette Dual Meet in 2020. Lehigh welcomes seven first-year throwers, including Sam Maloof and Liam Lovering, who are expected to have impressive indoor seasons in their first years at Lehigh.
 
Hurdles/Sprint/Mid-Distance/Distance
In the sprint/mid-distance group, the Mountain Hawks have several athletes returning who will continue to be a major component in the team's success. Leading the sprints and hurdles group is senior Michael Nardelli, who took bronze in the 60mH at the 2020 indoor Patriot League Championships.
 
"Mike is a great leader. We've had some great meetings over the past year about how he leads. He's an excellent lead by example guy and he's becoming a vocal leader," said Utesch. "He's very dependable when it comes to competing. He's chomping at the bit ready to compete.
 
Junior Zach DeLone returns after missing the entire 2020-21 season due to injury. He broke the school record in the 200m at the UAlbany Winter Classic in 2020 (21.69) and finished second overall in the 200m at the Patriot League Championships. 
 
The Mountain Hawks return three members of the winning 4x400m relay from the 2021 Patriot League Indoor Challenge: senior Kyle Burke and juniors Amondo Lemmon and Jacob Martinez are looking to have an explosive indoor season this year.  
 
Nick Crociata is returning for his senior year after having an impressive three seasons as a Mountain Hawk. He finished seventh overall in the 800m at the Patriot League Indoor Challenge. The year prior, he took silver in the 4x800 relay at the Patriot League Championship and set a personal record in the 500m while placing second at the Lehigh-Lafayette Dual Meet (1:08.45). 
 
Lehigh is coming off a fifth place finish at this year's Patriot League Cross Country championships, and has several runners who will impact the team's mid-distance and distance events on the track this season.
 
For the middle distance group, graduate student Seth Slavin returns. Slavin earned Academic All-Patriot League honors in cross country this year, and finished first in the 300m at the Lehigh-Lafayette Dual Meet. 
 
Graduate student Brad DeMassa along with juniors Thomas Leitner and Connor Melko will be valuable assets to the track and field team this season. Connor was named All-East in the 5k last season after he finished third in the ECAC/IC4A Championship.  
 
After an impressive cross country season, juniors Ethan Davis and Joseph Cranley and sophomore Brian Healy will return to the men's track and field team with experience and a readiness to win. 
 
Lehigh Season Opener
Friday's meet is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at Rauch Fieldhouse with multi 60m hurdles, pole vault and weight throws. Complete meet information is available here (PDF). Check back to Lehighsports.com following the event for a full recap.

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