Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 15)

track & ﬁeld SERWO REWRITES LEHIGH RECORD BOOK “She starts out on the line as sweet as pie and always the good sportsman,” says Matt Utesch, the head coach of track and field athletics. “Then she drops the hammer. You don’t even know you were beat, but you were beat.” Although only a junior, Serwo has shattered six school records, as an individual runner and as a member of a four-person relay team. She ran the indoor 800 meters in 2:14, beating the previous mark by almost 3 seconds. Earlier, Serwo broke the outdoor 800meter school record with a time of 2:12. In February, she ran off with ﬁrst place at the Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 800-meter race. Serwo, who grew up in Warminster, Pa., was always one of the fastest girls on the ﬁeld playing soccer and softball as a child, so she took up track in fifth grade. She continued running through high school at Nazareth Academy in Philadelphia, which brought her to Lehigh for big cross-country meets. “It really sealed the deal when I came on my recruiting visit and found out what Lehigh was all about,” Serwo says of her college decision-making process. “I didn’t realize that it was such a great balance of academics and athletics.” Although modest about her own accomplishments, Serwo glows as she describes the indoor Patriot League Championships last year, when her mostly sophomore team finished third in the four-by-800 meter relay. “It was awesome, because we weren’t really expecting that,” the accounting major says. “The way we were cheering, you would have thought we had won the Olympics. I think that was the moment that we realized what this team could do.” Serwo is not the only runner on her relay team with wings on her feet, Utesch says. Her team is composed of four other outstanding runners: Jen Therkorn ’09, Jill Randolf ’10, Shannon Alehandro ’09, and Kim Scotto ’09, who runs as the alternate. Don’t let Sarah Serwo’s gentle demeanor fool you, her track coach warns. If challenged in a race, Lehigh’s middle-distance ace will show no mercy. This year, Lehigh’s relay team achieved new records for both the outdoor and indoor four-by-800 meter run, clocking 8:54 and 9:06, respectively. At the indoor 2008 Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships, the team finished fifth, earning the title “All East.” Serwo’s relay team also set new school records in the four-by-400 meter relay, completing the indoor circuit in 3:56 and the outdoor race in 3:54. “In my 11 years as coach, they are the benchmark,” Utesch says. “They’re great. In the future, teams Sarah Serwo has set a half-dozen school records, some as an individual middle-distance runner and others as a member of relay teams. will have to live up to this group.” Serwo, however, is the “backbone of the relay team,” her coach says. “She’s a Utesch predicts that Serwo will be even great leader, an unassuming leader. She works faster next year. “All of those records will probreally hard and sets a great example for all the ably fall this season and reload next year when men and women on the track team.” she is a senior,” he says.—Becky Straw SANTORO NAMED HEAD WRESTLING COACH Pat Santoro, who spent nine seasons at Lehigh as an assistant wrestling coach before taking the head coaching job at the University of Maryland, is returning to South Mountain as the new Lawrence E. White ‘64 Head Coach of Wrestling. Santoro, who becomes just the eighth head coach in the 99-year history of Lehigh wrestling, replaces Greg Strobel, who will move into an administrative leadership role within the Lehigh Athletics Department. In his new role, Strobel— who also served as the U.S. Olympic head coach in 2000, and worked closely with a number of U.S. national freestyle teams—will oversee Lehigh’s highly successful summer camp program, while also taking on additional responsibilities in athletics fund raising and sport supervision. Over the past ﬁve years, Santoro helped resurrect the Terrapins program, which in 2008 captured its ﬁrst ACC title in 35 years—a feat which earned Santoro ACC Coach of the Year honors. This past season, the Terps went 16-4 and entered the national rankings for the ﬁrst time since 1993, climbing as high as No. 21. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be the new head coach at Lehigh University,” Santoro said. “Lehigh is a program with a strong and rich tradition of wrestling, and terriﬁc support from the alumni, fans, and the community. Lehigh wrestling has been a part of my family for a long time. I grew up around the program and its great tradition, and I’m looking forward to coming back home and trying to continue the great history and tradition of Lehigh wrestling.” PHOTO COURTESY OF LEHIGH ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT

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Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Alumni News Cover Story: In Galileo's Wake Technically Funny The Healing Game Looking for America The Last Word

Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008

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