Fox Chapel graduate Anna Troutman finding her way as Lehigh heptathlete

In her heyday as a track and field athlete at her alma mater, Lehigh coach Khayla Atte — the former Khayla Lowe, a Thomas Jefferson grad — was accomplished in the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon. She put her name on multiple top-10 lists in Lehigh track and field history.

But since she began coaching, her goal has been to erase her name from the record books. She remains on only one list: the indoor pentathlon.

“I’ve coached every person who has kicked me off of an all-time list, so I take great pride in this,” said Atte, in her fifth year overall on Lehigh’s staff and third as women’s head coach.

Fox Chapel grad Anna Troutman has a chance to supplant Atte on that list. Just a freshman, Troutman already has shown promise as a so-called “multi.”

Atte said the two of the most important events in the heptathlon are the 100-meter hurdles and the high jump, and Troutman already was proficient in the high jump, having won the 2024 WPIAL Class 3A title — and placing sixth in the state — in the event. She also counted the 100 hurdles among events she competed in at Fox Chapel, along with the 400 relay, long jump, triple jump and, occasionally, 300 hurdles.

So when Atte approached her with the idea of competing as a multi, Troutman was intrigued.

“I was definitely excited about it,” she said. “My high school coach, coach (Tom) Moul, he first told me that I should start looking into the idea of being a heptathlete, and when I started looking into it, it definitely sparked my interest.

“I was used to high school meets and doing four, five events in one meet and just running around and having fun. I like being able to do a bunch of things, to learn new things.”

Atte said Troutman has been a quick learner and appreciates the blue-collar, Pittsburgh-style effort she puts into perfecting her events.

She took third out of nine competitors in the indoor pentathlon at Lehigh’s season opener in December. She culminated indoor season by tying for third in the high jump (5-foot-5) at the Patriot League championships.

This outdoor season, she placed fifth in the heptathlon at the Susquehanna River Hawk Multi on April 10, which included a personal-best effort of 5-6 1/2 in the high jump. She set three other personal bests in the Susquehanna heptathlon, including the shot put, but said her throws remain under construction.

“I’m having a little bit of a harder transition learning shot put,” she said. “That’s my obstacle right now. It’s a lot of strength, a lot of technique, and I’m still trying to get the technique and get it down to muscle memory.”

As much as she has been pleased with Troutman’s progress, Atte said she isn’t rushing the freshman’s development. At the same time, she is confident there is potential for immediate results.

“We’re kind of excited to say, ‘hey, we’re playing the long game,’ ” Atte said, “but that doesn’t mean we have to wait for success.”

To wit: The Patriot League outdoor championships are set for May 2-3. Atte is eager to see how Troutman fares in the heptathlon while also keeping open the possibility of putting her in the high jump.

She could well earn a medal in both as she has the Patriot League’s second-best mark in the high jump and fourth-best heptathlon score (4,177). But, for now, medals are not how Troutman will define her performance.

“I know that freshman year is a big adjustment to college athletics,” she said, “so I’m not putting too much pressure on myself to get results in meets. But I do want to see personal results.”