Lehigh’s Anna Troutman takes an ‘unconventional’ path to track and field success

During her first year at Fox Chapel Area High School in Pittsburgh, Anna Troutman was already a three-sport athlete. 

Soccer. Basketball. Lacrosse.

But, interestingly, not track and field, where today she stars as a Division I multi-event athlete at Lehigh, and where she has become one of the best high jumpers in the Patriot League Conference.

To get to this point, Troutman and those who know her, say family support and her ability to focus have been key. Her mother, Erin, says Troutman stayed clear of distractions in high school. She said she remembers a high school teacher describing Anna as someone who could “dance through the raindrops.”

“And I just always thought that was such a good way of putting how she, you know, there’s stuff going on, and it’s crazy, but she just sort of dances and moves and avoids the tough stuff, just works away with a smile on her face,” Erin Troutman said. “And I just always liked that. And I thought that was very Anna.”

Anna Troutman pointed to her two brothers, Ryan and Reed, as key influences, as well as her parents who come to every meet they can to watch their “baby duck” compete. And that childhood nickname has spawned a new tradition. When her parents can’t make it, Anna said her mom and dad, Cam — who recently discovered AI image generation — will send her good luck notes. One message prior to a meet this season included a good luck note with a cartoon rendering of Anna and a baby duck clearing a hurdle.

Her athletic journey, though, started with soccer — one of her top sports in high school — where she was frequently an all-section and all-conference selection.

Basketball was a different story. She disliked it so much that she decided to quit and try a different winter sport during her sophomore year.

The only other available option was indoor track.

It clicked.

“I had such a successful first indoor season of track that my track coach was like, ‘You cannot play lacrosse, you’ve got to quit and come to outdoor track,’” she said. “So I was kind of like, ‘OK.’ I ended up getting the school record (in indoor high jump) my first season.”

While her track future started to take shape, she continued excelling in soccer, as well, and following her senior year was named 2023-24 Female Athlete of the Year by Cover Three Athletics — a western Pennsylvania high school news site. 

Meanwhile, on the track, she won the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League high jump championship at the 2024 WPIAL championships. 

Her success led her to sign with Lehigh University for cross country and track and field on Nov. 9, 2023.

Troutman had little trouble adjusting to the collegiate level, competing in five indoor meets during her first year, and tallying wins in the high jump (1.65 meters) at the Fastrack National Invite and at the Bucknell Tune Up (1.62 meters). 

She said her most special moment came in the high jump (1.65 meters) at the Patriot League Championship on March 1-2 in Annapolis, Maryland, at the United States Naval Academy’s Wesley A. Brown Field House, where she won bronze. 

“I went into the meet not even thinking that I was even going to place,” she said. “I was just a freshman, and I cleared a bar that was 5 feet, 5 inches. I cleared it on my first attempt.”

She said she got off the mat and looked at her coach, Brooke Astor. She smiled back.

“She was like, ‘I think you’re going to place,’” she said.

Troutman’s parents and her brother Reed had come to see her compete, and she said getting to stand on the podium and see them in the crowd was a special experience.

And there was more to come.

In the 2026 indoor season during her sophomore year, Troutman competed in nine meets and set a personal record to win the high jump with a leap of 1.71 meters in Lehigh’s home dual win over Lafayette on Jan. 26. 

The jump also placed her third all-time in Lehigh program history. 

Along with family support aiding in her success, Troutman said Mountain Hawks junior and team captain Andrew Clark has also been important to her progress.

“He’s one of the most supportive people,” she said. “He drives me to practice every day, and he’s always there if I ever need anything. He’s just a great captain and person to be around every day.”

As she approaches the Patriot League Championships on May 15, once again in Annapolis where she logged her favorite collegiate memory so far — she has a couple of goals. 

While competing in the heptathlon, she wants to jump 5 feet, 4 inches, and in the 100-meter hurdles, she wants to run under 15 seconds.

She sees the sport as a competition against herself.

Clark said he wants to see her get on the podium or finish top three in high jump, which he thinks she will. 

“I like watching her do high jump the most,” he said, “because she kills everybody in it.”