LOWELL, Mass.  –  The UMass Lowell Men's Cross Country team, pushed by a strong freshmen showing, took second place at the America East 8K Championship Saturday morning in Orono, Maine.

"We are definitely extremely pleased," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Gary Gardner.  "All the guys really ran well, they came to fight and they fought every step of the way; they raced their hearts out."

The River Hawks placed two runners in the top four and all five scoring runners were among the first 24 to cross the finish line.  Binghamton University won the event with 59 points (8, 9, 10, 11, 21 - 28, 44.)  UMass Lowell just missed the championship falling three points short, finishing with 62 (3, 4, 15, 16, 24 - 26, 38.)  UMBC with 85 points was third and New Hampshire finished fourth with 114 points.

Stony Brook University senior Eric Speakman won the individual honors finishing the course in a time   of 24-minutes 41.23-seconds.  New Hampshire senior John Prizzi was second in a time of 24:42.32.  

UMass Lowell junior Robert Allen (Cranston, R.I.) finished third barely a second behind the winner.  Allen clocked in at 24:42.33.  He'd run a strong race, battling for the lead throughout the five miles.

Paul Hogan (Burlington, Mass.) led a strong freshman contingent.  Hogan finished fourth in a time of 24:44.02.  He'd not been with the lead pack early, but caught the group three miles into the race.

Freshman Dhahran Velasquez (Lowell, Mass.) finished 15th just a couple of steps ahead of 16th place scorer and classmate John Abraham (Lowell, Mass.)  Velasquez hit the tape at 25:36.85, Abraham at 25:37.28.

"Velasquez turned in his best race of the year and Abraham was absolutely terrific," said Gardner.  "And then there's Padraic Donovan, he's the heart and soul of the team and he fought to the very end."

Donovan, a Lowell, Mass. junior, grabbed 24th position and closed out River Hawk scoring with a time of 25:46.89.

Freshmen Thomas Teachen (Titusville, N.J.) and Randy Nong (Lowell, Mass.) displaced other runners finishing sixth and seventh among UMass Lowell runners and 26th and 38th respectively.  Teachen finished in 25:51.93 and Nong in 26:08.17.

The team turned in a terrific performance, but may, as well, have sent a message about the future.

"They all were fantastic," said Gardner.  "And we return every single guy; that's a great base for the future."

The America East Championship does not end the season, the River Hawks will return to battle on November 22nd at the IC4A/ECAC Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.