Full Results
LOWELL, Mass. – Mission accomplished. The UMass Lowell Men's Cross Country became the first River Hawk team to win an America East Conference Championship, Saturday morning, as it ran to victory at the America East Conference 8K Cross Country Championship in Stony Brook, N.Y.
"Our goal, ever since last year, has been to win this championship," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Gary Gardner. "We worked so hard and this morning went out and grabbed it. Our times were phenomenal. I couldn't have asked for more, this was awesome."
The championship is the first for any UMass Lowell athletic team since joining the America East Conference and beginning the transition to Division I nearly three years ago. That was something that was not lost on the team.
"We knew we were the only team that was eligible for a championship and that meant something to these kids," said Gardner. "It was a way to reward those that had supported us. It was a way to thank Athletic Director Dana Skinner and the Chancellor for the support they have given us."
In a sport that demands depth for team success, UMass Lowell placed five runners in the top 16 and took the top prize with a total of 42 points, (2, 3, 10, 11, 16 - 29, 39.) The River Hawks had been targeting this race ever since finishing second, three points back, a year ago. The host school Stony Brook was second with 74 points. Defending champion Binghamton garnered 78 points, good enough for third place.
Gardner, Assistant Coach John Molvar and the staff was honored as the "Coaching Staff of the Year."
"One through eight or nine ran great," said Gardner. "They ran their best races when it mattered most. The top five were phenomenal, they ran with the lead group for the entire race. They were in the lead group at one-thousand meters and they were in the lead group at eight-thousand meters."
Robert Allen (Cranston, R.I.), running what may have been his last race in a River Hawk uniform, was the top UMass Lowell finisher grabbing second place clocking in at 24-minutes, 48.81-seconds. Sophomore Paul Hogan (Burlington, Mass.) had run with Allen in the lead pack all race long and finished third in a time of 24:50.69. UMBC's Hassan Omar was the individual champion finishing in a time of 24:43.21, but his team finished fifth, behind Maine, with 107 points.
"They pushed it from the very start, but didn't overdo it" said Gardner. "They ran a very smart race."
For Allen, it is the first team championship he had ever been part of and earlier in the week he'd it was an "honor" he'd hoped to experience.
Senior Zachary Ganshirt (Walpole, Mass.) was the third River Hawk scorer, finishing tenth, in a time of 25:32.61. Sophomore John Abraham (Lowell, Mass.) was 11th, finishing just two-seconds behind Ganshirt
Allen, Hogan, Ganshirt and Abraham earned All-Conference honors.
Sophomore Dhahran Velasquez (New Britain, Conn.) wrapped the River Hawk scoring with a 16th place finish in a time of 25:51.11.
Junior Connor Doyle (Swansea, Mass.) and Freshman Chris Skelly (Pepperell, Mass.) finished 6th and 7th among River Hawk runners and displaced opposing runners taking 29th and 39th respectively with times of 26:16.28 and 26:36.20.
The America East Championship ends UMass Lowell's cross country season although some runners may take part in the IC4A Championships on November 21.
