Full Results |  Gary Gardner Interview

BOSTON, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's track and field team turned in a series of strong performances, Thursday evening, at the BU Multi-Team Meet at the Track and Tennis Center at Boston University.
 
"The team had a lot of confidence after last weekend (at Harvard), both individually and as a team," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Gary Gardner.  "So they came into tonight with a whole lot of confidence and it carried over and it showed.  We had a whole string of PRs and kids winning different events.  We are way ahead of last year."
 
Eighteen River Hawks finished in the top three in various events; six took home the top prize.
 
Sophomore Kevin Saccone (Mattapoisett, Mass.) won the 60-meter hurdles.  He clocked in at 8.38-seconds.  It was a gritty performance; he finished just two-one hundredths of a second ahead of the second place finisher.
 
Another gritty performance came from the strong legs of junior Daniel Schmith (Bellingham, Mass.) in the 1,000-meters.  It was a tactical race as Schmith came from behind to win the event by more than two-seconds.  He broke the tape in a time of two-minutes, 28.49-seconds.
 
"Both of those kids (Saccone and Schmith) are super competitors and good racers," said Gardner.  "You can see kids who time trial all day long, but them in a competitive situation and they don't beat people.  These two guys are gamers.  When the chips are down, I want them on my team."
 
Senior Kevin Powers (Saugus, Mass.) finished third in the 1,000-meters.  He turned in a time of 2:31.48.
 
Also on the track, freshman Tyler Schmidt (Clifton Park, N.Y.) grabbed a first place finish with a strong finish in the 500-meters.  He hit the finish line in a time of 1:06.03.
 
"That was a very patient race," said Gardner.  "It was a very mature race for a freshman."
 
Sophomore Jackson Gallagher (Wakefield, Mass.) finished a strong third with a time of 1:06.26.  Both Gallagher and Schmidt, both more comfortable in the 800-meters, had to battle from behind.  Their competition included a couple of 400-meter specialists who'd jumped out to a quick lead.
 
Sophomore James O'Brien took a second in the 60-meter dash, 7.15-seconds, and a third in the 200-meters finishing in a time of 22.11.  Teammate sophomore Ryan Fitzgerald (Lowell, Mass.) finished a step ahead in the longer distance punching the clock at 21.96-seconds.
 
Freshman Grant Hauver (Holden, Mass.) ran a strong 800-meters.  He finished in a time of 1:54.97, good for second place.
 
Junior Paul Hogan (Burlington, Mass.) continued a strong comeback from minor injuries with the solid third place finish in the mile run.  He crossed the finish line in a time of 4:09.83.
 
Saccone was also part of the 4 x 400-meter relay team that grabbed a second place finish.  Saccone, sophomore Connor Donovan (Methuen, Mass.), freshman Brian Cherenfant (Taunton, Mass.) and junior Marcus Duncan (Dalton, Mass.), who turned in a terrific final leg with the baton, combined for a time of 3:19.96.
 
River Hawks went one, two, three in the high jump.  Both junior Rino Tonelli (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and senior Gilberto Brown (Lowell, Mass.) cleared the bar at six-feet, 6 1/4-inches.  Tonelli earned the top spot based on attempts.  Freshman Ian Dolaher (Melrose, Mass.) finished third after clearing six-feet, 2 1/4-inches.
 
Junior Vladimir Popusoi (Greenfield, Mass.) won the pole vault after clearing 15-feet, five-inches.  Freshman teammate Heath King (Newton, Mass.) finished second.  He topped out at 14-feet, 5 1/4-inches.
 
UMass Lowell also grabbed the top two spots in the shot put.  Junior Ryan Kerrigan (Dracut, Mas.) won the event with a throw of 52-feet, 1 3/4-inches.  Senior Perry Mroz heaved the metal ball 48-feet, ten-inches to take second place.
 
Next weekend the River Hawks will return to the Track and Tennis Center for the John Thomas Terrier Classic.  It is a two-day affair starting on Friday January 27th.