Results

AMHERST, N.Y. – UMass Lowell distance runner Paul Hogan (Burlington, Mass.) turned in a gritty dominating performance midst snow and mud, Friday, to win the NCAA Northeast Regional 10K Cross Country individual Championship on the Audubon Gold Course in Amherst, N.Y.  UMass Lowell finished sixth in the 34 team field.

"This was an awesome day," according to UMass Lowell Head Coach Gary Gardner.  "This was our highest team finish and we had the individual champion.  This is as good as it gets."

With the victory Hogan, who took the lead shortly after the mile mark and never let up, has punched his ticket to the NCAA National Championships.

"(Paul's) as gritty as any person that I have ever coached," said Gardner.  "He did a really good job in really tough conditions.  It was snowing and it was muddy, the course was all chewed up and it was 35-degrees.  He's tough and he ran tough."

Hogan, a graduate student in his final year of cross country competition, clocked in with a time of 32-minutes, 30.9-seconds.  He finished less than two-seconds ahead his nearest challenger and held the lead for most of the final seven-thousand meters.  There was a brief period where a runner from Iona had taken the lead, but Gardner urged Hogan to make his move and Hogan did just that and regained the lead.

"He did a really good job, he ran his best race at the perfect time," according to Gardner.  "This shows how far he's come as a racer."

The River Hawks, as a team, totaled 220-points (1, 38, 44, 48, 89 - 102, 198).  Syracuse won its sixth consecutive team championship with 79-points (6, 7, 8, 17, 41 - 61, 101).  Iona was second with 88-points.  Army West point accumulated 135 points to earn a third place finish.  UMass Lowell was the top finisher among America East schools taking part in the regional.

The race hosted by the University of Buffalo was one of nine regionals held around the country.  The top two finishing teams, in each region, go to the National Championship meet in Madison, Wisconsin.  Thirteen additional teams are selected at large.  The top four finishing individual runners in each region, not on a team selected for the finals, are also invited to compete at the National Championship.  The Northeast region includes all Division I schools in New England and New York State.

Junior Liam Kimball (Atkinson, N.H.) turned in the strongest performance of his career moving up0 five spots in the final 2,500-meters..  He was the second River Hawk finisher posting a time of 33:56.1.  It was a personal best at the distance.

"He ran a super race," said Gardner.  "This is good for his confidence.  He's always had a ton of talent; this shows that he's turned the corner."

Sophomore Derek Holmes (Marshfield, Mass.), running in his first ever 10K event put up a time of 34:00.7 to earn 44-points.  He moved up 15 places during the middle section of the race.

"He's good, really good and he's figuring it out," according to Gardner.  "He's eliminating little mistakes.  He's learned how to race."

Junior Harry Maloy (Pepperell, Mass.), whose had an up and down season, ran a strong race.  He was the fourth UMass Lowell runner across the finish line competing the course in a time of 34:08.4.  Maloy passed 33 runners after the first mile of the race.

"This is another guy who is super talented," said Gardner.  "He's figured out how to race."

Sophomore Ben Drezek (Cumberland, R.I.) was the final River Hawk scorer.  He was 89th with a time of 34:48.5.  Drezek turned in a gritty performance after injuring his knee two weeks ago at the America East Championships and missing a week of practice.  Gardner described Drezek simply as a "competitor."

Graduate students Thomas Teachen (Titusville, N.J.) and Dhahran Velásquez (New Britain, Conn.) were the final two across the finish line posting times of 35:04.3 and 37:33.0 respectively.  Teachen was 102nd and Velásquez 198th in a field of 244 starters.

For the UMass Lowell cross country team, the season is over.  For Paul Hogan there is one more race; the NCAA National Championship Meet at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison, Wisconsin, Saturday, November 17th.