Full Results | Ally Thomas Interview | Photo Gallery

LOWELL, Mass. – Eight different UMass Lowell women grabbed first place finishes, on a sunny Saturday, at the River Hawk Invitational at the Cushing Field Complex.

"It was a real good first effort outdoors," according to UMass Lowell Head Coach Gary Gardner.  "This is what we were looking for, it was very good."

The meet scheduled for the last weekend in March has been hit and miss.  Some years it happens, some years the weather has forced the cancellation of the event.  Last year it was one of several early season meets that never happened.

"We couldn't have asked for a better day," said UMass Lowell Associate Head Coach Ally Thomas.  "The sun was out, it wasn't too windy so it was a good opportunity for everyone to get out there and do something."

And they did something.  There were a number of strong performances despite the fact the event, coming this early in the season, is treated more as a training run.

"We're starting all over again after the indoor season," said Thomas.  "Everyone is in full training and everybody uses this as a practice competition."

There is an adjustment after peaking at the end of the indoor season and then beginning work for the outdoor competition.  

"The athletes did work hard between the seasons," according to Thomas.  "The training is going to amp up, but hopefully the kids will pick up where they left off and build on the momentum they created during the indoor season.  Most of them ended (the indoor season) on a high note.  I though we were in a really good spot to move forward and a number of them did move forward with good performances."

River Hawk athletes made a strong showing in a variety of events on the track and in field competition.

Senior Nikayla Simpson (Brockton, Mass.) won the 100-meters and finished second in the 200.  She clocked in at 12.41-seconds in the 100 and 25.81 in the longer sprint.  Cristina Galvagno (Newton, Mass.) won the 200 finishing with a time of 25.77, just four one-hundredths of a second ahead of her teammate.

UMass Lowell dominated those sprints.  River Hawk runners took the first four spots in the 100-meters and the top seven in the 200.

Senior Kerstin Darsney (Rowley, Mass.) won the 400-meters crossing the finish line in a time of 57.08.  Freshman Lauren Eddy (Grafton, Mass.) was second, 58.22.

Sophomore Kaley Richards (Lowell, Mass.) took the title with a strong run in the 800-meters.  She posted a time of 2:18.60.

Senior Jessica Amedee (Tewksbury, Mass.) won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.89-seconds.

Three different UMass Lowell women won throwing events.  Junior Jennifer Lee (Woburn, Mass.) won the shot put with a throw of 44-feet, 5 1/2-inches.  Freshman Chloe Eressy (Centerville, Mass.), 42' 8", was second and senior Celeste Pipia (Elmont, N.Y.), 41' 3" was third.

Eressy won the discus with a heave of 125-feet, 11-inches.

Pipia who was third in the discus won the hammer throw with a toss of 141-feet, eight-inches.

Next week UMass Lowell will compete at the Colonial Relays, hosted by the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia.