Results

PRINCETON, N.J. – Junior Emily Sessa (Tewksbury, Mass.) turned in a strong run to lead the UMass Lowell women's cross country team on the West Windsor Field, Saturday morning, at the 6k Princeton Invitational.

UMass Lowell finished 16th in a field of twenty teams.

"It was a solid day," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Gary Gardner.  "It was a matter of competing and gaining experience."

The River Hawks accumulated 428-points (32, 65, 103, 105, 123 - 126, 132).  Boston University won the event with 53-points (3, 5, 9, 10, 26 - 48, 75).  George Washington was second and La Salle third.

Sessa, a middle distance runner by trade, was the top River Hawk finisher.  She punched the clock at 22-minutes, 23.3-seconds.  That was good for 32nd among scoring runners.  Sessa had moved up some 48 places in the second half of the race.

"That was her best race of the year," according to Gardner.  "It was a nice step forward.  She's gotten stronger and stronger each year."

Running cross country is different than running on the track according to the coach.

"The biggest adjustment is the period of time that you are competing," said Gardner.  "You've got to stay strong and stay focused and that is exactly what she is doing."

Graduate student Nicole Murphy (Mendon, Mass.) was the second River Hawk scorer.  She clocked in at 23:01.3.  It was a good showing for a runner who'd been under the weather earlier in the week.  She passed more than 70 runners after the first mile.

Sophomore Sarah Burns (Billerica, Mass.), junior Jenna Solimine (Haverhill, Mass.) and freshman MacKenzie Doyle (Swansea, Mass.) finished out the River Hawk scoring.  The trio posted times of 23:42.6, 23:47.7 and 24:37.3 respectively.  

Next up for UMass Lowell is a tune up at the Central Connecticut State Mini Meet on October 25 before they lay it on the line at the America East Championships in Albany on November 2nd.