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LOWELL, Mass. – All that has come before no longer matters.  Saturday morning is what counts.

The UMass Lowell cross country teams run for a title on the University of Albany Campus Course at the America East Championships in Albany.  The men run in an 8k event, the women run the shorter 6k.

"This is what we've been waiting for," according to UMass Lowell cross country Head Coach Gary Gardner.  "You work all season to get to this point."

River Hawk women finished fourth a year ago as Albany ended New Hampshire's five year winning streak.  UMass Lowell men, on the other hand, are the defending champions.  The 2018 title was their second in four years.  River Hawk men appear to be ready to challenge for a third title, the women are young and their best years may be ahead of them.

"Expectations are that the men will compete well," said Gardner.  "I would hope that we are one of the two best teams in the conference."

When Gardner says "one of the two best teams" acknowledging the terrific season that Stony Brook has had.  The Seawolves have also one two championships in the last four years.  Each team has made the other better.  Last year's UMass Lowell championship came with a one-point edge and Stony Brook right on the River Hawk heels.

"Stony Brook has had a really good season," said Gardner.  "We hope that we can close the gap a little bit and see what happens.  They've run exceedingly well and have to be the favorites.  The key will be having five to seven guys have a good day on the same day.  We're deeper and better than we were last year and Stony Brook is deeper and better than they were last year so it's become a great rivalry.  We pushed them and they've pushed us."

That said it's probably not a two team battle, the coach notes that New Hampshire and Vermont have also had excellent seasons.

Gardner expects the team to be ready and notes that Championship events often bring out the best in athletes.

"There aren't many times that we've come to a championships and not competed well and put out a great effort," according to the coach.  "I would expect nothing less."

As much as there are individual titles to be won, cross country is a team sport and that Gardner noted earlier is the key.

"We need to have five to seven guys run really well to make it a good race," according to Gardner.  "We have four guys who could finish in the top six on any given day.  If we do that we've got a shot.  It's going to be fun to watch."

The four runners that Gardner refers to are senior Christopher Alfond (Ashby, Mass.), juniors Ben Drezek (Cumberland, R.I.), Derek Holmes (Marshfield, Mass.) and Kyle Cloutier (Lancaster, Mass.).  Drezek and Holmes were key contributors a year ago, Alfond has been a strong distance runner who has worked himself back after being sidelined by injury a year ago.  Cloutier has been the most consistent River Hawk runner this season.

The course itself is described as fair, not too challenging, with few hills, but a number of turns that make it difficult to carry your speed through.

The women's team, beset by a series of injuries may best be described as "up and down."

"It's been a topsy-turvy season," said Gardner.  "We've struggled at times to stay healthy.  This is the first time this year that we've had all of our top ten runners in one race so it will be interesting to see how they gel and compete against one another and as a team."

Graduate student Nicole Murphy (Mendon, Mass.) and junior Emily Sessa (Tewksbury, Mass.) are the most experienced runners on the River Hawk team.  Others are running in just their third cross country race and for some it's their first run at the 6k distance.

"It's been a strange year," said Gardner.  "The injuries have been weird little things that usually don't happen to distance runners."

The team, at this moment, is as healthy as it's been at any point during the season.

"We're trying to catch lightning in a bottle," said Gardner.  "There's a lot of talent in this group so anything can happen on any given day."

Gardner is hoping the team can finish in the top half of the nine team battle and noting that all but one runner will return for next season says it will set the team up well for the future.

The women's race gets started at 9:45 a.m., the men start an hour later.