Results

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Senior Christopher Alfond (Ashby, Mass.) and junior Benjamin Drezek (Cumberland, R.I.) qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships as UMass Lowell, Friday, turned in its strongest team showing ever to earn a fourth place finish at the 10k NCAA Northeast Regional on the campus of the University of Buffalo.

"We finally ran a great team race," according to UMass Lowell Cross Country Head Coach Gary Gardner.  "We did it, all seven ran great.  We were rested, we were ready to go and we peaked at the right time."

The River Hawks placed three runners in the top 25 in nearly earning a team spot at the National Championships.  UMass Lowell accumulated 157-points (7, 12, 24, 41, 73 - 86, 104).  It was good for a fourth place finish.  Harvard won the team championships with 59-points (2, 3, 5, 20, 29 - 31, 50).  Syracuse was second with 86-points and Iona was third with 96.  Stony Brook, who'd claimed the America East title, finished 19-points behind the River Hawks.  

The run in Buffalo was one of nine regional meets spread across the country.  The top two finishing teams, in each region, go to the National Championship meet in Terre Haute, Indiana.  Thirteen additional teams are selected at large.  Harvard and Syracuse receive automatic the automatic bids from the Northeast Region.  Iona is expected to receive an at large bid.

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.  It is expected that both Alfond, who finished seventh, and Drezek, the twelfth place finisher will head to Terre Haute.  Hofstra's Alex Masai won the individual championships with a time of 28-minutes, 42.3-seconds.  His team finished 26th.

The battle played itself out across the campus of the host school.  Twenty-four hours earlier the decision had been made to move the event from the Audubon Golf Club course to the Buffalo campus. Snow and wintry weather earlier in the week forced the decision.  Race officials felt the Audubon course was too treacherous.  That campus course was only laid out on Thursday.   The course was more typical of a road race than a cross country event.

Alfond and Drezek ran with the lead pack for most of the race.

"I told them 'put yourself in the middle of the pack and just keep rolling,'" said Gardner.  "They did the rest."

Alfond punched the clock at 29:00.2.  It was good for a seventh place finish in a field of nearly 270 starters.  He ran strong throughout the race.

"He's grown as a runner every single year," said Gardner of a runner who came to UMass Lowell as an unrecruited walk-on.  "He's gotten stronger and he's matured as a runner."

The one part that Alfond has added to his game this season is his ability to close.

"He was in the middle of the lead pack, relaxed and composed," according to Gardner.  "He closed it out well, he's learned to do that.  That's mental toughness."

Drezek clocked in with a time of 29:06.5.  It was good for a 12th place finish.  Drezek had worked his way into the lead pack at about the 6k mark.

"Ben ran a gritty race," said Gardner.  "He's had an up and down year, but today you really got to see what kind of athlete he is."

Drezek, who'd battled some health issues earlier in the season, had run just behind the lead pack in the early stages of the race, then worked his way into the top group just after the mid section of the competition.

"We're trying to get him to develop his patience," according to Gardner.  "That way we were able to avoid some of the mistakes that have been made in the past."

Junior Derek Holmes was the third River Hawk scorer.  He finished 25th with a time of 29:28.1.  Alfond, Drezek and Holmes all earned All-Region honors.

Juniors Kyle Cloutier (Lancaster, Mass.) and Daniel Cosgrove (Boxford, Mass.) finished out the River Hawk scoring.  They finished 41st and 73rd respectively posting times of 29:48.3 and 30:15.1.

Senior Liam Kimball (Atkinson, N.H.) and Harry Maloy (Pepperell, Mass.) wrapped up the top seven.  Kimball was 86th, 30:29.7, and Maloy, 30:45.9, finished 104th.

"All seven ran great," said Gardner.  "We could not have been more pleased."

For the team, the season is over, but for two individuals there's one more race.  The NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana on November 23rd.