MEN'S 8K RESULTS | WOMEN'S 5K RESULTS

DURHAM, N.H. – The UMass Lowell men's cross country team took home the America East Conference Championship for the third time in four years on Friday in Durham.
 
The win, which is the team's fourth overall since joining the America East in 2013-14, comes alongside the women's first-place victory, giving the River Hawks the sweep of the championship event in back-to-back years
 
"We knew we were talented and we were working really hard, which is why we weren't competing very well. We'd been working through everything, and it all came together today," said Head Coach Gary Gardner.
 
The River Hawks crushed the 8K event, with all five scoring participants finishing in the top 10. In total, UMass Lowell had seven runners finish in the top 12. Graduate Student Derek Holmes (Marshfield, Mass.) was the first to finish for UMass Lowell, taking home second place by beating out his previous career best with a time of 24:02.57. Next up, senior Drew Everett (Amesbury, Mass.) crossed the finish line in fourth with a time of 24:07.28, edging out his previous best time by less than a second.
 
"Realistically, I wasn't in it for the individual title, we came here to win as a team. To get that done feels really good" said Holmes. "We hadn't been racing too well in the early season, but we put it together when we had to because we trust in our coach, each other, and our training."
 
Joining Holmes and Everett on the America East All-Conference first team were graduate students Kyle Cloutier (Lancaster, Mass.) and Christopher Alfond (Ashby, Mass.), who took home fifth and sixth place, respectively. Cloutier posted a time of 24:07.83 with Alfond right on his heels with a time of 24:08.25. Finishing up the scoring for UMass Lowell was junior John Riley (Quincy, Mass.), who finished ninth with a time of 24:12.26 and wrapped up a dominant performance for the men.
 
Earning All-Conference Second Team honors, senior Daniel Cosgrove (Boxford, Mass.) (24:15.96), graduate student Benjamin Drezek (Cumberland, R.I.) (24:28.11) and sophomore Jake Velazquez (Keene, N.H.) (24:29.25) rounded out the River Hawks' top-scoring squad, finishing tenth, twelfth and thirteenth.
 
In addition to his All-Conference Second Team recognition, Velazquez was also named Most Outstanding Rookie for the second consecutive year after being the top finisher among rookies.
 
In addition to his second team honors, Drezek was awarded the Elite 18 Award, which honors the event medalist with the highest GPA. No stranger to the Elite 18, Drezek currently boasts a 4.0 in exercise science.
 
The coaching staff rounded out the awards for the River Hawks, as they were named the 2021 Coaching Staff of the Year for both the men's and the women's teams.
 
"Sweeping two years in a row is pretty cool. It's not something we'd ever do when we moved up to Division I, so it's really special for everybody," said Gardner.