DURHAM, N.H. – The UMass Lowell men's and women's cross country teams both came away with individual and team victories in the 2020-21 season opener at New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon.
 
"We couldn't be more pleased with the start of the season," commented Head Coach Gary Gardner. "We are really happy that during this tough last year our athletes were putting in the hard work and it showed today."
 
The River Hawk men accumulated 15 points (1,2,3,4,5 – 6,7) to defeat Rhode Island (8,9,10,11,14 - 19) – 52 and New Hampshire (12,13,15,16,17 - 18) – 73.
 
Running a 7500m course, the River Hawk men took home the top-five spots. Separating themselves on the fourth of six laps, senior Benjamin Drezek (Cumberland, R.I) (22:51.10), senior Derek Holmes (Marshfield, Mass.) (22:51.40), junior Drew Everett (Amesbury, Mass.) (22:51.54) and graduate student Christopher Alfond (Ashby, Mass.) (22:51.62) ran as a pack in first through fourth with senior Kyle Cloutier (Lancaster, Mass.) (23:12.31) close behind in fifth.
 
Rounding out the River Hawks' top-seven sweep were sophomore William Cole-French (Hanoi, Vietnam) (23:23.14) and freshman Jake Velazquez (Keene, N.H.) (23:24.09).
 
Taking on New Hampshire, the River Hawk women swept the top-four spots to defeat the Wildcats, 22-34. UMass Lowell: 1,2,3,4,12 (13, 14). New Hampshire: 5,6,7,8,9 (10,11).
 
Graduate student Kaley Richards, a Lowell native, won the 5K in a time of 17:03.42, topping her personal best by over 30 seconds (17:34.2) from the 2018 America East Championship. Second to complete the course was junior Izzy Giesing (Bradford, Vt.), who clocked in with a time of 17:18.46.
 
UMass Lowell's next two finishers were seniors Emily Sessa (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Jenna Solimine (Haverhill, Mass.). Sessa finished third with a time of 17:32.44 and Solimine hit the finish line two seconds later, 17:34.75, good for fourth place. Freshman Mary Yount (Northampton, Mass.) completed the scoring for the River Hawk women, finishing in 12th place with a time of 18:52.74.
 
The River Hawks return to competition next Saturday, February 15, when they travel to in-state foe Massachusetts.