RALEIGH, N.C. and BURLINGTON, Vt.—The UMass Lowell men's track and field squad opened up the outdoor season with a pair of meets Friday afternoon, traveling to Vermont and the Raleigh Relays hosted by NC State.
 
After thunderstorms temporarily paused competition, the men's team finished strong against the Catamounts, besting Vermont with a team score of 90.
 
"This was a great opportunity for a lot of our young athletes to excel in their first outdoor meet in two years. With nearly all of our top scorers using their freshman eligibility, this meet really exemplified the young core of talent that we have," said Assistant Coach Zach Nelson. "I think we looked strong across all events and this leaves us plenty to build on moving forward."
 
In a tight 200m race, sophomore Kazuyoshi Uda-Thach (Lexington, Mass.) claimed first, crossing the finish line in 22.65. Just behind him, freshman Adam Katerji (Shrewsbury, Mass.) earned second in his first collegiate appearance with a time of 22.79 to narrowly beat out Vermont.
 
The River Hawks dominated the competition in the 800m final, taking the top four spots in the event. Leading the pack, senior Cody Moran (Weymouth, Mass.) clocked in at 1:53.47, just two seconds shy of his career-best mark. Senior Daniel Cosgrove (Boxford, Mass.) followed close behind, finishing in second with a final time of 1:54.27. Rounding out the top four slots, graduate student Liam Kimball (Atkinson, N.H.) and freshman Tanner Jellison (Wakefield, Mass.) were neck-and-neck, registering times of 1:55.07 and 1:55.45, respectively.
 
Making his first appearance in the 1,500m race, sophomore Timothy Champlin (Charlestown, Rhode Island) pulled out a first-place time in a hard-fought distance battle, clocking in at 4:03.33. Champlin narrowly edged out fellow River Hawk junior Christopher McCauliff (Lunenburg, Mass.), who ultimately clinched second in the event in 4:03.62.
 
Sophomore Shawn Stairs Jr. (Acworth, Ga.) and freshman Zachary Lalonde (Tewksbury, Mass.) had standout performances in their first 400m hurdle run, with Stairs winning the event with a time of 57.32 and Lalonde snagging second in 58.87.
 
Senior Patrick Pang (Peabody, Mass.) represented the River Hawks in the hammer throw, tossing to a 54.71m mark for first in the event. In the pole vault, freshman Maxwell Davis (Stoneham, Mass.) cleared 4.10m in his first collegiate meet to beat out Vermont for the top spot.
 
Meanwhile, down in Raleigh, graduate student Christopher Alfond (Ashby, Mass.). closed out the River Hawks' day of competition with a late-night 10,000m race. In a packed field of 76 competitors, Alfond finished 24th overall with a time of 29:41.07, beating his previous career-best time by over 15 seconds.

"Chris ran great for 8,000 meters then struggled a bit the last 2k," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "He was running so well he still came out with a 17 second PR and a bubble time for the NCAA Championships." 
 
The River Hawks are back in action with another pair of meets next weekend, April 2-3, traveling to William & Mary and Massachusetts.