NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's and women's track and field teams turned in another solid day of competition, this time with the sprinters and field athletes taking center stage at the Merrimack Invitational at Duane Stadium on Saturday.
 
"Overall, this was another really good day," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "This meet was set up more for the throwers, sprinters and jumpers. The weather was outstanding for all of them and they took advantage of it."
 
The River Hawks totaled 18 different first-place finishes on the day and registered a PR in every throwing event they competed in. As a whole, the men's team combined for 173 points to take the top spot in the team competition against Merrimack (167), Bryant (113) and Assumption (87 points). On the women's side, UMass Lowell registered 178 points to finish just behind their hosts for second place.
 
"You can see the athletes in the technical events progressing each week after a long layoff," Gardner added. "I can't wait to see what the next few weeks will bring."
 
For the women, senior Lauren Eddy (Grafton, Mass.) won the 100-meter dash with a PR of 12.16. She also won the 200-meter sprint in a personal-best tying time of 24.89. The veteran runner rounded out a strong showing with a first-place finish in the 4x100, joined by graduate student Cristina Galvagno (Newton, Mass.), freshman Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.) and junior Nina Tasker (Lebanon, Maine). The River Hawk women also won the 4x400 thanks to the team of Galvagno, freshman Rosemarie O'Riorden (Stow, Mass.), junior Kayley Moran (Hackettstown, N.J.) and junior Tatum Pecci (Tewksbury, Mass.).
 
Grasso placed first in two individual events, as well, winning the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.26 and the triple jump with a leap of 37'08.50". Senior Kristin Hohenstein (Chelmsford, Mass.) took the top spot in the 400-meter hurdles thanks to a 1:03.61 race.
 
In the jumps, junior Rachel Hill (North Reading, Mass.) won the pole vault with an outdoor PR of 11'1.75". Additionally, freshman Erin Jensen (Brimfield, Mass.) set a new personal best to win the high jump at 5'6".
 
Senior Chloe Eressy (Centerville, Mass.) led the women's throwing contingent with first-place finishes in both the shot put (46'4.25") and discus (129'4"). Freshman Martina Nkwantah (Pepperell, Mass.) (119'0") and sophomore Shataeya Smith (Malden, Mass.) (112'4") each set PRs in the javelin and discus, respectively, as well.  
 
For the men, senior Patrick Pang (Peabody, Mass.) won the hammer with a new PR of 181'7". Other River Hawk throwers to PR at the meet included freshman Luis Cadime (Lowell, Mass.) in the discus (142'4") and shot (46'10.75"), and classmate Zach Cardoso (Newton, N.H.) in the javelin (152'0").
 
Freshmen Maxwell Davis (Stoneham, Mass.) and Daniel Cuddy (Hudson, Mass.) represented the jumpers, going 1-2 in the pole vault at 13'05.25" each.
 
Rounding out the highlights on the men's side, UMass Lowell won the 4x100 relay with the team of sophomore Michael Blake (Hudson, Mass.), senior Joseph Gaudreau (Wilmington, Mass.), sophomore Hunter Marino (Weymouth, Mass.) and junior Joseph Young (Shrewsbury, Mass.).
           
Individually, Gaudreau won the 400-meter event in 50.26, as well, while sophomore Shawn Stairs Jr. (Acworth, Ga.) ran a PR of 55.56 to place second in the 400-meter hurdles. The River Hawks also took the top four spots in both the 100m and 200m dashes, led by junior Kashief Bogannam (Kingston, N.H.) (11.21) and Blake (21.81), respectively.
 
Up next, the River Hawks will compete at home, hosting their annual George Davis Invitational on Friday-Saturday, April 16-17.