LOWELL, Mass. - After a tough weekend of competition at the 2021 America East Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the UMass Lowell men's track and field program battled to a second-place finish, ending the weekend with 115.5 team points.
 
"The team competed extremely well this weekend," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "The men hit a little bad luck in the 4x100 because there were big swing points in that event, but overall we exceeded expectations in many events."
 
UAlbany took home the title on both the men's and women's side, holding off the River Hawks to finish with 139 points. In a down-to-the-wire battle for silver and bronze, UMass Lowell was able to stave off Stony Brook by just half a point to push the Seawolves into third with 115 points.
 
In total, the River Hawks finished with 11 medals, including one gold, four silver and six bronze. Two River Hawks – sophomore Michael Blake (Hudson, Mass.) and graduate student Christopher Alfond (Ashby, Mass.) – walked away with a team-high two medals each. Blake earned the team's lone gold in the men's 100-meter, finishing in 11.06 for the photo finish and 10 points towards the River Hawks' score. The sophomore then went onto earn the silver in the men's 200-meters off a 22.03 time, beating out UAlbany by two tenths of a second for eight points. For his performance today, the sprinter earned the league's Most Outstanding Rookie honors.
 
Representing the distance crew, Alfond picked up his first medal of the day off a second-place time in the men's 5,000-meter, clocking in at 14:21.48. The Massachusetts native then claimed the silver in the 10,000-meter with a 32:07.84 pace.
 
Senior Derek Holmes (Marshfield, Mass.) and junior Drew Everett (Amesbury, Mass.) joined Alfond in the 5K race, with Holmes bringing home the bronze in 14:22.09 just behind Alfond. In his first outdoor championships, Everett ran to an impressive fifth-place finish, crossing the finish line in 14:33.36. Additionally, the distance runner ran a strong 10K, coming in at 32:19.70 to help the River Hawks go two-three in the distance challenge.
 
Benjamin Drezek (Cumberland, R.I.) rounded out the distance events for the River Hawks, competing in the 3,0000-meter steeplechase and earning the silver medal. Additionally, Drezek was once again named an Elite 18 Award recipient. The honor is bestowed upon the championship's top-3 medalist with the highest GPA. This marks the senior's third career Elite 18 honor.
 
In the 800-meter, senior Cody Moran (Weymouth, Mass.) cruised his way past UMBC for the final slot in the top three. His 1:52.89 time earned him the bronze and brought in six points for UMass Lowell.
 
The River Hawks picked up a pair of bronze medals in the relays, finishing third in the 4x400m and the 4x800m. The first relay team composed of junior Kashief Bogannam (Kingston, N.H.), junior Sean O'Neill (New Egypt, N.J.), sophomore Shawn Stairs (Acworth, Ga.) and senior anchor Joseph Gaudreau (Wilmington, Mass.) ran to a 3:19.19 mark in the 4x400 to earn the first of two bronze medals. They were followed by the 4x800 crew made up of senior Daniel Cosgrove (Boxford, Mass.), junior Christopher McCauliff (Lunenburg, Mass.), graduate Liam Kimball (Atkinson, N.H.) and Moran, who brought the baton across the finish line in 7:36.07 to close out the UMass Lowell medal lineup on the track.
 
In the field, senior thrower Patrick Pang (Peabody, Mass.) brought home the bronze in the hammer, tossing to a 55.37-meter mark for a PR.
 
Up next, the River Hawks will trek to the UAlbany Spring Classic on Friday, May 7.