RESULTS

BOSTON—Facing wet and rainy conditions Friday afternoon, the UMass Lowell cross country team ran hard at the 2021 Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown hosted by Boston College. The women's team finished 10th in the highly competitive event, while the men placed 16th. 
 
On the women's side, graduate student Emily Sessa (Tewksbury, Mass.) led the River Hawks with a 20th place finish off a 17:36.0 time. Not far behind, senior Izzy Giesing (Bradford, Vt.) set a personal best in the 5K, running to a 17:49.7 time for 30th in the stacked field.
 
"The women ran outstanding for the first race for many of them," commented Head Coach Gary Gardner. "The competition was excellent for the women as 90% of the teams are national or regionally ranked, so we are pleased with 10th [overall]."
 
Graduate student Ryan Gillooly (Stow, Mass.) paced the men's squad in the 8K race, finishing in the top-100 with a time of 26:04.6. Hot on his heels, sophomore Hunter Marion (Templeton, Mass.) and junior Eoin Dooley (Stoneham, Mass.) rounded out the top finishers for the River Hawks, clocking in at 26:09 and 26:13, respectively.
 
"The men did a really good job really competing hard. We were very pleased with how the kids we chose to race did," remarked Gardner. "Overall, we feel really good heading into next weekend where the top returners will open their season," said Gardner.
 
UMass Lowell hits the road next weekend, traveling to Bethlehem, Pa. to take on the Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh on Friday, Oct. 1.