Women's Pentathlon | Men's Heptathlon
 
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—The UMass Lowell track and field program opened the new year Friday afternoon at the Harvard Multi-Event at the Gordon Indoor Track. Representing the River Hawks at the two-day meet, freshmen Fleur Balogh de Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) and Luke Stelmach (Sterling, Mass.) took on the women's pentathlon and men's heptathlon, respectively.
 
"I wasn't sure what to expect from the freshmen today since we only came back to practice two days ago. I was pleased with the effort I saw, and I'm really proud of Luke for doing better in all four of his day one events from his last multi a month ago. "
 
In just her second-ever pentathlon, newcomer Balogh de Galantha showcased impressive versatility in the multi-event, placing seventh in the field with 2,802 points.
 
Staring down five events, Balogh de Galantha took to the track first for UMass Lowell, tackling the women's 60-meter hurdles to start the day. Nearly matching her first-ever collegiate attempt, the freshman registered a 9.72 time to pick up sixth overall and 765 points.
 
Balogh de Galantha then made her way to the high jump, covering some ground to place fourth in the field after successfully clearing 1.54-meters (5'0.50"). With her solid performance in the jump, the rookie held steady in sixth overall after her first two events with 1,431 points.
 
Shifting to the throws, Balogh de Galantha fell short of fifth place by inches, hitting 8.30-meters (27'2.75") to pick up 419 points. The freshman then bounced back to turn in a 4.90-meter (16'1") long jump for an additional 532 points before heading into her final challenge of the day.
 
Completing her day back on the track, Balogh de Galantha took on the 800-meter, clocking in at 2:54.31 to beat out two runners from Massachusetts to take fifth and earn another 420 points to her final score.
 
On the men's side, Stelmach ended day one of the men's heptathlon strong, sitting in second place after his first four events.
 
Much like classmate Balogh de Galantha, Stelmach's day started on the track in the men's 60-meter dash. Missing the top spot by fractions of a second, Stelmach crossed the line at 7.33 to pick up 769 points and second in his first event of the weekend. His time also marked a personal best in the sprint.
 
Shifting gears towards the jumps, the rookie moved to the long jump, where he placed fourth after completing a 5.98-meter (19'7.50") leap for yet another personal best mark.
 
With 1,351 points after two events, Stelmach continued to impress, tossing to a career-best 10.94-meters (35'10.75") in the shot put for another 542 towards his total..
 
Closing out the first half of the multi-event on a high note, Stelmach battled to a 1.90-meter (6'2.75") clearance to collect 714 points off the first-place leap.
 
Stelmach looks to continue his success Saturday morning on the final day of the Harvard Multi-Event, as he prepares to take on the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000-meter run. Events are slated to start at 9:30 a.m.