NEW YORK—The UMass Lowell women's cross country team put together a seventh-place team finish at the 2022 IC4A/ECAC Championships at Van Cortlandt Park on Friday afternoon.
 
"The women's team ran really well for the first 4,000 meters but struggled a bit in the last 2K. We'll be focusing in on that in the next few weeks ahead of conference," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "Izzy and Kenzie obviously had excellent races today though."
 
Senior Kenzie Doyle (Swansea, Mass.) led the team straight into the top-10 with a first-place finish to be crowned this year's ECAC Champion. Doyle sustained a 7:23.2 pace through the challenging 6K course to cross the finish line in 20:45.1, nearly 10 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.
 
"Going into this race, the goal was to win. Coach Gardner told me to take the mile out relaxed and pick it up from there. I took the lead from the start and pushed the last 1K," commented Doyle. "It wasn't easy working through this race by myself, but it taught me how to be tough in a race."
 
Less than a minute behind her, graduate student Izzy Giesing (Bradford, Vt.) joined Doyle after posting a 21:21.3 time to clinch sixth overall. Giesing hit the 3.9K checkpoint sitting in 13th but turned up the heat in the final stretch to break the top-10 threshold.
 
"I felt great today. I think I went out a little too conservative in the first half, so there's definitely room for improvement," remarked Giesing. "I was able to turn gears going into the second half and caught a lot of the girls that were in the top pack in the last 800-meter stretch, which I was really happy about."
 
Freshman Mary-Kate Finn (Nashua, N.H.) was next across the line for UMass Lowell. The rookie distance runner clocked a 22:38.7 time to finish 69th overall in just her second-ever collegiate attempt at the 6K race. With a heavy reliance on the deeply talented roster, Giesing noted that the future for the River Hawks is promising.
 
"The team ran well today. For a lot of the ladies, this was their second 6K of the season, so things seemed to be coming together for them, which is great to see," said Giesing about the young River Hawk contingent. "They have a lot of talent, and I'm extremely excited to see what's to come when we roll into championship season. Good things are coming."
 
Next week, the River Hawks will put the finishing touches on at the CCSU Mini Meet before tackling the America East Cross Country Championships at the end of the month.
 
"The team performed well, but I know we are capable of so much more. This was a step forward," concluded Doyle. "I know everything will come together when it needs to at the conference championships in two weeks."