River Hawks Fired Up for America East Championships

#AEXC CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

BALTIMORE – The regular season is now in the past and October 29 marks the most important day so far this season for the UMass Lowell cross country teams.

Both the men's and women's teams will compete for a conference title at the America East Championships in Baltimore, Md. The men will run in an 8k race at 10 a.m. followed by the women in a 5k at 11 a.m.

The River Hawks are looking for a three-peat, having swept the conference championships in both 2020 and 2021. The men's team is also competing for their fourth conference title in five years.

"We've had a pretty good year," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "The men's team is about as deep as we have ever been. We have 15-20 kids that I would be comfortable putting out on the course on Saturday."

This depth is led by graduate student Drew Everett (Amesbury, Mass.) and senior John Riley (Quincy, Mass.), who have both been part of the last two conference championship teams with Everett adding a third ring to his collection as part of the 2018 team.

"They're crucial to really setting the stage for the rest of the guys on our team," noted Gardner of the duo. "Honestly, we have a whole plethora of guys."

As a talented and deep team with a decorated history, the River Hawks know that their competition would love nothing more than to overthrow them.

"We've won the last two years and I don't think we got too comfortable with that," Riley expressed. "We have a target on our backs now because of the last few years. Everyone's been trying to beat us. We have been working hard and everyone wants to keep the winning streak going. I think we have a good group, everyone is ready to race and we've been doing well so far this season, so I think we have a pretty good shot at taking a championship."

The unique multi-loop course in Kingsville, Md. offers rough and hilly terrain that presents a challenge to the runners. This makes the day of practice extremely important, as the competitors can get a feel for the course and prepare themselves accordingly.

"It's honestly a tough course," Riley added. "The terrain is really rough, it's uneven, not great on your ankles, and it's kind of hilly, and the course is pretty narrow, so I think it will be interesting. It's a hard course, but everyone else has to run it too so it's not a disadvantage."

The women's team is young and lacks veteran experience, but poses a real threat on Saturday due to training and preparing well.

"We were very deep last year and lost some of those upperclassmen that provided a lot of depth for us," said Gardner. "We have a lot of younger kids and inexperienced kids, but all of those kids are really tough, have trained really well and have all had good races at different times this season, so hopefully we can put it all together and put us in a position to compete well."

Graduate student Izzy Giesing (Bradford, Vt.) and senior Kenzie Doyle (Swansea, Mass.) are both experienced runners for the women's team that will be relied on. The youth of the team has not lowered any of the expectations for Saturday.

"I think the expectation definitely would be for us to win," commented Doyle. "I know that we have a young team right now, but they are strong, and I know that they can come through and we can win with them."

The team is looking to use everything they have learned this season and put together a conference-winning performance, no matter the conditions.

"We're ok with whatever it is," said Gardner. "We are looking forward to getting down there and racing."

Both the men's 8k race and the women's 5k race with be streamed live on AmericaEast.tv.

River Hawks Fired Up for America East Championships

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