BALTIMORE - The UMass Lowell men's cross country team came out on top at the America East Conference Championship for a third consecutive season, bringing home the crown for the fourth time in five years on Saturday in Baltimore. The women picked up a conference title, as well, marking the third year in a row that the River Hawks have swept the championships.  
 
The team had nothing short of a dominant performance, as senior John Riley (Quincy, Mass.) and graduate student Drew Everett (Amesbury, Mass.) commanded the race from the second it began. The two finished neck and neck in first and second place, with Riley taking the conference champion crown with a time of 23:41 and Everett crossing the line just 0.6 seconds later for a 23:41.6 mark. This remarkable finish earned them each a spot on the America East All-Conference First Team.    
 
"John and Drew truly set the stage for the men. They took control right from the gun and controlled the race," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. 
 
Riley was glad he was able to pull out the victory, but would have been happy with any individual result, as long as the team came out on top.
 
"I'm feeling great," expressed Riley. "My goal coming in was to win, but my main goal was for the team to win. The individual win was just a cherry on top. I wasn't worried whether it was Drew, or I or anyone else that won, but me and Drew got out to the front, we just led the race together and worked together."
 
As great as the top two finishers were, the men's team demonstrated their depth with an astounding seven runners in the top 15, scoring 27 points as a team. Graduate student Daniel Cosgrove (Boxford, Mass.) hit a career-best time of 24:08.3, earning a fourth-place finish and a spot on the All-Conference First Team, while graduate student Joseph Walsh (Auburn, Mass.) cruised to a ninth-place finish and All-Conference Second Team honors with a 24:37.2 mark.
 
Junior Jeffrey Allen and sophomore Landen Vaillancourt (New Ipswich, N.H.) finished consecutively just outside the top ten for the River Hawks to claim spots on the America East All-Conference Second Team, as well. Allen earned an 11th-place finish with a time of 24:42.7, while Vaillancourt's 24:43.7 mark was good for 12th place. Junior Henry Farrington (Essex Junction, Vt.) rounded out the scoring for the men with a 15th-place finish and 24:58 mark.
 
The coaching staff was not to be left out of the awards, collecting their third straight America East Coaching Staff of the Year nod, as the team sets its sights on the NCAA regionals in two weeks.