BOSTON, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's track and field team co-hosted the Beacon Invitational with UMass Boston on Saturday at the TRACK at new balance in Boston, collecting numerous top finishes. 

"We were extremely pleased with hosting our first meet at the TRACK at new balance," said head coach Gary Gardner. "The coaches, athletic trainers and team stepped up and made the meet a great success." 

Sophomore Graham Stedfast (Rowley, Mass.) led the way for the River Hawks with a second-place performance in the 800-meter run, clocking in at 1:54.18 and narrowly missing out on first place by just 0.36 seconds. Freshman Jonathan Stock followed him in fourth place with a time of 1:55.89 in his first career 800.

In the 60-meter hurdles, junior Zachary Lalonde (Tewksbury, Mass.) earned fourth-place honors with a time of 8.73 while graduate student Joseph Gaudreau (Wilmington, Mass.) competed in the 60-meter dash, also finishing in fourth place with a personal-best 7.11 mark. 

Gaudreau would go on to be a member of the 1,600-meter relay team with freshman Jeandre Abel (Wilmington, Mass.), junior Baijeon Bookal and senior Thomas Jordan (Needham, Mass.). The squad finished the relay in fifth place with a time of 3:25.44. 

Many runners found success in the 400-meter, as five River Hawks finished in the top 11. Senior Hunter Marino (Weymouth, Mass.) was the first to cross the finish line in third place with a time of 49.31. Graduate student Kashief Bogannam (Kingston, N.H.) and senior Michael Blake (Hudson, Mass.) finished back-to-back behind Marino in fourth and fifth place respectively. Bogannam earned a 49.47 mark while Blake came in at 49.65.

Senior Sean Glass (Haverhill, Mass.) also turned in a solid performance in the 400, finishing in seventh place with a personal-best time of 50.39. Junior Adam Katerji (Shrewsbury, Mass.) picked up an 11th-place finish and a 51.35 mark while senior Ryan Casebolt finished in 18th with a time of 52.41.

"The men's 400 runners made a step forward today and set themselves up for a really strong season," claimed Gardner. 

In the 200-meter run, Jordan garnered fifth-place honors with a time of 22.19 while junior Rodrigo Freitas' (Billerica, Mass.) personal-best 22.77 mark was good for 10th place, narrowly edging out Abel by 0.02 seconds in Abel's first career 200. Sophomore Ben Ayotte (Salisbury, Mass.) also competed in the 200-meter, finishing in 25th place with a 23.33 mark. 

Senior Samuel Toolin (North Kingstown, R.I.) was the lone River Hawk competing in the mile run, crossing the finish line in 17th place with a time of 4:28.89. 

In the field events, the River Hawks continued tallying impressive performances. Sophomore Luke Stelmach (Sterling, Mass.), after injuring his hand in Thursday's meet at URI, competed in the high jump and set a personal-best 1.96m mark for fourth place. Junior Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass.) and junior Thomas Neary (Littleton, Mass.) also competed in the high jump, finishing in eighth and ninth place respectively. Makiej reached 1.86 while Neary finished at 1.81m. Makiej would move on to the long jump as the lone River Hawk in the event, finishing in 13th place with a 5.98-meter jump. 

The two River Hawks that competed in the pole vault both finished within the top 10, as junior Maxwell Davis (Stoneham, Mass.) (4.25m) and junior Daniel Cuddy (Hudson, Mass.) (3.95m) vaulted to 6th and 10th place respectively as the men move on to the throwing events. 

In the shot put, junior Luis Cadime (Lowell, Mass.) was the top finisher for the River Hawks, concluding the event in third place with a distance of 15.46. Ian Camerato (Mount Laurel, N.J.) finished in the eighth spot with a personal-best 14.39-meter throw. Sophomore Jonathan Vixamar (Easton, Mass.) (13.75m) and junior Zachary Cardoso (Newton, N.H.) (13.54) finished consecutively in 10th and 11th place, both earning personal-bests.    

The River Hawks will return to the TRACK at new balance in the new year after a holiday break to compete in the Ice Breaker Invitational on January 14.