BOSTON, Mass. – Top performances were in abundance on Saturday as the UMass Lowell women's track and field team co-hosted the Beacon Invitational with UMass Boston at the TRACK at new balance.

"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." 

The field events saw two River Hawk first-place finishers. In the weight throw, sophomore Arlene Davila (Peabody, Mass.) picked up the victory with a personal-best 15.26-meter throw. Junior Erin Jensen (Brimfield, Mass.) was the other River Hawk winner in the high jump, reaching 1.60m.

"Arlene had a massive PR to win the weight throw," claimed Gardner. "She works incredibly hard so it is great to see her success." 

Seniors Sydney Lewis (Nashua, N.H.) and Isabelle Ha (Chester Heights, Pa.) finished just behind Jensen in the high jump, picking up second-place and fifth-place honors. Lewis reached 1.55m while Ha got up to 1.50m.

"The women high jumpers had another really solid day," commented Gardner. 

Joining Davila in the weight throw was freshman Julia Loescher, who finished in 14th place with a distance of 11.73m in her first collegiate event. Shataeya Smith was right behind her in 16th place, throwing a distance of 11.20m.

The throwing events continued, as Smith, Davila and Loescher each competed in the shot put as well. Smith was the top River Hawk in the event, throwing a distance of 11.21m. Davila earned ninth-place honors with a 10.89-meter throw while Loescher finished her first collegiate shot put in 11th place with a 10.47-meter toss. 

Both River Hawk representatives in the triple jump finished within the top five competitors. Junior Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.) hit 11.25m for third place and junior Wonuola Ashaju (Lagos, Nigeria) finished just behind her in fifth place with a distance of 11.15m.

In the long jump, junior Rebecca Crosier (Shaftsbury, Vt.) turned in an excellent third-place performance with a 5.31-meter jump while teammate, sophomore Olamide Bamgbose (Fitchburg, Mass.) jumped 4.84m for 14th place. Sophomore Madison Sanchez (Amesbury, Mass.) rounded out the women's field events in the pole vault, finishing in 16th place with a height of 2.71m.

Freshman Danielle Thompson (Groton, Mass.) kicked off the running events with a third-place effort in her first collegiate 400-meter run, clocking in at 59.68. Just one River Hawk competed in the 800-meter run as well, as senior Avery Leydon (Woburn, Mass) picked up third place with a time of 2:18.59. 

Junior Madison Marsh (Dudley, Mass.) impressed in the 60-meter dash, finishing in second place with a time of 7.79 and narrowly missing first place by just 0.03 seconds.

"Maddie Marsh had her best meet as a River Hawk, running big personal records in the dash," said Gardner. 

In the 1,000-meter run, senior Leah Rudolph (Gloucester, Mass.) led the River Hawks in 14th place with a 3:13.89 mark while junior Delani Dorsey (Haverhill, Mass.) finished just behind her in 14th place (3:17.83). 

To round out the running events, four River Hawks competed in the women's 200-meter run. Freshman Nia Mainer-Smith (Taunton, Mass.) was the first to cross the finish line in 12th place with a mark of 26.26 in the first 200 of her career. Freshman Willow Novak (Guilderland, N.Y.) also ran her first 200, finishing in 14th place with a time of 26.31. Graduate students Tatum Pecci (Tewksbury, Mass.) (27.10) and Nina Tasker (Lebanon, Maine) (27.76) also ran in the 200 and finished in 26th and 38th place respectively. 

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.