Season In Review

12/16/2022 11:03:00 AM

LOWELL, Mass.—The UMass Lowell cross country team ran right into the record books once again in 2022. Emboldened by back-to-back America East title sweeps and a new crop of rookies ready to make an impact, the River Hawks exceeded expectations on the individual and team level to bring home their third consecutive America East Cross Country Champions crown.

Before opening day, the River Hawks set clear goals: defend the title and reach the NCAA Regional stage once again. It was clear from the start that UMass Lowell’s title repeat and Regional dreams were well on their way to fruition.

The team kicked off the season on a high note with impressive team and individual outings at the Vermont Invitational, UMass Dartmouth Invitational and the Coast-to-Coast Invite.

At Vermont, junior Mary Yount led the women’s crew to a third-place team finish thanks to her fourth-place individual performance. Freshmen Mary-Kate Finn and Dantia Braccio also stunned in their breakouts, with seventh and tenth-place finishes in their collegiate debuts, respectively.

On the men’s side, sophomore Landen Vaillancourt led the men to a first-place team finish on the backs of his top time in the men’s 8K. His first-place mark also registered a new personal best for the New Hampshire native.

Following their hot start in St. Albans, the River Hawks headed south for the UMass Dartmouth Invitational, where the teams swept both the men’s and women’s races. In the women’s varsity 5K, freshman Miana Caraballo paced the River Hawks in the team victory with a sixth-place finish in her collegiate debut. Junior Joe Young crossed first for the men’s crew, capturing seventh overall. Junior Tyler Sullivan came in hot on his heels, clocking an eighth-place time to help secure UMass Lowell’s first-place outing.

In their final tune-up before upping the ante on the course at the Paul Short Invitational, several River Hawks headed to Boston for the 2022 Coast-to-Coast Invitational to stretch their legs before their first big team test. Graduate student Izzy Giesing made her season debut at Franklin Park, turning in a strong tenth-place finish to pace the women’s team. On the men’s side, junior Henry Farrington and senior Samuel Toolin stood out on the course with fourth and tenth-place times in the men’s Open 5K.

The River Hawks faced their first true test of the season at the 2022 Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh. The highly competitive field of racers forced UMass Lowell to turn up the heat, a challenge which the team adjusted to confidently. On the men’s side, John Riley and Drew Everett relied on their experience to push through the stacked crowd to finish in the top 40 out of 416 competitors.

Senior Kenzie Doyle set the stage early for her incredible season at Paul Short. In her first official race of the year, Doyle clocked a 16th-place finish in the women’s 6K. Doyle, on top of beating out 401 other athletes on the course, improved off her previous fastest time by nearly three seconds for a new personal best.

The challenging schedule only built from there for UMass Lowell as they faced a daunting stretch at the New England Championships and IC4A/ECAC Championships. Up to the task, the River Hawks continued their AE title push.

Slowly incorporating more veteran talent, graduate student Caroline O’Shea made her debut with a tenth-place finish in the varsity 5K. Junior Allison Anusauskas and Hannah Doherty also hit the course, putting up top 50 times for UMass Lowell. On the men’s side, seniors William Cole-French and Samuel Toolin succeeded in their 8K attempts. Finishing nearly in tandem, Cole-French and Toolin stayed neck-and-neck during the race until Cole-French squeaked out a lead to take 34th to Toolin’s 36th-place mark.

Encouraged by the team’s growth, the River Hawks headed to the Bronx for the 2022 IC4A/ECAC Cross Country Championships for one last final assessment before conference.

The men’s team hit their stride at Van Cortlandt Park to capture a fourth-place team finish. Beating out several teams they faced just weeks prior at Paul Short, senior John Riley led the crew with a seventh-place individual finish.

Kenzie Doyle crushed the competition for the women’s team, finishing in 20:45.1 to be crowned the 2022 IC4A/ECAC Individual Champion. Her 7:23.2 pace helped her not only cross 10 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher but also helped secure UMass Lowell’s seventh-place team finish. Less than a minute later, graduate student Izzy Giesing joined Doyle after posting a 21:21.3 time to clinch sixth overall.

Taking one final team run-through at the CCSU Mini Meet, the River Hawks faced their final yet most daunting race of the year: the 2022 America East Cross Country Championships.

DYNASTY!??????#UnitedInBlue | #AEChamps pic.twitter.com/7xt7I3G6At
— UMass Lowell XC/TF (@RiverHawkXCTF) October 29, 2022

With a three-peat on the line, the squad came out collected and confident as they dashed out onto the course. Led by individual champions Kenzie Doyle and John Riley, the River Hawks dominated on both sides of the competition. The men’s team saw all seven scoring runners finish within the top 15 to post an impressive 27 points. For the women, five of the seven finished in the top 15, with the sixth and seventh clocking top-25 finishes, claiming 38 team points.

In addition to her first-place finish, Doyle’s time of 16:19.2 marked a personal & AE Championship record.

AMERICA EAST FIRST TEAM

John Riley

Drew Everett

Daniel Cosgrove

AMERICA EAST SECOND TEAM

Joseph Walsh

Jeffrey Allen

Landen Vaillancourt

Henry Farrington

AMERICA EAST FIRST TEAM

Kenzie Doyle

Izzy Giesing

AMERICA EAST SECOND TEAM

Sarah Ross

Caroline O'Shea

Mary-Kate Finn

On top of making the America East Second Team, Ross also picked up the America East Elite 18 Award. The award is given out at every conference championship to the event medalist with the highest GPA. Ross boasts a perfect 4.0 GPA in Plastics Engineering.

The awards did not stop at just the student-athlete level. The coaching staff was also tabbed the 2022 America East Coaching Staff of the Year for the men and women's teams for the third year running.

Though the three-peat sweep was complete, the season was just heating up for UMass Lowell. With one goal complete, the team turned their focus to the next battle: the 2022 NCAA Northeast Regional.

When the season starts, you hope to run your best when it counts the most. Both teams certainly did that at the America East Championships and the NCAA Regional

Head Coach Gary Gardner

Though the team's season came to a close, for one River Hawk, the NCAA Championship dream was still alive. Posting an outstanding individual performance, Kenzie Doyle kept her stellar senior season going with a fourth-place finish in the women’s 6K. Doyle crossed in a final time of 29:29.4 to punch her ticket to the NCAA Cross Country Championship for the first time.

We always come into these meets as the underdogs and we never fail to show everyone that we belong. I am beyond amazed at how everyone took risks early on in the race and went for it. Qualifying for nationals is a goal that I set for myself back in June and it feels so good for all of the hard work to have finally paid off.

Kenzie Doyle

Doyle capped her stunning campaign with an incredible debut on the NCAA stage. Crossing in 20:31.0 in the 6K, Doyle finished 85th overall out of a field of 254 of the nation’s best runners.

In their chase to hoist the trophy once again, the River Hawks collected several accolades along the way.

Out of eight weeks in the regular season, the River Hawks earned at least one America East Performer of the Week in seven. Three of those weeks included clean sweeps of both the men’s and women’s Performer of the Week honor.

Just as successful in the classroom as they are on the course, the River Hawks led the conference with seven combined America East All-Academic Team honorees. The men had three honorees in Drew Everett, Joseph Walsh and Hunter Marion, each posting a 3.70 or higher in the fall. The women saw a conference-best four nominees make the team with Izzy Giesing, Caroline O’Shea, Mary Yount and Sarah Ross getting the nod after posting above a 3.70 GPA this season.

We achieved everything we hoped for this fall. We graduated many of our main contributors a year ago, and the team didn't miss a beat.

Head Coach Gary Gardner