DAY 1 RESULTS

BOSTON – The UMass Lowell men's track and field team had an impressive opening day at the 2022 America East Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Boston University on Friday afternoon. After the first day of competition, the River Hawks own an 11-point lead to sit in first place overall. 

Leading the River Hawks' day one efforts, graduate student Patrick Pang (Peabody, Mass.) grabbed a first-place finish in the weight throw with a 17.92 meter (58'9.5") toss. Senior Hayden Dillow (Franklin, Mass.) joined Pang in the top eight, finishing seventh with a 15.31 meter (50'2.75") mark. 

"Pat capped off a great season with the win. It's great to see him be rewarded," commented Head Coach Gary Gardner. 

In the long jump, junior Evans Oduro (Kumasi, Ghana) leapt to a 7.10 meter (23'3.5) mark to earn sixth overall and tally three points for the River Hawks. 

Rounding out a strong outing in the field, Maxwell Davis (Stoneham, Mass.) set a new personal best in the pole vault. The sophomore cleared a 4.50 meter (14'9") mark to earn fifth place. 

Mirroring the success of the women's crew, the River Hawks dominated in the distance events. In the men's 5,000 meter, UMass Lowell went took the top six spots to bring in 36 points towards the team tally. Graduate student Christopher Alfond (Ashby, Mass.) led the way, running a personal best 14:08.57 for the gold medal. Coming in right on his heels, junior John Riley (Quincy, Mass.) crossed the line at 14:09.58 to earn silver. Graduate student Benjamin Drezek (Cumberland, R.I.) closed out the podium representation for UMass Lowell, turning in a personal-best time of 14:12.17 for the bronze. 

Sophomore Hunter Marion (Weymouth, Mass.) had a career-best outing in the 5K with a 14:17.29 time good for fourth place. Next up, graduate student Kyle Cloutier (Lancaster, Mass.) and senior Drew Everett (Amesbury, Mass.) clocked in just a second apart at 14:18.15 and 14:19.79, respectively, to close out scoring for UMass Lowell. 

"The men's 5K may have been the best event we have ever run in conference. [The team] going one through six was crazy," remarked Gardner. 

Ending the day on a high note, UMass Lowell's 4000-meter DMR squad finished in second place off a stellar effort from graduate students Daniel Cosgrove (Boxford, Mass.), Cody Moran (Weymouth, Mass.), Derek Holmes (Marshfield, Mass.), and Noah Bellomo (Hudson, N.H.). The crew finished in 9:43.99 to put eight more points towards the River Hawks' total. 

The team returns to action once again on Saturday, Feb. 26, to chase down the 2022 AE Indoor Title at the BU Track and Tennis Center.