CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – After setting a handful of personal bests last week, the UMass Lowell track and field team opened the weekend strong as they took on the Harvard Elite Meet Friday afternoon at the Gordon Indoor Track.

"This meet is always highly competitive in the sprints and field events, which makes it very cool," commented Head Coach Gary Gardner. "It's also great seeing teams from all over the country that we don't normally see."

Junior Evans Oduro (Kumasi, Ghana) led the way for the River Hawks with a first place finish in the men's long jump. With a mark of 23' 2.75", the junior set a new personal best in the event. 

"Great day for Evans, who's been jumping well all season, but jumped over 7 meters for the first time," said Gardner. "That's an excellent jump, and he is being rewarded for all his hard work."

Alongside Oduro, graduate student Patrick Pang (Peabody, Mass.) hit a mark of 57'1.50" (17.41m) in the weight throw to snag sixth place, missing his all-time best by just over an inch. 

In the men's 400-meter race, the River Hawks had three members finish in the top eight, with senior Kashief Bogannam (Kingston, N.H.) pacing the squad with a second-place time of 49.25. Following close behind, junior Thomas Jordan (Needham, Mass.) finished fourth, crossing the line in 49.39. Graduate student Joseph Gaudreau (Wilmington, Mass.) rounded out the crew in eighth place with a final mark of 50.13.

Closing out the night for the men's crew, freshman Timothy Glowik (Danvers, Mass.) snagged fifth in the mile with a time of 4:28.73. With his pace, the rookie runner was able to register a new personal best, shaving nearly 13 seconds off his previous fastest time. 

On the women's side, UMass Lowell saw a number of top performances in the jumps, with three River Hawks finishing in the top eight. Freshman Fleur Balogh de Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) finished fifth overall, clearing 5'5" (1.65m) to set a new personal best. Matching her teammate's clearance, graduate student Sierra Rudolph (Gloucester, Mass.) came up just shy of her all-time best to finish sixth in the event. Rounding out the top eight, junior Sydney Lewis (Nashua, N.H.) leapt over the 5'3" (1.60m) height to finish eighth overall. 

Bringing in the last set of scores for UMass Lowell, graduate student Lauren Eddy (Grafton, Mass.) took home third in the women's 400-meter race, clocking in at 57.10.

The River Hawks return to Boston, Mass., to compete in the Scarlett and White Invite hosted by Boston University on Saturday, February 5.