RESULTS (DAY 1)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—The UMass Lowell men's and women's track and field team kicked off its weekend at the Virginia Challenge hosted by Virginia on Friday afternoon.  
 
On the women's side, graduate student Jenna Solimine (Haverhill, Mass.) and senior Izzy Giesing (Bradford, Vt.) walked away with personal bests in their events. Taking on the 10,000-meter distance challenge, Solimine clocked in at 34:25.82 to finish 11th overall. Her new collegiate-best mark marked a 33-second improvement from her previous time.
 
In the 1,500m Invitational, Giesing continued her outstanding outdoor season with a personal-best 4:17.21 time to finish second in her heat and tenth overall.
 
"Izzy and Jenna had excellent days and appear to have secured their NCAA berths," remarked Head Coach Gary Gardner. "They both looked great and ran excellent races."
 
Junior Michael Blake (Hudson, N.H.) and senior Kashief Bogannam (Kingston, N.H.) represented the men's sprint crew in the 100 meter and 400 meter, respectively.
 
Finishing fourth in his heat, Blake turned in an 11.08 finish in the 100-meter sprint, just fractions of a second short of his fastest collegiate performance. In the longer sprint, Bogannam pushed through the incredibly competitive field to post a 49.29 finish.
 
Senior Drew Everett (Amesbury, Mass.) ran a steady race in the men's 10,000 meter to close the day. The distance runner crossed the line in 30:16.70 to rank 17th overall.
 
The River Hawks return to action tomorrow afternoon on the final day of the Virginia Challenge. Back in the Mill City, the rest of the River Hawk crew will compete in the 2022 George Davis Invitational at the Cushing Field Complex starting at 10 a.m.