FULL RESULTS

AMHERST, Mass.—In its final regular-season meet of 2022, the UMass Lowell track and field program traveled west to Massachusetts on Saturday for one last tune-up at the 2022 UMass Pre-Conference Invite.
 
"Today was about the team tuning up for conference, which we did well," commented Head Coach Gary Gardner. "We were looking for people to earn conference spots or just make sure they are ready to compete next weekend."
 
On the women's side, sophomore Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.) highlighted the day with a pair of top-three finishes in the triple jump and 100-meter hurdles. In the pit, Grasso reached a final mark of 11.58m to take third in the event. The sophomore then followed up her performance in the field with a first-place time of 14.69 in the hurdles.
 
Mirroring Grasso's success in the field, graduate student Lauren Eddy (Grafton, Mass.) turned in a 5.62m mark in the long jump to take fifth overall in the event. Senior pole vaulter Rachel Hill (North Reading, Mass.) launched herself over the 3.40m height to tie for third overall in her final trial before conference championships.
 
Closing out the scoring in the field for UMass Lowell, freshman Fleur Balogh de Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) clocked a sixth-place mark in the high jump after clearing a 1.56m height.
 
The River Hawk hurdlers found success in both the 100-meter and 400-meter iterations of the event. On top of Grasso's first-place run, senior Nina Tasker (Lebanon, Maine) stopped the clock at 14.98 to finish third in the race.
 
Both UMass Lowell competitors in the 400-meter hurdle posted top-six times at UMass. Junior Chelsea Lynch (Amesbury, Mass.) clocked in at 1:05.74 for fourth overall and a new collegiate-best mark. Following right behind her classmate, senior Kayley Moran (Hackettstown, N.J.) finished fifth with a final time of 1:06.54.
 
The men's crew saw similar success at the UMass Track & Field Complex with several scoring performances across all events.
 
Beginning with the jumps, sophomore Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass.) and freshman Luke Stelmach (Sterling, Mass.) tied for third in the high jump with matching 1.85m marks. Junior long jumper Evans Oduro (Kumasi, Ghana) flew to a final distance of 6.84m to register a fifth-place finish in his final test before next weekend.
 
The throwers continued their strong season in the circle with top-six tosses in the shot put, discus, javelin and hammer. Leading the group, graduate student Patrick Pang (Peabody, Mass.) and sophomore Luis Cadime (Lowell, Mass.) both claimed second in their respective events. Pang reached 57.07m in the hammer throw, while Cadime heaved the shot put to a 15.49m mark.
 
Competing alongside Cadime in the shot put, senior Sean Trott (Lowell, Mass.) clinched his spot in sixth overall with a 14.76m toss. Rounding out the throws, senior Hayden Dillow (Franklin, Mass.) finished fourth in the discus off a 46.66m mark, and sophomore Robert Townsend (Ashland, Mass.) hit 49.25m for sixth in the javelin.
 
The men's hurdles saw several successes in both the 110-meter and 400-meter events. Sophomores Nicholas Woolsey (Pepperell, Mass.) and Zachary Lalonde (Tewksbury, Mass.) registered personal-best times in the 110-meter hurdles. Slightly edging out his classmate, Lalonde crossed in 15.32 to take second, followed by Woolsey in 15.73 for fourth overall.
 
In the 400-meter hurdles, junior Shawn Stairs Jr. (Acworth, Ga.) finished the race in 55.76 to take third overall.
 
Senior Joseph Young (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and sophomore Baijeon Bookal had strong outings for the sprint squad. Bookal tackled the 100-meter and finished sixth overall with a time of 11.21. In the 200-meter, Young clocked in at 21.96 to take third.
 
Freshman Will Benoit (Fairhaven, Mass.) stunned in his first outdoor 5,000-meter race, capping the day with a 15:19.70 time good for second overall.
 
With their final test in the books, the River Hawks travel to Burlington, Vt., next weekend, May 7-8, for the 2022 America East Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Vermont.