FULL RESULTS

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass.—The UMass Lowell cross country team commanded the competition on Saturday afternoon at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational, claiming first-place finishes on both the women's and men's sides.
 
"This meet accomplished exactly what we were looking to do today – teaching the younger runners to race for a championship. Both teams did it to perfection," remarked Head Coach Gary Gardner.
 
In the women's varsity 5K, the River Hawks homed in on their preseason training to pull together an impressive first-place performance, amassing 54 total points. Leading the way for UMass Lowell, freshman Miana Caraballo (Methuen, Mass.) excelled in her collegiate debut with an 18:15.6 time to claim sixth.
 
"Before the race today, I was a nervous wreck since it was my first college meet. Surprisingly, it felt like any other meet, so I just got out to the front of the pack like Coach Gardner told me to do," recalls Caraballo.
 
Sticking close to Caraballo, graduate student Olivia Sheffield (Lowell, Mass.) crossed within seconds of her teammate to clinch the seventh-place spot with an 18:17.5 pace.
 
"It was so nice to have [Olivia] beside me. I felt like I was in a good spot with her next to me," commented Caraballo.
 
Continuing right where she left off last season, sophomore Sarah Ross (Agawam, Mass.) turned in an outstanding outing in her first appearance of the season. The distance veteran posted the fastest time of the day for both women's races, clocking in at 17:47.06 to win the women's JV 5K.
 
Mirroring the success of their teammates, the men's squad also brought in top marks in the men's five-mile varsity race with 65 combined points. Posting the leading time for UMass Lowell, junior Joe Young (Dorchester, Mass.) crossed the finish line in 25:00.1 for a seventh-place time. Young's classmate Tyler Sullivan (Walpole, Mass.) came in hot on his heels, posting a final time of 25:02.9 to finish eighth.
 
The men's five-mile JV event provided some of the veteran River Hawk competitors the chance to stretch out and further their training in anticipation of a competitive journey to the postseason. Claiming the top 10 spots, graduate student Drew Everett (Amesbury, Mass.) paced the crew with a time of 24:25.94. Sophomore Joseph Curran (Nashua, N.H.) and graduate student Daniel Cosgrove (Boxford, Mass.) rounded out the top three in 24:25.99 and 24:26.45, respectively.
 
 
"We used the JV race for some of the team to get in a good tempo workout and run controlled," said Gardner.
 
Closing out the top-five spots, sophomore Wouter Van den Akker (Groningen, Netherlands) brought home fourth with a time of 24:32.65, while graduate student Joseph Walsh (Auburn, Mass.) clocked in at 24:32.86 for fifth.
 
"They all ran extremely well today. Hopefully, this sets us up for some good performances in the next few weeks," concluded Gardner.
 
The River Hawks are back in action next Friday, Sept. 23, when they travel to Franklin Park in Boston, Mass., for the 2022 Coast-to-Coast Invitational hosted by Boston College.