LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's track and field team returned to action for the first time in 2023 at the Ice Breaker Invitational hosted by Suffolk University at the TRACK at new balance. The day was filled with first-place finishes in both running and field events. 

"It was a quality return from a long layoff," said head coach Gary Gardner. "It's clear the kids did their work over break, which is always a great feeling as a coach. We had several outstanding performances early in the season which set us up for a great winter." 

The River Hawks picked up a whopping four victories in the running events. Junior Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.) came out on top in the 60m hurdles, winning with a time of 8.87. This finish gave Grasso her second victory in the 60m hurdles in the past three meets. Graduate student Nina Tasker (Lebanon, Maine) earned a fourth place finish with a time of 9.57 while sophomore Fleur Balogh De Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) finished right behind her in fifth place with a 9.67 mark. Senior Sydney Lewis (Nashua, N.H.) made it three consecutive River Hawk finishers in 6th place at 9.77.

Sophomore Sarah Ross (Agawam, Mass.) bested the competition in the mile run with a time of 5:03.60. Graduate student Caroline O'Shea (Nashua, N.H.) finished .70 seconds behind her to earn second with a 5:04.30 mark. The River Hawks had three more top-ten performances in the mile, as freshman Mary-Kate Finn (Nashua, N.H.) (5:06.51) finished in fourth, freshman Miana Caraballo (Methuen, Mass.) (5:13.36) finished in fifth, junior Mary Yount (Northampton, Mass.) (5:15.99) finished in seventh and junior Hannah Doherty (Billerica, Mass.) (5:20.20) picked up 10th place honors. 

In the 800-meter run, three River Hawks crossed the finish line in the top six runners and senior Chelsea Lynch (Amesbury, Mass.) won with a time of 2:23.87. Senior Leah Rudolph (Gloucester, Mass.) finished in fourth place with a time of 2:27.98 and junior Delani Dorsey's (Haverhill, Mass.) time of 2:29.07 was good for sixth place.

The success continued in the 1,000-meter run, where four River Hawks ended up in the top five. Graduate student Izzy Giesing (Bradford, Vt.) won the event with a time of 2:45.95 while graduate student Emily Sessa (Tewksbury, Mass.) was the second-place finisher, coming in with a 2:52.34 mark. Freshman Nubia Pereira (Woburn, Mass.) (3:06.78) and junior Rachel Thomas (Perry Hall, Md.) (3:08.18) finished consecutively in fourth and fifth place.

Although it did not feature a first-place finish, the 400-meter run saw some great performances from the River Hawks. Senior Avery Leydon (Woburn, Mass.) finished in 3rd place with a time of 57.62. Freshman Nia Mainer-Smith (Taunton, Mass.) earned sixth-place with a time of 1:00.47 while graduate student Tatum Pecci (Tewksbury, Mass.) came in right after with a 1:01.39 mark. 

To round out the running events, the women were a part of five top-ten finishes in the mixed 1,600-meter relay with members of the men's squad. Giesing and Leydon were part of the first-place group, finishing with a time of 3:36.33. Lynch and junior Madison Marsh (Dudley, Mass.) contributed greatly to the third-place group, running a time of 3:44.91 collectively. Pecci and Pereira earned fourth-place honors with a time of 3:45.92. Freshmen Danielle Thompson (Groton, Mass.) and Willow Novak (Guilderland, N.Y.) finished in sixth place with a 3:49.76 while junior Rebecca Crosier (Shaftsbury, Vt.) and Grasso crossed in seventh place at 3:56.05. 

In the field events, junior Erin Jensen (Brimfield, Mass.) earned a tie for first place in the high jump, leaping to a mark of 1.65m. Balogh De Galantha and Lewis shared third place with a height of 1.60m. Senior Isabella Ha (Chester Heights, Pa.) finished in 6th place with a jump of 1.50m while freshman Paige Murphy (Billerica, Mass.) earned a 1.40m jump for ninth place. 

Junior Martina Nkwantah (Pepperell, Mass.) garnered second-place honors in the shot put with a 13.15-meter throw. Sophomore Arlene Davila (Peabody, Mass.) was the other River Hawk to compete, finishing in 11th place with a distance of 10.92m. 

Grasso was the lone representative in the triple jump, finishing in fourth place at 11.18m. Junior Wonuola Ashaju (Lagos, Nigeria) and Crosier finished back-to-back in long jump standings at sixth and seventh place respectively. Ashaju jumped to a 5.30-meter mark while Crosier reached 5.28m. 

The pole vaulting duo of sophomore Jules Gravier (Bronxville, N.Y.) and sophomore Madison Sanchez (Amesbury, Mass.) both earned top-eight finishes as Gravier earned fifth with a height of 2.90m and Sanchez reached 2.45m for a share of eighth place. 

Nkwantah and Davila competed in the weight throw for the River Hawks, finishing in sixth and 12th place respectively. Nkwantah threw 15.22m while Davila earned a distance of 13.76m. 

Next up, the River Hawks will compete at the Battle in Beantown hosted by Boston University on Saturday, January 21.