LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Wouter Van Den Akker (Groningen, Netherlands) of the UMass Lowell men's cross country team and sophomore Mary-Kate Finn (Nashua, N.H.) of the UMass Lowell women's cross country team have been named Co-River Hawks of the Week after their performances at the 2023 America East Cross Country Championships this past Friday. 

Both Van Den Akker and Finn won Individual America East Championships, finishing first in their respective races. Van Den Akker came out on top of the men's 8K by a whopping 20.52 seconds, collecting a person-best time of 24:07.14 and helping the men win their fourth consecutive America East Cross Country Championship as a team. This is also Van Den Akker's second River Hawk of the Week award this year. 

Finn crossed the finish line first in the women's 5K by 8.09 seconds, also picking up a personal-best time with a 17:17.18 mark and leading the women's squad to a third-place finish with 81 points. They finished just behind Vermont, who concluded the race with 77 points, while the winning team, Binghamton, earned 69 points.

Van Den Akker, Finn and the River Hawks will now move on to compete in the NCAA Northeast Regional on Friday, November 10 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. 

The "River Hawk of the Week" is chosen in voting by the UMass Lowell Athletic Communications staff. It honors the top athlete(s), male or female, based on performance during the previous week of competition.