LOWELL, Mass. – Led by a near school record-breaking pentathlon performance from senior Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.), the UMass Lowell women's track and field team traveled to UConn on Thursday to compete at the UConn Husky Challenge.
 
"It was a good opener for the multi athletes," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "Alexandria just missed the school record in the pentathlon in her first attempt at the event. There is not an event that she can't improve in, so it will be fun to see her compete again later in the season."
 
Three River Hawks competed in Thursday's pentathlon and the afternoon started with the 60m hurdles, where Grasso was the first River Hawk to cross the finish line, placing first with a time of 8.75. Junior Fleur Balogh De Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) was next, finishing sixth with a time of 9.34. Sophomore Paige Murphy (Billerica, Mass.) finished in ninth with a 10.30 mark.
 
It was Balogh De Galantha that led the way for the River Hawks in the pentathlon high jump, reaching 1.57m for third place. Grasso and Murphy rounded out the event placing sixth and seventh with marks of 1.48m and 1.42m, respectively. In the third event, the pentathlon shot put, Grasso placed a team-best third with a mark of tossing 10.38m. Balogh finished fifth with a 9.83m mark, while Murphy was seventh, reaching 9.23m.
 
Next, in the long jump, Grasso reached an impressive mark of 5.56m, earning first place. Murphy took sixth place with a jump of 4.94m. The 800m run closed out Thursday's events, as Grasso crossed second at 2:24.61, followed by Murphy in fifth with a time of 2:39.42.
 
Next up, the River Hawks will take a break from competition until Saturday's January 6 meet at Dartmouth.