BOSTON—Capping two days of fierce competition, the UMass Lowell men's track and field program claimed back-to-back America East Indoor Track and Field Championships Sunday afternoon at the TRACK at new balance.
 
With 185.5 team points, the River Hawks blew away the competition with impressive performances and personal bests across the board. In total, the River Hawks earned five individual titles and one relay championship across the twenty events on day two to help complete their back-to-back title chase.
 
"The men fought with the same intensity as the women. They earned every point and truly deserved the championship," remarked Head Coach Gary Gardner.
 
UMass Lowell opened the day in the field with the men's high jump and shot put. Junior Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass.) picked up points in the high jump, clearing 1.91m (6'3.25") to finish in a tie for seventh place. Over in the throwing gym, junior Luis Cadime (Lowell, Mass.) tossed to 15.39m (50'6") to land in fifth place overall.
 
Ending their two-day stint in the men's heptathlon, sophomore Luke Stelmach (Sterling, Mass.) and freshman Derek Munroe (Tewksbury, Mass.) held steady to finish in second and third, respectively. Over the two days of competition, Stelmach collected 4,798 points while Munroe amassed a career-best 4,394.
 
Moving to the track, the River Hawks started with a strong showing in the men's middle-distance events. Graduate student Drew Everett (Amesbury, Mass.) paced the crew in the men's mile, earning a bronze medal with a final time of 4:08.57. In a physical race, three River Hawks brought up the backend of scoring to go six-seven-eight. Senior John Riley (Quincy, Mass.) crossed in 4:09.08 to take sixth, followed by junior Paul Neilan in 4:09.54 and senior William Cole-French (Hanoi, Vietnam) in 4:10.22. With their seventh and eighth-place times, Neilan and Cole-French ended their weekend with a new set of personal bests in the event.
 
Freshman Jonathan Stock stunned in the men's 800m, setting a personal best and clinching gold in his first-ever America East Championship appearance with a 1:52.34 pace. Junior Tanner Jellison (Wakefield, Mass.) joined Stock in the River Hawks, picking up points with a seventh-place time of 1:55.21
 
Moving to the infield, senior Michael Blake (Hudson, Mass.) sprinted across the finish line in the men's 60-meter dash at 7.27 to snag points with a seventh-place finish. Meanwhile, junior Zachary Lalonde (Tewksbury, Mass.) dashed through the men's 60-meter hurdles to clock in at 9.11 seconds for an eighth-place time.
 
Senior Sean Glass (Haverhill, Mass.) wrapped up the weekend for the sprinters in the men's 200 meter. Speeding past his competitors, Glass toed the line in 21.81 to earn six points and a bronze medal.
 
A thrilling men's 400 meter helped the River Hawks extend their margin of victory. Graduate student Joseph Gaudreau (Wilmington, Mass.) impressed with a personal-best performance to clinch an individual title. Leaving it on the track, Gaudreau stopped the clock at 47.71 to earn an important 10 points for UMass Lowell. Not far off his classmate's time, graduate student Kashief Bogganam (Kingston, N.H.) blasted across the finish line in 48.71 to take third overall. Senior Thomas Jordan (Needham, Mass.) added to the points pickup with two points thanks to a seventh-place time of 49.38.
 
The team transitioned back to the middle distance as the day wore on with the men's 500 meters. Freshman Bradley Diaz turned in an excellent performance in his first-ever postseason appearance. Clocking in at a stellar 1:04.03 time, Diaz not only earned a new career-best time but also claimed first place overall for a massive 10-point pickup. Senior Hunter Marino (Weymouth, Mass.) came in hot on Diaz's heels, stopping the clock at 1:04.07 for second place. Last but not least, freshman Basi Iddriss (Milford, Mass.) added to the impressive rookie outing with a sixth-place finish after crossing in 1:05.62.
 
A notoriously strong distance team, the River Hawks turned up the heat as they closed in on the final individual events of the afternoon: the men's 1,000m and 3,000m races. Claiming four of the eight scoring positions, graduate student Daniel Cosgrove (Boxford, Mass.) led the group with a first-place time of 2:29.04. Freshman Sean Kennedy-Wonneberger (East Haddam, Conn.) crossed next in the Blue and Red, taking third with a final time of 2:30.31. Freshman Hatim Boukhtam (Abington, Mass.) and Cole-French ended the afternoon with sixth and seventh-place marks, respectively, in the 1,000-meters. Boukhtam pushed his body across the line at 2:30.81 followed immediately after by Cole-French at 2:31.44.
 
The final individual event of the day came down the men's 3,000 meters. Once again, the River Hawks excelled in the distance event with four scoring runners. In the down-to-the-wire battle for first, junior Joe Young (Dorchester, Mass.) turned on the jets in the bell lap to claim the 2023 America East individual title in 8:24.58. Senior John Riley (Quincy, Mass.) put on a strong showing to take third in 8:26.81. Everett was next across the line for UMass Lowell in fifth place after finishing in 8:27.66. Rounding out the individual events, sophomore Will Benoit (Fairhaven, Mass.) added a point with an 8:29.59 to take eighth.
 
UMass Lowell ended their day on the track for the men's 4x800 and 4x400 relay. In the long-distance relay, the River Hawks finished fourth overall with a combined 7:49.54 victory. The team put the pin on their back-to-back conference titles with an exciting gold medal performance in the men's 4x400 relay thanks to an incredible anchor leg by Gaudreau.
 
Gardner and the entire UMass Lowell coaching staff were also named the Coaching Staff of the Year for leading both the men's and women's squads to the title sweep.