BOSTON—For the first time in program history, the UMass Lowell women's track and field program was crowned the 2023 America East Indoor Track and Field Champions Sunday afternoon at the TRACK at new balance.
 
Edging out second-place UAlbany by half a point, the women's team finished the day with 196.5 points to hoist the trophy. Out of twenty Day Two events, the River Hawks picked up four individual titles as well as another relay team crown.
 
"The women's meet was the most incredible performance I've ever witnessed. They didn't give an inch and clawed to the victory. It's not easy to beat a team that's won 13 straight. UAlbany is a great program, so it really had to be earned," commented Head Coach Gary Gardner.
 
With a handful of field events left on the schedule, UMass Lowell opened the afternoon with a pair of personal bests in the women's triple jump. Juniors Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.) and Wonuola Ashaju (Lagos, Nigeria) kickstarted the day with third and fifth-place finishes, respectively, off 12.04m (39'6") and 11.75m (38'6.75") leaps.
 
The women's high jumpers matched the energy to go four-five-six to close out their weekend. Coming into a three-way tie at 1.60m (5'3"), sophomore Fleur Balogh de Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) landed in fourth, followed by junior Erin Jensen (Brimfield, Mass.) and senior Sydney Lewis (Nashua, N.H.) in sixth.
 
Junior Martina Nkwantah (Pepperell, Mass.) capped the afternoon in the field with a bronze medal in the shot put. Nkwantah tossed to a distance of 13.86m (45'5.75") to secure her spot in third.
 
The success kept rolling in for the River Hawks as they transitioned to the track. In the women's mile, graduate student Emily Sessa (Tewksbury, Mass.) paced the group of four scorers with a gold medal thanks to a final time of 4:52.69. Senior Kenzie Doyle (Swansea, Mass.) came in right on Sessa's trail, taking second with a 4:53.30 time. Junior Hannah Doherty (Billerica, Mass.) crossed next in fifth, clocking in at 5:08.78. Rounding out the crew, graduate student Sarah Burns (Billerica, Mass.) brought in the final point of the event in fifth at 5:14.9.
 
Graduate student Izzy Giesing (Bradford, Vt.) sparked UMass Lowell's push for the title with another first-place grab for the River Hawks. Giesing picked up an easy individual title in the women's 800m with a time of 2:13.15. Next up, junior Rachel Thomas (Perry Hall, Md.) logged a new personal best in the event to finish fifth in 2:19.06. Closing down the scoring for UMass Lowell, freshman Nubia Pereira (Woburn, Mass.) turned in a 2:22.24 time to land in seventh in her first America East Championship.
 
Junior Madison Marsh (Dudley, Mass.) held it down in the sprints with solid performances in both the women's 200 meters and the women's 60 meters. Starting off with a fifth-place time of 7.79 in the 60 meters, Marsh followed up with sixth overall in the women's 200m to end her stint in Boston.
Returning to the competition floor, Grasso switched from the jumps to the track to tackle the women's 60m hurdles. The lone River Hawk in the finals, Grasso added to her weekend with an 8.87 time to earn fifth.
 
In the final middle-distance event of the weekend, senior Avery Leydon (Woburn, Mass.) took on the 500 meters. In addition to finishing third overall, Leydon's 1:14.95 time marked a new career best for the senior.
 
With eyes on first, UMass Lowell brought the heat in the distance events. Starting things off, the River Hawks went one-two-three to pick up a massive 24 points off the women's 1,000 meters. Sessa returned with another outstanding race, finishing first to snag the individual championship in 2:55.67. Giesing added to her hardware with a silver medal as she coasted in right on Sessa's trail at 2:55.85. Not long after, graduate Carolina O'Shea (Nashua, N.H.) stepped across at 2:56.74 to steal the final spot atop the podium. In her first AE Championship run at the women's 1,000m, freshman Dantia Braccio (Nashua, N.H.) put up an impressive 2:59.28 time to slide in at sixth.
 
The last individual event on the slate did not disappoint for the River Hawks. Doyle added another individual title to her career achievements, crossing in 9:40.53 to take gold. Sophomore Sarah Ross (Agawam, Mass.) and freshman Mary-Kate Finn (Nashua, N.H.) finished within seconds of each other, with Ross logging a 9:57.93 time for fourth and Finn a 10:01.61 for sixth.
 
With a narrow margin separating the River Hawks from UAlbany in second place, the title race came down to the women's 4x800 and 4x400 events. The crew of Braccio, Pereira, Sessa and Giesing returned to put on a thrilling showcase to come back from a half-lap deficit to clinch third by mere milliseconds. The 4x400 marked a similarly electric outing, with the River Hawks clinching their title off an exciting run to inch out ahead of UAlbany to win their first-ever America East title.
 
In addition to a rousing team performance, the women's crew added hardware with individual conference honors. Sessa was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer after helping the River Hawks clinch two relay titles as well as an individual championship. 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.