LOWELL, Mass. and RALEIGH, N.C.— The UMass Lowell men's track and field team saw another successful day of action as the team split time between the UMass Lowell Invitational on the friendly confines of the Cushing Field Athletic Complex and the Raleigh Relays hosted by NC State. 
 
Down in Raleigh, graduate student Drew Everett (Amesbury, Mass.) smashed his previous fastest time in the men's 10,000 meter to finish 55th overall. Everett's 29:43.40 time marked a nearly 13-second improvement from his previous personal record. 

"It was a pretty good day overall in Raleigh," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "Drew ran a nice PR in the 10K, which sets him up for a good season."
 
At home, the River Hawks saw a smattering of personal bests and a new school record at the UMass Lowell invitational. On the track, the men started off hot with a first-place finish in the 400-meter relay. Junior Rodrigo Freitas (Billerica, Mass.), junior Aras Kaya (Winchester, Mass.), sophomore Ben Ayotte (Salisbury, Mass.) and junior Baijeon Bookal turned in a flawless performance to clock in at 43.07 for the top spot. 
 
UMass Lowell's sprinters had a day on the track with a trio of River Hawks picking up career-best times in the men's 100-meter. Coming off an outstanding indoor campaign, graduate student Joseph Gaudreau (Wilmington, Mass.) finished second overall off a 10.92 time for a new personal best. Bookal followed up on his team win in the 400-meter relay with a fourth-place time to register a new career-best 11.29 pace. Graduate student Elie Kalambay (Lynn, Mass.) toed the line in 11.31 to post his fastest collegiate mark and finish sixth in the event. 
 
Freshman Tristan O'Riorden highlighted the day with a standout performance in the 400-meter hurdles. On top of snagging first, O'Riorden's 57.50 finishing time marked a new school record in the event. The rookie runner was joined by his fellow freshman Alejandro Lynch, junior Adam Katerji (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and junior Zachary Lalonde (Tewksbury, Mass.) on the track. The trio of Lynch, Katerji and Lalonde went three-four-five to help claim four of the top-eight places.
 
The success only continued to roll in as the team transitioned to the middle distance and distance events. The men dominated the 800 meter to handily take the top four spots. Freshman Ethan Mashtare (St. Albans, Vt.) led the way with a 1:56.59 pace to win the event, followed by graduate student Sean O'Neill (New Egypt, N.J) at 1:58.10, freshman Basit Iddriss (Milford, Mass.) in 1:58.43 and freshman Michael Soucy (Methuen, Mass.) in 1:58.80. 
 
Freshman Sean Kennedy-Wonneberger (East Haddam, Conn.) carried the momentum into the men's 3,000 meter to capture first overall at 8:37.71. Senior William Cole-French (Hanoi, Vietnam) logged a new career-best time of 8:43.48 to earn third. Junior Paul Neilan finished hot on Cole-French's heels at 8:43.84 to take fourth. 

"It's always great to have a home meet. It's awesome to get the first one in the books," commented Gardner. "The entire staff did a great job with the date switch. It ran as smooth as possible."

The River Hawks close out the weekend in Raleigh on Saturday, March 25, with the third and final day of competition at the Raleigh Relays.