River Hawks Ready For Colonial Relays

LOWELL, Mass.—With a weekend outdoors under their belt, the UMass Lowell track and field team sets its sights on its next challenge: the 2023 Colonial Relays hosted by William & Mary.

"Colonial Relays is always a trip the entire team looks forward to. It's a great area for a meet, and William & Mary does an excellent job hosting," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "It's our first test to see where the majority of the team is for the spring."

While some of the team hit the track last weekend to shake out their legs, this weekend's meet marks the outdoor debut for several River Hawks.

"I'm expecting this meet to be a kind of 'rust buster' for me. The first 400 of the season is really just to see where I'm at and where I want to go from there," said graduate student Joseph Gaudreau (Wilmington, Mass.)

After a successful indoor season, the team is eager to keep the momentum as they push through the outdoor season. Down in Virginia, the River Hawks are poised to pick up several top finishes and personal bests after taking time to recover, rest and reset before diving headfirst into a challenging slate.

"We are all looking forward to running in the warm weather this weekend. We've had a hard last few weeks of training, so we're hoping for a fast and smooth season opener," said junior Madison Marsh (Dudley, Mass.) about the team's trip. "The past few weeks following our indoor conference win have been nothing but exciting. We plan on continuing to carry the excitement from indoor to outdoor meets. I am looking for a strong opener with some personal bests."

For some, the highly competitive environment at the Colonial Relays provides a chance to test their strengths and set themselves up for a prolific season.

"It's a meet where we have a lot of opportunities to compete for wins while being pushed to personal bests. It's a great way to start the season and can set up some good performances for later on in the year as well," said senior William Cole-French (Hanoi, Vietnam).

The River Hawks kick off the three days of competition on Thursday, March 30. Live results will be available through Blue Ridge Timing, and a full schedule of events can be found here.

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Players Mentioned

William Cole-French

Joseph Gaudreau

Madison Marsh

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