STORRS, Conn.—The UMass Lowell track & field team rounded up the personal bests and top finishes to close out competition at the 2023 Northeast Challenge hosted by UConn on Saturday afternoon.
 
"The meet today was a great competition for our speed and power athletes. We had good weather and saw a lot of PRs," said Associate Head Coach Ally Waruch. "It's always great to see hard work paying off."
 
Sophomore Fleur Balogh de Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) and freshman Derek Munroe (Tewksbury, Mass.) closed out their weekend in the women's Heptathlon and men's Decathlon. After a strong two-day performance, Balogh de Galantha finished tenth overall with a new career record of 4,209 points. On day two, Munroe turned in a first-place performance in the javelin with a new personal-best mark of 57.10m (187'4") en route to claiming a sixth-place finish with 6,227 points.
 
"Fleur and Derek showed a lot of mental and physical toughness over the last two days of the multis," said Waruch. "They had really good overall results because of it."
 
The UMass Lowell sprinters had a day on the track with success on both the men's and women's sides. Junior Madison Marsh (Dudley, Mass.) picked up a new personal best in the women's 200m dash. Clocking in at 24.81, Marsh finished 19th overall.
 
"Madi has worked herself into a tough, strong sprinter since dealing with some injuries early in her career," commented Waruch. "It's fun to watch her racing so well."
 
Graduate student Joseph Gaudreau (Wilmington, Mass.) cruised to a fifth-place finish in the men's 200m. Gaudreau's time of 21.23 earned the fifth year a new career fastest mark.
 
"Joey Gaudreau has really committed to finishing his career strong and has been a great leader for us because of it," remarked Waruch.
 
Junior Adam Katerji (Shrewsbury, Mass.) saw a massive personal record in the men's 400m hurdles. Leading the River Hawks with a sixteenth-place time, Katerji shaved over three seconds off his last fastest to cross in 56.30. Freshman Danielle Thompson (Groton, Mass.) saw her own career mark come down with a new personal best time of 58.19 in the women's 400m.
 
"I was really happy to see the sprint group do so well now that we are getting into the back half of the season," said Waruch.
 
Closing out an impressive team showing for the River Hawks, junior Martina Nkwantah (Pepperell, Mass.) smashed her career-best mark with a fifth-place toss of 14.21m (46'7.5").
 
"Martina has been working on some technical things that turned into a PR for her as well," concluded Waruch.
 
The River Hawks continue their journey to the postseason next weekend, April 20-22, splitting their time between the Virginia Challenge hosted by Charlottesville as well as the 2023 George Davis Invitational at the Cushing Field Complex.