NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.—The UMass Lowell men's track & field team had a day at the Merrimack Invitational on Thursday, turning in a full-team effort for first place in North Andover, Mass.
 
"They took advantage of the good weather today. A lot of people were able to put in some quality work in off events to get ready for the upcoming championship season. It was great to see a lot of event winners and people hungry to compete," said Associate Head Coach Ally Waruch.
 
With 175 points, the River Hawks handily claimed the top spot with a 27-point margin over second-place Merrimack. Stonehill rounded out the top three in third after amassing 118 points.
 
"It was a strong showing for the men tonight. We are starting to see the results of training both in the field and on the track," said Assistant Coach Kazeem "Dayo" Ibraheem.
 
The River Hawks impressive outing started in the throwing circle with top performances by sophomore James Kotowski, junior Luis Cadime (Lowell, Mass.) and sophomore Ian Camerato (Mount Laurel, N.J.). Kotowski has yet to miss a step to start his outdoor campaign, hitting 63.91m (209'4") to take the top spot in the javelin throw. Cadime saw a pair of first-place distances in both the discus and the shot put, tossing to 43.95m (144'2") and 15.41m (50'6.75"), respectively. Competing alongside Cadime, Camerato reached a final mark of 42.51m (139'5") in the shot put for second overall, before tossing to a distance of 13m (42'8") in the discus to take third.
 
In the sand pit, senior Evans Oduro (Kumasi, Ghana) leaped into first place in the long jump with a 6.82m (22'4.5") jump. Junior Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass.) won the men's high jump after clearing 1.90m (6'2.75").
 
UMass Lowell picked up speed with big wins on the track. Notably, junior Joe Young (Dorchester, Mass.), graduate student Joseph Young (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and graduate student Joseph Gaudreau (Wilmington, Mass.) excelled in their respective events. Joe Young led things off in the men's mile, logging an easy first-place finish after cruising in at 4:15.78 for a new personal best. Joseph Young sprinted his way to a third-place mark with a time of 11.09 in the men's 100m, just milliseconds off his fastest collegiate performance. Gaudreau kept his hot outdoor start going with his second personal best of the season, winning the men's 200m dash in 21.64.
 
The River Hawks controlled the men's 400m, going one-two-three to dominate the event. Freshman Bradley Diaz picked up first after clocking in at 49.11. He was followed by classmates Jonathan Stock in second at 49.53, and Basit Iddriss in third with a 49.66 finish.
 
Sophomore Andrew Benassi (Reading, Mass.) made his men's 800m debut on Thursday, excelling to take first overall with a time of 1:55.53.
 
The River Hawks close out their split weekend of competition on Friday, April 7, at the Duke Invitational.