NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.—Top finishes were the hallmark of the afternoon as the UMass Lowell women's track & field team ran to a second-place team victory at the Merrimack Invitational on Thursday afternoon.
 
With 177 points, the River Hawks finished just 3.5 points shy of first-place Merrimack. Stonehill closed out the top three with 126 combined points.
 
"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.
 
Sophomore Arlene Davila (Peabody, Mass.) took advantage of the day to log three top-five finishes across the hammer throw, discus and shot put. Davila started off with a third-place toss in the hammer, reaching 42.86m (140'7"). She followed up with a 33.42m (109'7") distance in the discus for fourth overall, and a 11.3m (37'3") heave in the shot put for another third-place mark.
 
Junior Wonuola Ashaju (Lagos, Nigeria) had quite the outing in the sand pit with a pair of firsts. The jumper soared to a 5.50m (18'0.50") distance in the long jump to snag first. She then added to her winnings with the top mark of 11.44m (37'6.5") in the triple jump. Junior Erin Jensen (Brimfield, Mass.) came within inches of her collegiate best in the high jump, clearing 1.60m (5'3") for yet another first-place finish for UMass Lowell.
 
The team stayed sharp on the track, seeing another wave of top times. Freshman Mary-Kate Finn (Nashua, N.H.) crushed the competition in the women's mile, surging out to a 15-second lead to easily take the top spot in 5:00.59. Senior Avery Leydon (Woburn, Mass.) earned her first win of the season in the women's 400m, coming within a second of her career-best with a final time of 57.76
 
The women's 4x100 meter relay team comprised of junior Madison Marsh (Dudley, Mass.), freshman Danielle Thompson (Groton, Mass.), graduate student Tatum Pecci (Tewksbury, Mass.) and junior Rebecca Crosier (Shaftsbury, Vt.) excelled, tacking on another first-place finish for the River Hawks. Marsh led the way in the team victory, followed by Thompson, Pecci and Crosier in the anchor spot, to cross in 48.60.
 
Marsh, Thompson and Pecci saw their own share of success on the individual level. Marsh continued her impressive season with a first-place finish in the 200m after crossing in 25.35. Thompson and Pecci joined Marsh in the sprint, with Thompson taking third in 26.19 and Pecci earning fourth overall in 26.68.
 
"It was another good met in the books as we continue to prepare and fine tune for [the America East Championships] next month," commented Assistant Coach Kazeem "Dayo" Ibraheem. "Madi Marsh and Mary-Kate Finn lead the way with some fine performances today in the women's mile and the women's 200m."
 
The River Hawks close out their split weekend of competition on Friday, April 7, at the Duke Invitational.