DEDHAM, Mass./NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The UMass Lowell men's and women's track and field teams competed at the New England Championships on Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13 in Dedham, Mass., as well as the Yale Last Chance Meet in New Haven, Conn. on Saturday.  

Junior Martina Nkwantah (Pepperell, Mass.) highlighted the trip to the New England Championships with an impressive performance in the shot put on day two. She finished in second place, tossing a distance of 14.18m, just falling short of her personal record of 14.24m. 

In the women's long jump, junior Rebecca Crosier (Shaftsbury, Vt.) earned an eighth-place finish with a 5.56-meter leap. Sophomore Fleur Balogh De Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) and senior Sydney Lewis (Nashua, N.H.) took part in the high jump, as Balogh De Galantha tied her personal-best 1.65-meter jump for s share of ninth place, while Lewis took 12th place with a jump of 1.60m. Junior Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass.) competed in the men's high jump, clearing 1.90m for 10th place overall. Balogh De Galantha also ran the 100m hurdles race, crossing the finish line with a time of 15.35 seconds for 20th place. Graduate student Nina Tasker (Lebanon, Maine) finished just behind her in 22nd place with a time of 15.36. 

The lone River Hawk in the men's pole vault, junior Maxwell Davis (Stoneham, Mass.) finished 19th on the day, clearing 4.30m In the men's javelin, junior Zach Cardoso (Newton, N.H.) finished 16th with a throw of 52.82, while junior Robert Townsend (Ashland, Mass.) threw 49.35m for 22nd. 

In the women's 400m race, Danielle Thompson finished with a 59.46 mark in 25th place, while Bradley Diaz competed on the men's side, earning 15th-place honors with a time of 49.09. Thompson was also a part of the 14th-place 4x100 relay team along with Tasker, graduate student Tatum Pecci (Tewksbury, Mass.) and junior Alexis Lefaivre (Newport, Vt.), earning a 49.40 mark. Lefaivre ran the 100m dash as well, picking up 21st place and a 12.62 time. 

Freshman Alejandro Lynch ran the men's 400m hurdles, crossing in 20th with a time of 56.34, while freshman Kylie Marion (Baldwinville, Mass.) ran the women's 5K, finishing with an 18:04.49 mark in 14th place.

The squad traveled a small group of five runners to the Yale Last Chance Meet on Saturday. Senior Kenzie Doyle highlighted the day, winning the women's 5K with a personal-best 16:00.06 mark, beating out 11 other competitors and finishing more than nine minutes before the second-place finisher. With the dominant win, she punched her ticket to the NCAA East Regional. The other member of the women's team to compete at Yale was graduate student Emily Sessa, who finished fifth in the 1,500m race with a time of 4:22.17, good for her personal record.

"Emily finished off a strong career with a PR in the 1,500," said Assistant Coach Kazeem "Dayo" Ibraheem. "It has been fun to see her grow. Kenzie looks the best she has all year as sher prepares for NCAA Regionals."  

For the men, graduate student Joseph Walsh (Auburn, Mass.) ran the 3,000m steeplechase, finding success and finishing third with a 9:04.04 mark. Fellow graduate student Daniel Cosgrove (Boxford, Mass.) competed in the men's 1,500m race, earning eighth place with a time of 3:46.98.

"Good finish for senior Joe Walsh, as he clocks one of his better times of the season." said Ibraheem.