LOWELL, Mass. – Coming off yet another championship-winning cross country season in 2022, the men's and women's track and field team took that winning energy to the spring semester, where they found even more success during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. 

The next weekend, the multi-event athletes traveled to URI for the Rhode Island Multi Event Meet, while the remainder of the squads participated in the Beacon Invitational. At URI, sophomore Luke Stelmach (3,956pts) and freshman Derek Munroe (3,934pts) finished in seventh and eighth place, respectively. Sophomore Fleur Balogh De Galantha led the women's team in the pentathlon, finishing in sixth place (3,124pts), while senior Sydney Lewis ended up in 14th place (2,765pts) and freshman Paige Murphy came in 17th (2,632pts).

The team co-hosted the Beacon Invitational along with UMass Boston to cap off 2022, and both the men and women found success. With a plethora of top finishes and personal bests, sophomore Graham Stedfast led the way with a second-place performance in the 800-meter run, clocking in at 1:54.18 and narrowly missing out on first place by just 0.36 seconds. 

The same rang true for the women's side, as there were an abundance of top finishes. The field events saw two River Hawk first-place finishers. In the weight throw, sophomore Arlene Davila picked up the victory with a personal-best 15.26-meter throw. Junior Erin Jensen was the other River Hawk winner in the high jump, reaching 1.60m. Junior Madison Marsh shined on the track in the 60-meter dash, finishing in second place with a time of 7.79 and narrowly missing first place by just 0.03 seconds.

The River Hawks celebrated the new year with a trip to the Ice Breaker Invitational, hosted by Suffolk, followed by the Battle in Beantown, hosted by BU. It was a quality return from a layoff at the Ice Breaker, as Stelmach earned the victory in the 60-meter hurdles (8.86) and graduate student Joseph Gaudreau picked up another first-place finish for the River Hawks (22.10). In the field, junior Michael Makiej won the high jump event with a 1.95-meter jump. The River Hawk women picked up a whopping four victories in the running events at the Ice Breaker. Junior Alexandria Grasso came out on top in the 60m hurdles (8.87), sophomore Sarah Ross bested the competition in the mile (5:03.60), senior Chelsea Lynch won the 800m with a time of 2:23.87 and Graduate student Izzy Giesing dominated the 1,000m with a time of 2:45.95 and a first-place finish.

The team also performed well at BU in the Battle in Beantown, taking their game to the next level as the season progressed. Giesing (600m, 1:30.82), Doyle (Mile, 4:44.30) and Ross (3K, 9:47.29) all won their respective races for the women, while the men collected a load of top finishes. 

Rounding out the remainder of the regular season with tests at the Terrier Classic, the home River Hawk Invitational, the Scarlett and White Invitational, the UNH Meet and the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, the River Hawks fine tuned their events as the America East Championships rapidly approached. 

The home meet at the TRACK at new balance went extremely well, as the women competed on day one, before the men capped off the weekend on day two. Grasso put up the best running-event placement for the River Hawks, finishing in second place in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.83 as the lone school representative in the race. The best finish overall for the River Hawks came in the shot put event, where junior Martina Nkwantah claimed first place with a throw of 13.38 meters. For the men, Junior Paul Neilan had an outstanding performance in the mile, putting up a personal-best time of 4:10.58 and finishing in first place out of 69 total finishers. Another River Hawk victory came in the 400 meter dash, as graduate student Joseph Gaudreau cruised to a 48.27 mark to capture the first-place finish. These victories came alongside many top-five and top-ten performances.   

The team's hard work became worth it in the end, as the men and women swept the 2023 America East Indoor Track and Field Championships, just under four months after sweeping the cross country championships. The men earned 185.5 points, blowing away the competition with five individual winners and one relay championship. The women earned their first-ever indoor win in dramatic fashion, edging out second-place UAlbany by just 0.5 points. It came down to the final race of the weekend and the River Hawks' 196.5 points, along with their four individual winners and one relay championship was enough for the crown.  

The next week was the Last Chance Meet, where Giesing punched her ticket to the 2023 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She qualified in the women's 800m race with a personal-best time of 2:02.35, finishing fifth overall at the meet. 

In addition to Giesing, Freshman Miana Caraballo took on the women's mile at the last Chance Meet and clocked in at 5:03.12 to take 19th overall. With her time, Caraballo shaved nearly four seconds off her previous fastest mark. On the men's side, senior Timothy Champlin snagged a first-place finish in the men's 1,000m race, stopping the clock at 2:28.51 to take the top spot and coming within milliseconds of setting a new personal best. Graduate student Christopher McCauliff earned another career best for the River Hawks to cap his season. McCauliff represented the Mill City in the men's 800m, where he placed 27th with a new fastest mark of 1:54.83. 

At nationals, Giesing earned her second career All-American Second Team honor, becoming just the second River Hawk to do so since elevating to Division I. She finished in 12th place overall in the 800m with a 2:06.72 mark, which was fifth in her heat.  

As the decorated indoor season came to a close, it was time to kick off the outdoor season at the Raleigh Relays, hosted by NC State and our very own UMass Lowell Invitational. 

Sophomore James Kotowski impressed in Raleigh, throwing to a 66.81m (219'2") distance to capture fifth place overall. With his mark, Kotowski sat amongst the top 20 javelin throwers in the NCAA to open the season.

Joe Young Jr. and Kenzie Doyle also performed well out of the gates in North Carolina, as Young Jr. clocked a new personal best in the men's 3,000m steeplechase. The distance veteran shaved nearly 13 seconds off his last fastest time to finish 22nd overall at 8:59.78. Doyle picked up right where she left off with an impressive performance in the women's 10K. Racing against a talented field of runners, Doyle landed in tenth overall with a new career-best mark of 33:25.72. Doyle's PR also recorded a brand new school record in the event and was good for the ninth-fastest time in the NCAA at the time. 

After a successful trip to William & Mary for the Colonial Relays the next week, the River Hawks headed to both the Merrimack College and Duke Invitationals. 

The team turned in a first-place team performance at Merrimack, as many River Hawks picked up first-place individual performances as well. Kotowski won the javelin (63.91m), junior Luis Cadime earned a pair of wins in the discus (43.95m) and shotput (15.41m) and senior Evans Oduro finished first in the long jump (6.82m). Michael Makiej won the high jump with a 1.90m leap, Joe Young won the men's mile (4:15.78) and Gaudreau won the 200m with a personal-best mark of 21.64. The men also finished 1-2-3 in the 400m, as 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 made his men's 800m debut as well, excelling to take first overall with a time of 1:55.53. 

The women took second place at Merrimack. Junior Wonuola Ashaju earned first place in both the long jump (5.50m) and triple jump (11.44m). Freshman Mary-Kate Finn won the mile, surging out to a 15-second lead to easily take the top spot in 5:00.59. Senior Avery Leydon 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, freshman Danielle Thompson, graduate student Tatum Pecci and junior Rebecca Crosier excelled, tacking on another first-place finish for the River Hawks. Marsh continued her impressive season with a first-place finish in the 200m as well, crossing in 25.35.

A small group of River Hawks competed at Duke and it was graduate student Emily Sessa that led the way despite the rain. She finished second in her section and third overall in the 1,500m at 4:30.75. Giesing also competed well in her outdoor season debut, finishing 19th in the 1,500m invite with a mark of 4:26.85. Graduate student Drew Everett (14:23.40)and senior John Riley (14:28.80) both ran the men's 5K, finishing in 14th and 22nd, respectively.  

The next week was jam-packed with events, as the team competed in the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton, the Friar Invitational at Providence and the Northeast Challenge at UConn all in one weekend. These events helped prepare the River Hawks for their big events the next week - The Virginia Challenge at Virginia and the home George Davis Invitational in Lowell. 

At the Virginia Challege, Gaudreau and senior Michael Blake competed in the 200-meter run for the men, finishing in 15th and 22nd place, respectively, out of 42 total runners. Gaudreau hit a time of 21.68 while Blake crossed the finish line at 22.00. For the women, Marsh competed in the 200-meter run, earning a 25th-place finish out of 51 total finishers with a time of 25.05. Leydon was the only other woman to compete in Virginia for the River Hawks, finishing 39th in the 800-meter run with a 2:14.93 mark.

Back at home at the George Davis Invitational, the relay teams proved to be unstoppable, as the men won both the 400-meter and 1,600-meter relays. The 400m team of Young, junior Adam Katerji, senior Sean Glass and Bookal clocked in at 42.39, while Marino, Jordan, senior Ryan Casebolt and freshman Basit Iddriss finished the 1,600-meter relay in 3:59.25. For the women, the 1,600-meter relay team of graduate student Tatum Pecci, Nia Mainer-Smith, senior Chelsea Lynch and Thompson picked up the first-place finish with a 3:59.25 mark. In the 400-meter relay, freshman Willow Novak, Thompson, Pecci and junior Rebecca Crosier ran a time of 49.60 for fourth place. Thompson earned a personal-best 400 time in her leg. Kotowski continued his historic season, winning the javelin event with a 68.55m toss, continuing to improve his mark. Martina Nkwantah won the women's javelin with a personal-best 40.17m throw. These performances came along side multiple top-five finishes for both teams.  

The men's track and field team made history on May 7, winning its first America East Outdoor Track and Field Championship. To make it even sweeter, the victory completes the triple crown for the men's squad, becoming America East Champions in all three consecutive seasons this year, including cross country, and both indoor and outdoor track and field. The River Hawks soared to the top of the leaderboard in Sunday's day two, and ended with 198 total points. The hosts, UAlbany, finished second with 158 points, while Binghamton's 104 points was good for third place. With the victory, Head Coach Gary Gardner and his staff were named the 2023 America East Outdoor Track and Field Coaching Staff of the Year. 

Freshman Derek Munroe definitely stepped up, and was named the 2023 America East Track and Field Most Outstanding Rookie for his victory in the men's decathlon, which consists of 10 different events, both on the track and the field. He finished first in the javelin (49.94m), pole vault (4.00m), discus (37.46m) and shot put (12.83m), placing atop the leaderboard in four of 10 events. He also ended the day third in the 1,500m (4:54.50), fourth in the 400m (53.02), fifth in both the 110m hurdles (17.54) and long jump (6.17m), and sixth in both the high jump (1.70m) and 100m dash (11.62) to collect 6,213 points and the gold medal. 

Junior Michael Makiej also brought home some extra hardware, earning the America East Track and Field Elite 18 Award for posting the highest GPA of any athlete to finish top eight during the weekend, proving his hard work in both the classroom and athletics. Makiej took fifth place in the high jump on Sunday, clearing 1.97m. 

The women's squad's performance at the 2023 America East Outdoor Track and Field Championships was also one to applaud, as they finished in second place overall with 124.5 points. 

They collected two individual champions in Izzy Giesing and Kenzie Doyle. Giesing got her victory in the 1,500m run, coming in at 4:22.73 to pick  up 10 points for the team. Doyle won her second event of the weekend on day two, after becoming the 10K individual champion on day one, as she bested the competition in Sunday's 5K with a time of 17:20.91. Emily Sessa finished just behind Giesing in the 1,500m, earning a 4:29.01 mark. Three other runners earned points for the River Hawks in the 5K, as well. Freshman Mary-Kate Finn finished fourth with a time of 17:32.42, while freshman Miana Caraballo (17:56.61) and junior Hannah Doherty (18:09.34) finished consecutively in sixth and seventh place, respectively. 

In the field events, Martina Nkwantah performed well in the shot put, placing second with a 14.22-meter toss. Fleur Balogh De Galantha finished second in the high jump, clearing 1.65m. Balogh De Galantha also found success in the heptathlon, finishing second with a personal-best 4,368 points. She won the high jump at 1.64m and long jump at 5.39m, before setting her personal best in the 100m hurdles, coming in at 14.95. She also finished second in the 200m (26.74), third in the shot put (9.73m), fifth in the 800m (2:40.87) and 11th in the javelin (18.42m). Sydney Lewis also broke her personal record for points in the heptathlon, scoring 3,916 for the team for fifth place overall. Paige Murphy made it three-for-three on heptathlon personal-bests, collecting 3,678 points for eighth place overall. She also broke her personal-record in the 100m hurdles at 16.76.

The next week was the New England Championships and Yale Last Chance Meet. Martina Nkwantah 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.

The squad traveled a small group of five runners to the Yale Last Chance Meet on Saturday. 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 Emily Sessa, who finished fifth in the 1,500m race with a time of 4:22.17, good for her personal record.

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

These events led right into NCAAs 

Doyle closed out the year at the NCAA Championships, where she ran well in the 10K. She battled through the humid conditions to a 17th-place finish and a 34:41.76 mark, earning herself All-America honorable mention honors. 

This decorated season for Doyle included America East Titles in both cross country and indoor track and field, as well as winning the individual conference title in both the 5K and 10K at the 2023 America East Outdoor Championships. She also broke six total personal records in six different events through all three seasons this year and qualified for two NCAA Championships in both cross country and outdoor track and field.