LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell cross country team is coming off yet another historic season, winning their third consecutive America East Championship a year ago. As 2023 approaches, the squad is prepared for the four-peat. 

The squad left no doubt last year as to who the top team in the America East was, winning the conference championship handily. However, despite all the recent success, the team stays grounded throughout all the glory. 

Since that amazing season just a year ago, the squad has graduated a handful of top contributors, including 2022 America East Individual Champion John Riley and runner-up Drew Everett from the men's side and 2022 All-Conference First Teamer Izzy Giesing from the women's side along with other top performers. Heading into this season, the team will look towards their experienced youth to carry them to success, especially with the women.

That experienced youth includes sophomores Mary-Kate Finn, Dantia Braccio and Miana Caraballo. Joining them as a sophomore eligibility-wise is Sarah Ross, who took home some hardware last year as the 2022 America East Elite 18 Award recipient, which honors the event medalist with the highest GPA. 

There is still a fair amount of experience returning to the women's team, as 2022 America East Individual Champion Kenzie Doyle is back for a graduate season to lead the squad. With a team full of young legs and experience, together they will look to reach new heights.  

As for the men, they have similar strengths to the women's squad heading into the year, but they also have depth, which can prove to be vital down the stretch.    

Opening the 2023 season at the Vermont Invitational on September 2, the team will look to the younger athletes to set the bar for the season, as some will be racing for the first time in a River Hawk uniform. These newcomers know they are entering a dynasty, but they are using that as motivation to continue the winning ways. 

After Vermont, the River Hawks will continue to race and hone their skills in preparation for the conference championships and NCAAs. They will tackle the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on September 16 and Battle in Beantown on September 29 before a big test at the Paul Short Invitational on September 30 at Lehigh. 

After Paul Short, the team has busy October, starting with the New England Championships in Boston on October 7. The next week the squad will head down to Virginia for the competitive Pre-National Invitational on October 14 before heading to the CCSU Invitational on October 20. This rounds out the “regular season” and the team will then make the trek to Orono, Maine for the Americas East Championships.   

The team knows that in order to do well and sustain this level of success, they need to rely on each other and work as a team. This is something that can get lost in a sport like cross country because of how much it feels individual. Culture is something the coaches, as well as athletes preach daily and it has payed off in a massive way for the program. 

Following the conference championships, the team will immediately set their sights on the NCAA Regionals, which will take place at Van Cortlandt Park in New York on November 10. In the past, the team has seen many runners find success at regionals and advance to nationals, so they will look to do the same this year. This season the men's team comes in as the #9 ranked team in the Northeast Region while the women rank 10th.