BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Martina Nkwantah (Pepperell, Mass.) earned the school record in the weight throw, as the UMass Lowell women's track and field team turned in great performances Saturday at the Suffolk Ice Breaker at the TRACK at new balance. 

"I was really pleased with how tough the team competed today," said Associate Head Coach Ally Waruch. "Most of the team had high volumes of work the last couple of weeks and they certainly had to work through that today."

Senior Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.) kicked it off with a win in the 60m hurdles, picking up a time of 8.89. 

Five runners concluded the mile within the top 20 out of 68 finishers. Sophomore Mary-Kate Finn led the way with a third-place finish and a personal-best 4:59.23 mark, while senior Mary Yount (Northampton, Mass.) was just behind her in fifth place with a time of 5:05.52. Sophomore Miana Caraballo (Methuen, Mass.) was the final River Hawk in the top 10 with a seventh-place finish and time of 5:06.15. Senior Hannah Doherty (Billerica, Mass.) was not far behind, placing 12th with a 5:12.18 mark, before sophomore Kylie Marion (Baldwinville, Mass.) concluded the race in 20th with a time of 5:20.57. 

Sophomore Nia Mainer-Smith (Taunton, Mass.) (1:01.18) and freshman Emily Burdick (Billerica, Mass.) finished in 11th and 13th in the 400m dash, respectively, while sophomore Nubia Pereira (Woburn, Mass.) turned in a seventh-place performance in the 1,000m run. 

Freshman Jayani Santos ran a personal-best 200m dash, winning the event with a time of 25.03. 

In the 3k, two River Hawks picked up top-10 finishes, as sophomore Mia Jones (Blacksburg, Va.) and junior Vivian Mac (Randolph, Mass.) earned seventh and 10th place, respectively. Jones crossed with a time of 11:13.35, while Mac collected an 11:18.79 mark. 

In the mixed 1,600m relay, the team of sophomore Alejandro Lynch, Grasso, Santos and graduate student Hunter Marino (Weymouth, Mass.) won the event with a 3:36.8 mark.

"It was good to see Jayani PR in the 200, while gritting out a win, then coming back and running a strong leg in the mixed relay win as well," said Waruch.

Nkwantah's record-breaking performance in the weight throw was good for seventh place in the event, as she reached a distance of 16.56m. Junior Arlene Davila (Peabody, Mass.) also competed in the event, picking up 11th place with a 14.10m throw. Nkwantah also competed in the shot put, completing her amazing day with a second-place finish and 14.10m toss. Graduate student Shataeya Smith (Malden, Mass.) also took part in the shot put, earning 10th place and reaching 11.56m.

"Martina made no secret that she was after a big PR and new school record this meet," said Waruch. "It's exciting to see her really start to break into a new level with her throws."  

In the long jump, seniors Rebecca Crosier (Shaftsbury, Vt.) (5.45m) and Wonuola Ashaju (Lagos, Nigeria) (5.33m) had consecutive placements in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Nethica Auguste competed well in the triple jump for the River Hawks, earning fifth place with an 11.03-meter leap. Senior Erin Jensen (Brimfield, Mass.) grabbed an impressive third-place performance in the high jump, clearing 1.60m.  

Next up, the River Hawks will travel to Boston University on January 20 to compete in the Battle in Beantown.