BOSTON, Mass.—The UMass Lowell women's track & field team went up against some tough competition on Saturday at Battle in Beantown, hosted by Boston University.

"It was a big step forward this weekend," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "Every year, it takes a few weeks of practice and competition before things start to come together after the holiday break. Today certainly showed that's true again this year."

In the running events, junior Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.) set the tone for the River Hawks, earning a fourth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdle with a time of 8.80. Sophomore Mary-Kate Finn (Nashua, N.H.) continued the momentum into the 1-mile event, crossing the line in third, only .43 seconds behind second place. She recorded a personal best time of 4:55.66, while freshman Emma Eagan (Danvers, Mass.) also set a personal best, crossing the line in 22nd with a 5:25.73 mark. 

Senior Rachel Thomas (Perry Hall, M.D) led the River Hawks in the 600-meter run, securing third in her first attempt at the event with a 1:35.00 mark. Sophomore Nubia Pereira (Woburn, Mass.) was the next to cross the line, recording a personal best time of 1:37.19 to earn a seventh-place finish, while sophomore Nia Mainer-Smith (Taunton, Mass.) edged out the competition to earn ninth with a time of 1:38.38. Freshman Emily Burdick (Billerica, Mass.) (1:41.15) and senior Delani Dorsey (Haverhill, Mass.) (1:46.39) rounded out the event with a 16th and 19th place finish, respectively. The 400-meter dash saw sophomore Willow Novak (Guilderland, N.Y.) (1:00.29) and freshman Katharine Cottone (Little Falls, N.J.) (1:01.69) finish just outside the top ten, earning 11th and 12th place, with Cottone recording a personal best.

In the 3000-meter run, senior Mary Yount (Northampton, Mass.) led all River Hawks, taking home first place and crushing her personal best with a 9:55.37 mark. Sophomore Miana Caraballo (Methuen, Mass.) also turned in a strong performance, earning a third-place finish with a personal best time of 9:58.32. Graduate student Arianna Braccio (Nashua, N.H) rounded out the top ten, finishing tenth with a personal best 10:39.33 run.

In the field events, senior Martina Nkwantah (Pepperell, Mass.) continued her dominant performances with another victory, her third of the indoor season, in the Jarred Rome shot put event. She had a throw of 15.22m, which was a new personal best.

"Martina continues to have an amazing season, so much fun to watch," said Gardner.

In the shot put event, the River Hawks swept the top three, with freshman Nhyira Nkansah taking the victory with a throw of 11.77m. Graduate Student Shataeya Smith (Malden, Mass.) picked up second place with a distance of 12.01m, while junior Arlene Davila (Peabody, Mass.) rounded out the top three, making a toss of 11.60m.

Senior Wonuola Ashaju (Lagos, Nigeria) took third place in the triple jump event, leaping 11.63m to lead all River Hawks. Alexandria Grasso (11.47m) and freshman Nethica Auguste (11.39m) also competed in the long jump event, placing fifth and sixth place and recording personal bests, respectively. Senior Rebecca Crosier (Shaftsbury, Vt.) rounded out the top ten with a leap of 10.56m. 

Martina Nkwantah used her earlier victory to propel her to a ninth-place finish in the weight throw with a 16.02m toss. Davila also competed in the event, recording a personal throw of 13.81m to finish in 14th. In the high jump, senior Erin Jensen (Brimfield, Mass.) matched a personal best leap of 1.65m, taking fourth place.

In the pole vault, junior Jules Gravier (Bronxville, N.Y.) was the lone River Hawk to make the top ten, taking ninth place with a personal best vault of 3.42m. Freshman Una Brice (Cork, Ireland) reached a height of 3.12m, earning her 11th place, while Junior Madison Sanchez (Amesbury, Mass.) rounded out the event in 16th with a mark of 2.82m.

"Every event group really was impressive today, so we will continue to builds towards the championship season," said Gardner.

Next, the River Hawks host the River Hawk Invitational at the Track at New Balance in Boston, Massachusetts on January 26th and 27th.