STORRS, Conn. – The UMass Lowell men's and women's indoor track and field team opened up the indoor season Thursday afternoon, when the multi-event athletes traveled to UConn to compete in day one of the UConn Husky Challenge. The day consisted of the women's pentathlon and first events of the men's heptathlon.

"Everyone has been working really hard all fall, so its been great to get started," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "It was a solid performance all around. The first meet is always a little up and down, but today was mostly up."

Graduate student Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.) finished third overall in the pentathlon with 3,434 points, while senior Fleur Balogh De Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) took sixth place with 3,041 points. Junior Paige Murphy (Billerica, Mass) also competed for the River Hawks, claiming eighth with 2,875 points.

The women's pentathlon kicked it off with the 60m hurdles, and  Grasso led the way with a third-place finish and 8.93 mark. Balogh De Galantha was next, taking sixth place with a time of 9.60, while Murphy was just behind her in seventh with a 9.95 mark. 

Next up was the pentathlon high jump, and Balogh De Galantha shined, taking the win with a 1.62m jump. Grasso was next in fifth, clearing 1.47m, while Murphy took eighth with a jump of 1.38m.

Balogh De Galantha led the River Hawks again in the shot put, earning fourth place honors with a 10.04m toss. Grasso finished tied for fifth with a 9.89m mark, as Murphy threw 9.24m for seventh place.

In the long jump, Grasso leaped to third place, earning a 5.41m mark, while Murphy (5.10m) and Balogh De Galantha (4.98m) finished consecutively in seventh and eighth place.

The women closed out the pentathlon with the 800m run, and Grasso claimed third with a time of 2:27.46, while Murphy was next at 2:38.00 for fifth place. Balogh De Galantha finished in 10th with a time of 2:55.61.

For the men, the 60m kicked it off, and it was sophomore Brandon Riley (Weymouth, Mass.) that led the way with a 7.00 mark and second-place finish. Senior Luke Stelmach (Sterling, Mass.) was next in fifth place with a time of 7.27, while junior Derek Munroe (Teksbury, Mass.) claimed ninth with a 7.47 mark. 

The long jump was next, and Riley once again led the pack in second place, leaping to a 6.88m mark. Munroe finished in ninth with a 6.34m jump and Stelmach took 11th with a jump of 6.16m. 

In the shot put, it was Munroe that claimed second place, tossing 13.31m, while Stelmach finished in sixth with a 12.17m throw. Riley took eighth place with an 11.59m mark. 

The heptathlon high jump closed out the day, as Stelmach tied for second, clearing 1.91m, while Riley finished in fifth place with a 1.82m mark. Munroe went on to claim 10th with a jump of 1.70m. 

The men will now look forward to tomorrow's day two, where they will finish out the UConn Husky Challenge with the remaining three events of the heptathlon.