BOSTON, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men 's track and field team traveled with a specific group this Saturday to take on the Battle in Beantown in Boston, Mass.

"The team performed really well today," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "During this time of the year we look for progress week to week, and this week we had a big step up from the last meet. We had a large amount of personal bests which makes everyone feel great about where we are right now."

Shot put was the opening event, where junior Mukanya Kazadi (Woburn, Mass.) was the lone River Hawk who had thrown for a mark of 13.52m, helping him take first-place overall in the heat.

In the Jarred Rome shot put, senior Ian Camerato (Mount Laurel, N.J.) obtained fifth-place after throwing for a 14.87m mark

Sophomore Shane Exilhomme (Orlando, Fla.) was able to elevate for a top-5 finish in the high jump, claiming third at a mark of 1.90m. Behind him were freshman Camren Allain (Carver, Mass.), who finished in seventh-place (1.85m), freshman Jack Shepherd taking 10th (1.80m), and junior Derek Munroe (Tewksbury, Mass.) in 11th (1.70m).

Leading the way for the River Hawks, graduate student Daniel Cuddy (Hudson, Mass.) rose to a mark of 4.15m in the pole vault, tying in fifth-place. Freshman Sawyer O'Riorden (Stow, Mass.) cracked the top-10 with an eighth-place finish at a 4.15m mark. Senior Luke Stelmach (Sterling, Mass.) and sophomore Brandon Riley (Weymouth, Mass.) also competed in the pole vault event.

In the weight throw, the only River Hawk to take part was Camerato, who threw for a mark of 11.62m finishing in 13th place. 

Ending field events on long jump, graduate student Brandon Williams (Severn, Md.) would launch himself into sixth-place with a 6.24m mark. Shepherd, sophomore Kuzey Kaya (Winchester, Mass.), and senior Ben Ayotte (Salisbury, Mass.) also jumped in the event.

The 60m hurdles prelim started the running events on the day for UMass Lowell. Two River Hawks advanced to the next heat after claiming top-10 finishes with Brandon Riley taking fifth-place at a time of 8.76 and Stelmach recording a sixth-place finish with a time of 8.77. Monroe was shy by two tenths of a second from moving on to the final heat, finishing in 11th at 9.06. In the final heat, Stelmach would express his bunnies by taking home fifth-place at a mark of 8.60 in the 60m hurdles. Riley, not far behind, finished in seventh at a time of 8.78

The young buck in sophomore Daniel Kennedy (Tolland, Conn.) took charge as the only River Hawk runner, asserting himself in the top-3 of the 60m dash prelim. Kennedy would finish in third at a time of 6.93. Ultimately, Kennedy would sneak his way into fifth-place in the 60m dash, recording a time of 6.97.

The River Hawks on top yet again in the one mile run with a pack of runners led by junior Sean Kennedy-Wonneberger (East Haddam, Conn.) who would obtain first at a time of 4:03.87. Following behind, senior Graham Stedfast (Rowley, Mass.) (4th, 4:07.15), junior Hatim Boukhtam (Abington, Mass.) (5th, 4:07.61), graduate student Joseph Young (Dorchester, Mass.) (7th, 4:07.89), senior Jan Wouter Van Den Akker (Groningen, Netherlands) (9th, 4:09.58), and junior Wiliam Benoit (Fairhaven, Mass.) (10th, 4:09.89) were all able to run their way into the top-10. In the top-25, freshman Isaac Henderson would finish in 11th at 4:12.65, senior Joseph Curran (Nashua, N.H.) took 19th place at 4:14.87, junior Ethan Mashtare (St. Albans, Vt.) finished in 23rd at a time of 4:16.86 and graduate student Hunter Marion (Templeton, Mass.) clocked in at 4:17.72 for 24th. Sixteen other River Hawk runners were also able to participate in the one mile run. 

The 600m run came next with junior Basit Iddriss (Milford, Mass.) claiming fourth after moving his way to a 1:20.64 time. Freshman Gabriel Sisk (West Hartford, Conn.) followed, finishing one tenth of a second later for a fifth-place finish at a time of 1:20.75. Graduate student Tanner Jellison (Wakefield, Mass.) clocked in at a time of 1:22.23, taking 12th place. Freshman Sean Kerin (Walpole, Mass.), sophomore Pedro Mayol (Lincoln, R.I.), freshman Tyler Rothrock (Allentown, Pa.), and senior Sean Riley (Wilmington, Mass.) ran in the event as well.

Junior Tristan O'Riorden zoomed his way into the top-3 in the 400m dash, claiming third-place at 48.91. Also running, sophomore Anthony Massari (Dumont, N.J.) would finish in sixth at a time of 50.04.

Freshman Michael Fisher (Wallingford, Conn.) was the only River Hawk in the top-10 of the 300m dash, finishing in seventh at a time of 34.69. Five River Hawks finished in a row with freshman Michael Gyimah (Kumasi, Ghana) in front taking 11th (35.41), sophomore Evan Imasogie (Lowell, Mass.) in 12th (35.62), junior Brett Earle (Baldwinville, Mass.) placing in 13th (35.67), freshman Dmitrius Shearrion (Taunton, Mass.) taking 14th (35.68) and graduate student Aras Kaya (Winchester, Mass.) in 15th place (35.99). Freshman Liam O'Keefe (Trumbull, Conn.) also ran in the 300m dash. 

The River Hawks had one lone runner in the 800m run where freshman Tyler Young (Marion, Mass.) pushed himself to a ninth-place finish at 1:58.15. 

In the 200m dash, Brandon Riley would inch his way into 10th place at a time of 22.28. Munroe also ran in the event claiming 14th with a time of 23.37. 

Graduate student Paul Neilan led the pack in the 3000m run, cruising his way to a ninth-place finish at 8:16.85. Alongside Neilan were senior TJ Glowik (Danvers, Mass.), finishing inside the top-20, at 19th with a time of 8:37.54, sophomore Keegan Tierney (East Greenwich, R.I.) recording a time of 8:40.04 for 22nd and sophomore Timothy Walsh (Auburn, Mass.) taking 24th with a time of 8:43.94. Sophomore Dean Allen (Chelmsford, Mass.) also participated in the event.

UMass Lowell will look ahead when they host the River Hawk Invitational on January 24 and 25 in Boston, Mass at the Track at new balance. The invitational is also organized to be a Morgan's Message Dedication Meet.