HANOVER, N.H. – A handful of multi-event athletes from the UMass Lowell men's and women's indoor track and field teams traveled to Dartmouth on Friday afternoon to compete in day one of the Dartmouth December Invitational.

After the first of a two-day competition, graduate student Fleur Balogh de Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) led the way in the pentathlon, finishing second overall with 3,378 points, while freshman Nyrah Joseph (Billerica, Mass.) was the other UMass Lowell representative, ending the meet in third place with 3,079 points. For the men, junior Brandon Riley (Weymouth, Mass.) and senior Derek Munroe (Tewksbury, Mass.) were the lone athletes to compete in the heptathlon. Riley ended the day with 2,988 points compared to Munroe's 2,813.

The pentathlon 60m hurdles kicked off the day for the River Hawks, with Joseph leading the way with a third-place finish out of 10 runners and a 9.22 mark. Balogh De Galantha was just behind her in fourth with a 9.26 mark. Balogh De Galantha then led the way in the pentathlon high jump, clearing 1.57m for a tie for first place, while Joseph tied for third with a 1.54m mark in her first career high jump.

Balogh de Galantha kept the momentum going into the pentathlon shot put, collecting another victory with a personal-best toss of 11.46m. Joseph finished in fourth with a 9.25m mark in her first career shot put event. Next was the long jump, where Balogh de Galantha continued her winning ways with a first-place finish and 5.32m mark. Joseph finished tied for fifth with a jump of 4.90m.  The pentathlon concluded with the 800m, and it was Joseph that finished in second place with a 2:43.28 mark, while Balogh de Galantha claimed fourth with a time of 2:52.04.

"Fleur being fully healthy this year makes a huge difference," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "More points were definitely possible, but it was a good first multi meet of the year. Nyrah getting over 3,000 points is a good start and she competed all the way through."

On the men's side, Riley led the way in the first event, the 60m dash, earning a time of 6.93, while Munroe crossed the line in a personal-best time of 7.24. Riley finished first in the long jump as well, picking up a 6.85m mark ahead of Munroe, who leapt to 6.44m for a personal record.

The shot put followed up the long jump, as Munroe reached 13.71m on his third toss. Riley was just behind him, with his first being his best at 12.43m. In the high jump, Riley was on top, clearing 1.85m, while Munroe was just short of him with a 1.79m mark to conclude day one of the heptathlon.  

"Derek and Brandon both had excellent first days and are on pace for personal bests," added Gardner. "Starting out with fast dashes really got them going."

The men will finish off the decathlon tomorrow, Saturday, December 13, beginning at 9:30 a.m.