LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men’s and women’s cross country teams continued the program’s success yet again in 2025, collecting amazing individual and team performances throughout the fall. The men’s squad claimed their sixth consecutive America East Championship and finished seventh at the NCAA Northeast Regional, while sending one runner to the NCAA Championships, while the women finished fifth at the conference championship and 20th at the Northeast Regional.

However, this success did not come easy and without hard work, as it all started back in August, when the team gathers at Camp Mah-Kee-Nac in Lenox, Massachusetts. They all stay together for a week at the camp, bonding with group activities and training in the nearby trails to prepare for the upcoming season. 

The season officially started with the Vermont Invitational, where many younger and less-experienced runners get a chance to show their skills at the collegiate level. For the men, freshman Will Conklin (Danvers, Mass.) led the team with a 20:24.70 mark for a second place, while Junior Nicolas Uzzo (East Bridgewater, Mass.) also finished in the top 10 in ninth with a 21:01.00 mark. Freshman Anna Fondakoswki led the women with an eighth-place finish and 19:10.00 mark. Next was the Hartford Invitational, where more runners gained competition experience and freshman Gracie Richard (Weymouth, Mass.) earned America East Female Freshman of the Week in her collegiate debut, claiming 10th place out of 100 with a 3k time of 11:34.70.

At the UMass Dartmouth Invitational, the men dominated the navy 8k race, claiming the first eight spots and 10 of the first 11 in the leaderboard. Senior Sean Kennedy-Wonneberger (East Haddam, Conn.) highlighted the day with his first-place finish and time of 24:48.55 that earned him America East Male Performer of the Week honors.

This brought the team to their biggest test yet against stuff competition at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh. Many of the top cross country runners from around the nation come together at this meet, and graduate student Jan Wouter van den Akker (Groningen, Netherlands) led the men with an impressive 11th-place finish and a 23:29.5 mark. Kennedy-Wonneberger was behind him in 52nd with a 24:05.0. Sophomore Devin Moreau (Tyngsboro, Mass.) was next with a 24:17.0 mark for 77th, before freshman Will Conklin (Danvers, Mass.) earned America East Male Freshman of the Week for his 122nd-place performance and time of 24:38.9. 

In the women’s gold 6k race, graduate student Sarah Ross (Agawam, Mass.) was the first River Hawk to finish, claiming 110th with a 21:20.5 mark and sophomore Georgia Brooks (Groton, Mass.) took 179th with a 21:46.2 mark. 

Along with Conklin, van den Akker picked up a conference weekly award, as he was named America East Male Performer of the Week for his efforts. 

A small group then shipped up to New Hampshire for the New England Cross Country Championships before hitting up another competitive meet at the Princeton Fall Classic. This is where the men’s squad finished in 13th placer as a team and it was Kennedy-Wonneberger that helped them get there, with a top 25 finish. He claimed 25th place with a 23:37.6 mark. van den Akker was just behind him in 28th with a 23:43.2 time. Ross (21:16.6) and Brooks (21:35.4) once again crossed first for the River Hawks on the women’s side, in 66th and 92nd place, respectively.  

The men continued to pile up their weekly awards, as Kennedy-Wonneberger and Conklin were named America East Male Performer and Rookie of the Week, respectively. Conklin finished in 13oth with a 24:42.5 mark for his second weekly award. 

After Princeton, a small group took part in the CCSU Mini Meet at Central Connecticut State, and both the men and women swept the America East weekly awards. For the men junior Nicholas Marcotte (Hudson, N.H.) was named Male Performer of the Week, finishing in ninth in the varsity 5k with a 15:04.03 mark. Freshman Chris Guerin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) was just behind him, finishing in 15th with a time of 15:21.15 to earn Rookie of the Week honors. Junior Emily Burdick (Billerica, Mass.) earned herself the Female Performer of the Week Award for her 19th-place effort in the varsity 3k and time of 10:30.77. Freshman Brooke Nedeau rounded out the sweep of the awards, winning the Rookie of the Week with a 22nd-place performance and 10:40.53 mark.  

The cross country season and the hard work that comes with it throughout the year all culminated at the 2025 America East Championship, where the men continued their conference dominance, winning their sixth consecutive America East Cross Country Championship. Five runners finished within the top 10 to help the squad total 24 points and secure the victory by a margin of 14. The top three runners were all River Hawks and van den Akker won his second career America East Individual Championship with a 24:07.14 mark. Kennedy-Wonneberger was not far behind in second place, earning a time of 24:06.20 before Moreau picked up the bronze with a 24:09.74 mark. All three earned First Team All-Conference for their placements. 

Conklin and graduate student Nate DeAngelo (Bristol, Conn.) collected Second Team All-Conference honors, as Conklin finished in eighth place with a 24:37.35 mark and DeAngelo crossed in 24:42.18 for 10th place. 

For the women, the team finished in fifth place and Brooks continued her successful season and career with a fifth-place individual finish in the 5k to earn First Team All-Conference honors. She crossed the finish line in 17:41.09 for the best race of her career. Graduate student Delaney Swanson (Swanzey, N.H.) was next in 22nd place with a time of 18:30.74.

The award ceremony followed the races, and other than the men receiving their conference championship trophy, a few other River Hawks got some hardware of their own. DeAngelo earned the Elite 18 Award for academic success and finishing with the highest GPA out of any All-Conference runner, while Moreau won the Rookie of the Year award and the coaching staff was named 2025 Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year.

After a successful conference championship, it was time for the NCAA Northeast Regional at the same course as conference – Hopkinton State Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, N.H. The familiarity with the course helped the River Hawk runners and the men finished in seventh place overall as a team to round out an amazing season. van den Akker was the highlight of the day, finishing in 10th place in the men’s 10k race with a time of 29:25.9 to earn All-Region honors and punch his ticket to the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Moreau and Kennedy-Wonneberger also finished within the top 25 runners to earn All-Region honors. Moreau claimed 21st place with a 30:02.5 mark, while Kennedy-Wonneberger was just behind him in 24th place with a time of 30:09.3. 

For the women, the young squad ran well, and six of the seven runners earned personal bests on their way to a 20th-place finish. Brooks was the first River Hawk to finish the 6k race, crossing with a 21:20.9 mark for 81st place. Ross was next in 112th with a 21:42.9 mark. Sophomore Salma Boukhtam (Quincy, Mass.) was nearby, finishing in 138th with a 22:00.9 mark before freshman Anna Fondakowski finished in 149th with a time of 22:07.1. 

van den Akker concluded the season at Missouri in the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Against the nation’s best on the 10K course at Missouri's Gans Creek Cross Country Course, van den Akker held his own in a deep field of 259 finishers. He delivered a poised, disciplined performance on the national stage, placing well inside the top quarter of the country's elite collegiate runners. His 29:25.0 finish also marked a new personal record, edging out the 29:25.9 he set at the America East Championship.

After the season, three athletes were recognized for their work both in the classroom and on the course as part of the America East All-Acadmeic Team. DeAngelo and sophomore Dante Castellano (Nashua, N.H.) represented the men’s team, while Brooks earned the honor as the lone River Hawk woman. DeAngelo boasted a 3.49 GPA as an undergraduate student and holds a 3.67 graduate GPA in Economics, Castellano holds a perfect 4.0 GPA in Environmental Science and Brooks holds a 3.43 GPA in Business Administration.