DURHAM, N.H. – The UMass Lowell men's track and field team traveled north on Wednesday afternoon, competing head to head with New Hampshire at Paul Sweet Oval. New Hampshire outscored the River Hawks, 74-61, but the team put together some great individual performances.

"It's always a fun meet here at New Hampshire," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "It's great to give everyone another chance to get ready for conference or finish out the season. New Hampshire is always a great host."

The 55m dash preliminary kicked it off, with the River Hawks sweeping the board and earning all six qualifying spots. Sophomore Evan Imasogie (Lowell, Mass.) led the way with a time of 6.49, followed by freshman Dmetrius Shearrion (Taunton, Mass.) (6.63), Sophomore Daniel Kennedy (Tolland, Conn.) (6.52), sophomore Brett Earle (Baldwinville, Mass.) (6.67), freshman Iyanuoluwapo (Lagos, Nigeria) (6.53) and freshman Michael Gyimah (Kumasi, Ghana) (6.58). Junior Tristan O'Riorden (6.59) and sophomore Nidlaire Olivier (Lowell, Mass.) (6.72) also competed in the 55m prelims.

Later on, in the 55m dash finals, Kennedy got the win with a 6.54 mark for five points, barely edging out Imasogie, who zoomed to a 6.60 mark for second place and three points for the team. In order, the remaining finishers in the finals were Shearrion (6.62), Gyimah (6.67), Earle (6.83) and Omisore (6.91).

In the mile run, freshman Tyler Rothrock (Allentown, Pa.) was the first River Hawk to finish, taking fourth place with a time of 4:32.96 to score two points for the team. Freshman Dante Castellano (Nashua, N.H.) was just behind him in fifth, scoring one point for the squad with a time of 4:34.30. Sophomore Dean Allen (Chelmsford, Mass.) (4:36.98), sophomore Nicolas Uzzo (East Bridgewater, Mass.) (4:38.56) and sophomore Seyha Rath (Lowell, Mass.) (4:42.86) all competed as well, finishing in sixth to eighth place, respectively.

O'Riorden and Olivier took part in the 55m hurdles, taking the top two spots to combine for eight points for the team. O'Riorden earned an 8.01 mark, while Olivier finished in 8.07. The squad went on to outscore the Wildcats once again in the 400m run, as sophomore Anthony Massari (Dumont, N.J.) won with a time of 52.24 for five points, before junior Alejandro Lynch (Somerville, Mass.) took second with a time of 52.58 for three points. Freshmen Cyprian Ojatabu (Ojoto, Nigeria) (53.98) and Liam O'Keefe (Trumbull, Conn.) (54.09) finished in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Just one runner from each team competed in the 800m run, with freshman Dylan Brenn representing the River Hawks. He finished in second but came away with three points with his 2:03.32 mark. In the 3,000m run, senior Timothy Brigham (Holden, Mass.) was the first River Hawk to cross the line in second place, earning three points with his 9:01.36 mark. Sophomore Keegan Tierney (East Greenwich, R.I.) finished in fourth (9:12.09) for one points, while junior Daniel Burns (Billerica, Mass.) (9:19.72) took fifth.

The 4x400 relay team concluded the track events with a third-place finish and three points with a time of 3:49.85. The team consisted of Rath, Allen, Uzzo and Rothrock.

In the field events, graduate student Daniel Cuddy (Hudson, Mass.) finished in second place out of three pole vaulters to lead the way for the River Hawks, clearing 4.21m to earn three points, as freshman Sawyer O'Riorden (Stow, Mass.) also collected a 4.21m mark for two points.

In the high jump, freshman Camren Allain (Carver, Mass.) was the first River Hawk in the standings, taking second place with a 1.97m mark for three points. Sophomore Shane Exilhomme (Orlando, Fla.) finished in fourth to earn one point for the team with a 1.82m mark. In the long jump, junior Derek Munroe (Tewksbury, Mass.) led the way in second with a 6.07m mark for three points, as senior Ben Ayotte (Salisbury, Mass.) was just behind him in third with a leap of 5.81m for two points. Sophomore Kuzey Kaya (Winchester, Mass.) finished in fourth place with a 5.72m mark.

Senior Ian Camerato (Mount Laurel, N.J.) shined in the shot put, finishing in third with a 14.61 mark to pick up two points. Munroe also took part, taking fifth with a toss of 13.24m. 

Graduate student Brandon Williams (Severn, Md.) earned the victory in the men's triple jump, reaching 13.65m for five points. Freshman Jack Shepherd picked up two points with a third-place finish and 13.05m mark, before Ayotte claimed fourth with a jump of 11.28m.

The River Hawks will now look forward to Friday, February 14, when they will compete at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University.