CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The men's and women's indoor track team headed south, with a small group, to compete at the Crimson Elite Meet hosted by Harvard in Cambridge, Mass.
The women's 60m hurdles preliminary started the running events off, with graduate student Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.) finishing within the top 8 for a seventh-place finish, clocking in at 8.60. Senior Fleur Balogh De Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) was the next River Hawk crossing at 9.35 for 24th place, while junior Paige Murphy (Billerica, Mass.) (27th, 9.76) and freshman Chloe Champagne (Brockton, Mass.) (28th, 9.86) rounded out the hurdlers.
Junior Tristan O'Riorden claimed 16th place at 8.51 when he competed in the 60m hurdles preliminary event. Sophomore Nidlaire Olivier (Lowell, Mass.) also ran, taking 19th with a time of 8.62.
The lone runner in the women's 60m dash preliminary was freshman Meredith Feener (Walpole, Mass.) running her way to a time of 8.40 for 34th.
The River Hawks had a numerous amount of runners in the men's 60m dash preliminary, with graduate student Baijeon Bookal running unattached in the event, bursting for 13th place, clocking in at 6.85. Next in line, sophomore Evan Imasogie (Lowell, Mass.) dashed for a 15th-place finish at 6.87, as graduate student Aras Kaya (Winchester, Mass.) zoomed behind, claiming 16th at a time of 6.88. Sophomore Brandon Riley (Weymouth, Mass.) followed, finishing with a time of 6.93, taking 26th place. The next few UMass Lowell runners included freshman Iyanuoluwapo Omisore (Lagos, Nigeria) (32nd, 6.97), freshman Michael Gyimah (Kumasi, Ghana) (35th, 6.99), and sophomore Daniel Kennedy (Tolland, Conn.) (42nd, 7.06). Also sprinting were freshman Dmitrius Shearrion (Taunton, Mass.) and junior Derek Munroe (Tewksbury, Mass.).
The women's 400m event was headlined by sophomore Jayani Santos (Tewksbury, Mass.) after she sprinted past the line at 55.74 for a new personal-best, claiming first place. Freshman Amelia Stebe (Honolulu, Hawaii) and junior Danielle Thompson (Groton, Mass.) both cracked the top 10, with Stebe crossing the line in eighth place at a time of 58.75 and Thompson finishing in 10th with a time of 59.09. Rounding out the River Hawks, sophomore Bridget Geary (Lowell, Mass.) (23rd, 1:02.83), sophomore Soria Roberts (Warwick, N.Y.) (24th, 1:03.84) and freshman Anya Neira (Methuen, Mass.) (25th, 1:04.39).
Freshman Michael Fisher (Wallingford, Conn.) guided the way for UMass Lowell in the men's 400m event, when he finished in eighth place, crossing the line at 48.88. In the near, sophomore Anthony Massari (Dumont, N.J.) obtained a 15th place finish, clocking in at 50.00. All accompanying each other, junior Brett Earle (Baldwinville, Mass.) took 18th at 50.81, Brandon Riley in 19th at 50.92, junior Alejandro Lynch (Somerville, Mass.) finished in 20th at 51.11, Munroe crossed at 51.32 for 21st, freshman Cyprian Ojatabu (Ojoto, Nigeria) took 22nd at 51.92 and freshman Liam O'Keefe (Trumbull, Conn.) would finish in 23rd at 52.70.
The River Hawks competed in one fielding event, with Brandon Riley in the men's long jump, ultimately leaping to a 6.49m mark for 14th place. Grasso put her skills to test in the long jump event, jumping for a 5.33m mark, taking 13th place.
The UMass Lowell men's and women's track team will travel to Boston, Mass. for the Bruce Lehane Scarlett and White Invitational at the Track and Tennis Center, hosted by Boston University on Saturday, February 8.
