FAIRFAX, Va. –  The UMass Lowell men's track and field team traveled to George Mason University on Friday to compete in the Dalton Ebanks Invitational at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Va.

The men's pole vault open kicked it off, and junior Derek Munroe (Tewksbury, Mass.) led the way with a personal-best 4.45m mark for fourth place. Graduate student Daniel Cuddy (Hudson, Mass.) was next tied for seventh place with a 4.00m mark. Sophomore Brandon Riley (Weymouth, Mass.) claimed 10^th with a 3.85m mark. Munroe also competed in the long jump, finishing 10^th with a personal-best leap of 6.35m as the lone River Hawk.

Junior Tristan O'Riorden shined in the 400m hurdles, finishing third with a time of 53.47, while junior Alejandro Lynch (Somerville, Mass.) finished in fifth with a 53.82 mark.

Nine River Hawks competed in the 200m, and seven finished in the top 15 out of 47 runners. Sophomore Daniel Kennedy (Tolland, Conn.) led those 15 with a seventh-place performance and time of 21.98. Freshman Michael Gyimah (Kumasi, Ghana) (9^th, 22.07), sophomore Anthony Massari (Dumont, N.J.) (10^th, 22.10) and freshman Iyanuoluwapo Omisore (Lagos, Nigeria) (11^th, 22.15) then finished consecutively in ninth to 11^th place, respectively. The next three River Hawks also finished consecutively, with graduate student Aras Kaya (Winchester, Mass.) in 13^th with a 22.25 mark, freshman Michael Fisher (Wallingford, Conn.) in 14^th with a time of 22.25 and sophomore Evan Imasogie (Lowell, Mass.) in 15^th with a 22.28 mark.

In the 800m, senior Andrew Benassi (Reading, Mass.) led the way with a 22^nd-place performance and time of 1:52.14, while freshman Gabriel Sisk (West Hartford, Conn.) claimed 35^th with a 1:53,56 mark. Junior Hatim Boukhtam (Abington, Mass.) finished in 45^th place with a time of 1:54.43, just before sophomore Dennis Satchek (Boston, Mass.) claimed 48^th with a 1:54.99 mark.

Freshman Sean Kerin (Walpole, Mass.) finished in 56^th with a 1:55.63 mark, before junior Basit Iddriss (Milford, Mass.) finished in 65^th place with a time of 1:56.79. Graduate student Tanner Jellison (Wakefield, Mass.) closed it out with a time of 2:02.51 for 81^st place.

Sophomore David McKinnon (Bloomsbury, N.J.) led the way in the 3,000m steeplechase, claiming ninth with a 9:27.16 mark, just before freshman Patrick Hall (Billerica, Mass.) took 10^th place with a 9:28.08 mark. Junior Joshua Rivers (Manchester, N.H.) finished in 14^th place with a 9:52.38 mark, as sophomore Timothy Walsh (Auburn, Mass.) trailed him with a time of 10:07.74 for 17^th place.

To close it out, freshman Devin Moreau (Tyngsboro, Mass.) was the first River Hawk to cross, taking sixth place with a time of 14:41.26. Sophomore Nicholas Marcotte (Hudson, Mass.) finished in eighth place with a time of 14:49.48, while junior Nathanael Fondakowski (Pelham, N.H.) claimed 15^th place with a time of 14:55.26. Graduate student Henry Farrington (Essex Junction, Vt.) finished 33^rd with a time of 15:27.50, while freshman Jack Courtney rounded it out with a time of 15:48.40 for 41st place.

"Day one was pretty solid," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "There were some great performances in the 800m on both sides. Derek proved once again how good he is with two personal-bests, and David and Patrick rocked their second shot at the steeple with two outstanding performances." 

The River Hawks will return tomorrow for day two of the Dalton Ebanks Invitational.