JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Graduate student James Kotowski (Stoneham, Mass.) and senior Jan Wouter Van Den Akker (Groningen, Netherlands) of the UMass Lowell men's track and field team battled through a rain delay and represented the River Hawks in the NCAA East First Round Wednesday evening at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.

Kotowski, who came into the event seeded seventh, got it started in a big way in the javelin, reaching 69.88m (229 3") to earn himself seventh place and punch his ticket to Oregon for the 2025 NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships.

"It was a tough night with the three-hour delay," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "James handled it well and performed as needed."

Van Den Akker had to wait until 12:55 a.m. to begin the 10,000m race, and he zoomed to a time of 30:09.38 to finish in 34^th place.

"Wouter grinded tonight," said Gardner. " He was seeded 40th and ended up 34th. He ran really tough and we just are not used to 80 degrees and high humiditry for racing. For a first NCAA experience, he did great."