HANOVER, N.H. – The UMass Lowell men's track and field team sent a larger group to compete at the Ivy League versus America East Challenge on Saturday at Dartmouth College.
The River Hawks gave a full-team effort, helping the squad finish in second place overall with 49 points. Dartmouth led the overall group in first with 63 points, while Vermont finished in third place with 32 points and Brown in fourth place with 16 points.
"This meet was a great opportunity to get back onto a track after a few weeks off for break," said Associate Head Coach Ally Waruch. "The demands of competition are stressful physically and mentally, but when it comes time to perform later in the season they will be more confident and ready to do what is being asked of them. We were glad to see the team pushing and supporting each other knowing this is a critical time to tune up for the bigger meets ahead of us."
The team opened the meet with the fielding events, starting with the high jump event, as the River Hawks placed three in the top four spots, with junior Brandon Riley (Weymouth, Mass.) ahead of the pack in first after leaping to a 1.85m mark. Freshman Rere Edokpolo (Manchester, N.H.) earned a second-place finish with a 1.80m mark before senior Derek Munroe (Tewksbury, Mass.) finished in fourth place at a 1.75m mark.
In the men's long jump, Riley jumped his way into second place after posting a 6.84m mark. Consecutively, Edokplo (8th, 6.34m), sophomore Jack Shepherd who posted a new personal best (9th, 6.31m), Munroe (10th, 6.18m) and junior Kuzey Kaya (Winchester, Mass.) (11th, 6.11m) rounded out the River Hawk jumpers. Shepherd was the lone River Hawks in the triple jump event, earning a 13.79m mark after his efforts earned him second place.
The shot put event came after, as freshman Kenny Kalvinek (Sutton, Mass.) stuck out in the group, throwing a 15.55m mark for second place with freshman Reznor Rokicki (Loveland, OH) securing fourth place at a 15.19m mark. Senior Mukanya Kazadi (Woburn, Mass.) who threw a new personal best (5th, 15.03m), graduate student Ian Camerato (Mount Laurel, N.J.) (6th, 15.03m), and freshman Kevin Vigneault (Jamesville, N.Y.) (7th, 14.91m) also competed in the shot put event. The weight throw event was the last of the fielding, as Rokicki claimed a top-three finish, tossing a 16.14m mark for third place. Finishing back-to-back, Vigneault took fifth place with a 14.57m mark and Kalvinek tossed a 13.21m mark for sixth place.
The 60m hurdles event initiated the running events for UMass Lowell, as Riley kept great pace throughout the heat, earning first place after clocking in at 8.43. Also qualifying for the final heat, junior Nidlaire Olivier (Lowell, Mass.) took sixth place at a time of 8.69 and senior Tristan O'Riorden was behind in seventh place at 8.73. Munroe competed in the event, as well, finishing in 10th place at 8.89, respectively. Riley once again competed hard, claiming a first-place finish in the 60m hurdles final heat after running past the line at 8.40, with Olivier behind in fourth place at a time of 8.60.
In the 60m dash, three River Hawks advanced to the final heat after crowding the top eight finishers, with junior Evan Imasogie (Lowell, Mass.) in front earning third place after zooming to a time of 6.98. Sophomore Dmitrius Shearrion (Taunton, Mass.) was next in fifth place after clocking in at 7.00 and junior Daniel Kennedy (Tolland, Conn.) claimed sixth place at 7.00. Next for the River Hawks, sophomore Iyanuoluwapo Omisore (Lagos, Nigeria) finished in ninth place at 7.01, and sophomore Michael Gyimah (Kumasi, Ghana) took 13th place at 7.10. Also competing for the River Hawks, sophomore Michael Fisher (Wallingford, Conn.), senior Alejandro Lynch (Somerville, Mass.), junior Anthony Massari (Dumont, N.J.), senior Brett Earle (Baldwinville, Mass.), freshman Dhaethmy Dorival, O'Riorden, and Kaya, respectively. In the final heat, Imasogie cruised to fourth place after finishing with a time of 6.93, while Shearrion posted a new personal best, clocking in at 6.93 for fifth place.
UMass Lowell performed well in the one-mile run, as freshman Jacob Szalewicz (Marblehead, Mass.) stood out, earning first place after clocking in at 4:23.45, with sophomore Patrick Hall (Billerica, Mass.) claiming third place at a time of 4:23.66 and freshman Christopher Guerin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) finishing next in fourth place at 4:27.20. Sophomore Dante Castellano (Nashua, N.H.) stayed attached in seventh place after finishing with a new personal best at 4:28.50, with sophomore Tyler Rothrock (Allentown, Penn.) (13th, 4:34.56), junior Keegan Tierney (East Greenwich, R.I.) (14th, 4:34.96), junior Declan Mulligan (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) (15th, 4:34.98) and freshman JJ Rooney (Danvers, Mass.) (16th, 4:36.23) all following behind. Rounding out the River Hawks, junior Nicolas Uzzo (East Bridgewater, Mass.), senior Nathanael Fondakowski (Pelham, N.H.) and junior Samuel Denis (Randolph, Mass.), respectively.
The team saw one sprinter compete in the 400m event, as senior Bradley Diaz ran hard, earning fourth place after punching in at 52.68. Lynch led the way for the River Hawks in the 500m dash, claiming first place after earning a new personal best time of 1:04.67. Following behind, Fisher finished across the line with a new personal best at 1:05.50 for third place, before Massari (5th, 1:07.58), freshman Raymond Dafe (Lowell, Mass.) (6th, 1:07.89), and Jalloh (8th, 1:08.19) rounded out the River Hawks.
One runner competed in the 800m event for UMass Lowell, as freshman Joshua Toth (Milton, Mass.) crossed the line for ninth place after clocking in at 2:01.71.The 200m dash was next, with Dorival stepping up for the River Hawks, earning third place at time of 23.31, with Imasogie also running in the event, finishing at 23.48 for sixth place.
Competing in the 3k run, graduate student Timothy Brigham (Holden, Mass.) (6th place, 8:50.44), junior Dean Allen (Chelmsford, Mass.) (7th place, 8:53.50), junior Pedro Mayol (Lincoln, R.I.) (8th place, 8:56.77), sophomore Tyler Young (Marion, Mass.) (9th place, 8:57.23), senior Daniel Burns (Billerica, Mass.) (10th place, 9:10.63) and senior Joshua Rivers (Manchester, N.H.) (11th place, 9:15.59), and freshman Jackson Beauparlant (14th place, 9:28.99), respectively. A 4x400m relay concluded the day, as UMass Lowell had a small team compete, with Dafe, Earle, Lynch, and O'Riorden a part of the event, claiming second place overall after finishing at a time of 3:30.43.
The team looks ahead to next Saturday, January 10, when they travel to Cambridge, Mass. for the Beantown Challenge hosted by Harvard.
