HANOVER, N.H. – The UMass Lowell women's track and field team started 2026 heading north to New Hampshire, competing at the Ivy League versus America East Challenge at Dartmouth College on Saturday.
"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 fielding events began the day, as the women's high jump was up first, with sophomore Avery Pitts (Willington, Conn.) standing out amongst the group, tying in first place after jumping for a 1.65m mark. Graduate student Fleur Balogh De Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) was next for the River Hawks posting a 1.60m mark for fifth place, before freshman Nyrah Joseph (Billerica, Mass.) placed in seventh with a 1.55m mark and senior Paige Murphy (Billerica, Mass.) posted a personal best at a 1.55m mark, wrapping up the jumpers for UMass Lowell.
Competing in the triple jump event, Joseph was the first on the board for UMass Lowell, claiming fifth place with a mark of 10.96m, and junior Nethica Auguste (Bridgewater, Mass.) followed in sixth place at a 10.40m mark.
Freshman Alessandra Forgione (Peabody, Mass.) led the River Hawks in the shot put event, throwing for a personal best at 11.32m, taking fifth place, with junior Nhyira Nkansah (Chelmsford, Mass.) finishing in eighth place at a 10.93m mark. The solo competitor for the River Hawks in the weight throw event was freshman Zoe Clarke (Dracut, Mass.), finishing in 11th place at a mark of 9.79m.
UMass Lowell started the running events with the 60m hurdles preliminary, as Joseph claimed sixth place at a time of 9.20 and Fleur Balogh earned seventh place at 9.27. Freshman Kathryn Perrone (Washington, Mass.) came next for the River Hawks, taking 10th place at 10.11, and junior Shayla Quill (Andover, Mass.) finished right behind in 11th place at a time of 10.32, respectively.
Junior Jayani Santos (Tewksbury, Mass.) sprinted past the line for third place in the 60m dash preliminary, finishing at a time of 7.85. Junior Bridget Geary (Lowell, Mass.) followed behind, punching in at a new personal best at 8.17 for sixth place, and sophomore Meredith Feener (Walpole, Mass.) earned eighth place with a time of 8.37, both advancing to the final heat. Also competing for the River Hawks, senior Danielle Thompson (Groton, Mass.), junior Soria Roberts (Warwick, N.Y.), Murphy, Perrone and Quill, respectively. Santos competed hard in the final heat, finishing within the top three for third place at 7.85, with Geary claiming seventh place at 8.25 and Feener recording a new personal best at 8.32 for eighth place.
The one-mile run was next, as senior Miana Caraballo (Methuen, Mass.) finished first for the River Hawks in 10th place with a time of 5:14.25. Junior Emily Burdick (Billerica, Mass.) followed in 13th place at 5:21.39, and sophomore Brenna Corcoran (Haverhill, Mass.) finished in 15th place at 5:24.11. Staying attached were freshman Krista Bettez (Gardner, Mass.) (19th, 5:31.91), freshman Anna Fondakowski (21st, 5:34.28), senior Mia Jones (Blacksburg, Va.) (22nd, 5:35.49), and sophomore Isabel McIntyre (Dover, N.H.). Also running in the event, freshman Brooke Nedeau, freshman Addyson Hunt (Wilmington, Mass.), graduate student Kaitlyn Stevens (Oxford, Mass.), freshman Sabrina Vitale (Dracut, Mass.), and junior Lena Takahashi (Holden, Mass.), respectively.
The River Hawks had a lone runner competing in the 500m dash, with junior Julie Condon bolting into fourth place after punching in at a time of 1:21.29. In the 800m run, sophomore Alyssa Fiorino (Billerica, Mass.) was the only runner for UMass Lowell, as she earned fifth place after finishing at 2:34.88. Santos shined in the 200m dash event, earning a first-place finish after running past the line at 26.07. Feener (5th place, 26.94), Thompson (6th place, 27.50), and Roberts (7th place, 27.57) rounded out the River Hawks in the event, respectively.
Senior Raihana Yameogo (Dillsburg, Pa.) finished in sixth place in the 3k run, posting a new personal best at a time of 10:48.47, with sophomore Lauren Long (Lunenburg, Mass.) behind in ninth place at 10:55.22, and sophomore Salma Boukhtam (Quincy, Mass.) in 10th place with a new personal best at 10:59.11. Also competing for UMass Lowell, graduate student Delaney Swanson (Swanzey, N.H.), freshman Gracie Richard (Weymouth, Mass.), and sophomore Selena Wood (Abington, Mass.), respectively. In the final event of the day, UMass Lowell had a team compete in the 4x400m relay, claiming a fourth place finish overall after clocking in at 4:08.95.
The team looks ahead to next Saturday, January 17, when they travel to Cambridge, Mass. for the Beantown Challenge hosted by Harvard.
