CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's indoor track and field team competed hard on Saturday at the Beantown Challenge at Harvard University.
The River Hawks had two throwers compete in the weight throw event among 17 participants, with freshman Reznor Rokicki (Loveland, Oh.) finishing in 10th place at a 15.37m mark, while freshman Kenny Kalvinek (Sutton, Mass.) placed 14th with a 13.72m mark. The long jump event followed, featuring three UMass Lowell jumpers consecutively, as freshman Rere Edokpolo (Manchester, N.H.) finished eighth with a 6.19m mark, sophomore Jack Shepherd took ninth place with a 6.15m mark, and freshman John Kivlan finished 10th with a mark of 6.00m. Edokpolo and junior Brandon Riley (Weymouth, Mass.) were the two competitors for the River Hawks in the high jump event, as Edokpolo finished in 13th place with a mark of 1.85m and Riley was next in 14th place at a 1.85m mark.
During the shot put event, freshman Kevin Vigneault (Jamesville, N.Y.) earned fourth place after tossing a 15.62m mark, while Kalvinek took sixth place with a 15.38m mark. Next for the River Hawks, Rokicki finished in 11th place with a 14.68m mark, senior Mukanya Kazadi (Woburn, Mass.) claimed 14th place at a mark of 14.46m, and graduate student Ian Camerato (Mount Laurel, N.J.) recorded a throw of 14.22m, placing 16th. In the triple jump event, Shepherd jumped to a mark of 13.36m to secure third place. Senior Derek Munroe (Tewksbury, Mass.) soared to the top tying in second place in the pole vault event, after earning a mark of 4.60m.
Riley also competed in the 60m hurdles preliminary, posting a new personal-best time of 8.32, finishing in seventh place. Next was the 60m dash preliminary, where junior Evan Imasogie (Lowell, Mass.) was the first River Hawks to cross the finish line, placing 16th out of 45 runners, clocking in at a time of 6.91. Sophomore Iyanuoluwapo Omisore (Lagos, Nigeria) followed, earning 20th place with a time of 6.99, and junior Daniel Kennedy (Tolland, Conn.) claimed 26th place at 7.07. Staying close behind, sophomore Dmitirius Shearrion (Taunton, Mass.) finished 28th at 7.07, sophomore Michael Fisher (Wallingford, Conn.) earned a personal-best time of 7.10 for 31st place, and sophomore Michael Gyimah (Kumasi, Ghana) took 32nd place at 7.10.
The one-mile run was filled with a strong presence of River Hawk runners, with three runners finishing in the top ten, with sophomore Devin Moreau (Tyngsboro, Mass.) finishing eighth with a personal-best time of 4:10.52, graduate student Will Benoit (Fairhaven, Mass.) secured ninth place at 4:10.53, and senior Ethan Masthare (St. Albans, Vt.) finished tenth with a time of 4:12.40. Staying attached, junior Nicholas Marcotte (Hudson, N.H.) finished 12th with a personal best of 4:13.19), freshman Will Simard (Francestown, N.H.) took 15th place at 4:15.90, graduate student Nate DeAngelo (Bristol, Conn.) earned 17th place at a time of 4:17.14, sophomore Jamie Lano (Strafford, N.H.) followed in 18th place at a personal best time of 4:17.16, and freshman William Conklin (Danvers, Mass.) finished in 20th place at 4:17.89. Additionally, sophomore Tyler Young (Marion, Mass.) (28th, Personal Best 4:21.46), and sophomore Jack Courtney (32nd, 4:25.08) also ran in the one-mile event.
Senior Basit Iddriss (Milford, Conn.) led UMass Lowell in the 600m run, setting a new personal best with a time of 1:20.28 to finish seventh. Following him, junior Dennis Satchek (Boston, Mass.) placed 14th with a time of 1:22.48, while freshman Abdul Jalloh (Lowell, Mass.) (17th, 1:23.57) and senior Bradley Diaz (18th, 1:23.61) finished back-to-back. Also competing for the River Hawks were sophomore Tyler Rothrock (Allentown, Pa.) and junior Willem Eisl (Princeton, Mass.). Fisher stood out among 53 runners in the 300m run, earning a new personal best time of 34.11, finishing fifth. Senior Tristan O'Riorden followed in 12th place with a time of 34.97, junior Anthony Massari (Dumont, N.J.) placed 17th at 35.22, and sophomore Cyprian Ojatabu (Ojoto, Nigeria) took 20th place with 35.58. Also competing in the 300m run for UMass Lowell were Gyimah (25th, 35.75) and Omisore (27th, 35.76).
The 3000m run was next, with sophomore Dante Castellano (Nashua, N.H.) securing fifth place after punching in at a time of 8:28.78, and sophomore Patrick Hall (Billerica, Mass.) closely followed in ninth place with a time of 8:30.64. Freshman Christopher Guerin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) claimed 17th place, clocking in at 8:37.76, while graduate student Andrew Benassi (Reading, Mass.) (23rd, 8:43.51) and junior Keegan Tierney (East Greenwich, R.I.) (25th, 8:45.05) finished close behind. Also competing for the River Hawks were freshman JJ Rooney (Danvers, Mass.) and junior Samuel Denis (Randolph, Mass.).
The team prepares for their third meet of January, heading to Boston University for the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invite, taking place in Boston, Mass., next Saturday and Sunday, January 23 and 24.
