River Hawks Run At Under Armour Pre-National Invitational and R.K. Muncey Invitational

Collage of Maddy McGillicuddy, Salma Boukhtam, and Lauren long Running

River Hawks Run At Under Armour Pre-National Invitational and R.K. Muncey Invitational

10/16/2026 3:36:00 PM | Women's Cross Country/Track & Field

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The UMass Lowell women's cross country team split up between the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana and the R.K. Muncey Invitational at UAlbany Friday afternoon.

"Took a good step forward from Paul Short," said Gary Gardner. "It was not perfect but much better."

At the Pre-National Invitational, graduate student Mary-Kate Finn (Nashua, N.H.) was the lone River Hawk to compete in the women's blue 6k, running well and claiming 92nd place out of 322 top competitors with a time of 20:51.5.

"MK is looking more and more like herself each week and should be ready to roll when the time comes," added Gardner.

In the white 6k race, junior Georgia Brooks (Groton, Mass.) led the River Hawks with a 53rd-place finish out of 282 runners with a 21:52.7 mark. Graduate student Kylie Marion (Baldwinville, Mass.) was next in 101st place, running to a 22:15.8 mark, before sophomore Anna Fondakowski claimed 125th place with a time of 22:27.3. Junior Paige McInerney (Acton, Mass.) ran well and broke her personal record with a 22:33.6 mark for 143rd place, as junior Selena Wood (Abington, Mass.) was not far behind in 158th place with a personal-best time of 22:41.4. Sophomore Gracie Richard (Weymouth, Mass.) (175th, 22:51.8) and freshman Kate Leonard (Chelmsford, Mass.) (219th, 23:23.9) rounded out the River Hawk runners.

"Georgia and Paige had outstanding races on a course that is not quick for 6k," said Gardner.

At UAlbany, junior Salma Boukhtam (Quincy, Mass.) led the River Hawks in seventh place out of 31 runners with a 19:21.0 mark. Junior Lauren Long (Lunenburg, Mass.) was next in 11th place, earning a time of 19:27.0, before freshman Maddy McGillicuddy (Quincy, Mass.) finished in 14th place with a 19:33.0 mark. Sophomore Krista Bettez (Gardner, Mass.) claimed 18th with a 20:00.0 mark, before sophomore Brooke Nedeau and junior Haley Evans (Glastonbury, Conn.) finished consecutively in 20th and 21st, respectively, with times of 20:05.0 and 20:17.0. Next was senior Lena Takahashi (Holden, Mass.) in 23rd place with a 20:51.0 mark, junior Brianna Phelan (Billerica, Mass.) in 26th place with a 21:12.0 mark, sophomore Grace Brackett (Wakefield, Mass.) in 29th place with a 21:47.0 mark and freshman Lilah Hall (Durham, Maine) rounded out the River Hawks in 31st place with a time of 22:51.0.

Next, the team travels to CCSU for the CCSU Mini Meet on Friday, October 23.