Championship Central

LOWELL, Mass. – Since early December, the UMass Lowell men's and women's indoor track and field teams have been competing at a high level, earning personal records and outstanding performances along the way. It all culminates at the 2026 America East Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday, February 22 and 23 at the Track and Tennis Center at Boston University.

Both squads are looking for their first indoor conference championship since 2023, when the men and women swept the event, and will seek to dethrone UAlbany, who has earned a sweep of their own the past two seasons.

The River Hawks seem to be in a good spot heading into the weekend and for the men, 20 individuals rank within the top 5 in the conference in their respective events, including three runners that lead the America East. Sophomore Michael Fisher (Wallingford, Conn.) is the conference leader in the 400m, collecting a 47.50 mark at the John Thomas Terrier Classic on January 31, while fellow sophomore Devin Moreau (Tyngsboro, Mass.) leads in the 3,000m run with his 8:07.39 mark from that same meet. Graduate student Jan Wouter van den Akker (Groningen, Netherlands) is the third conference leading River Hawk, sitting atop the 5,000m performance list with a time of 13:54.77 from the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener back in December.

UMass Lowell dominates the top-fives in those 3,000m and 5,000m runs, as sophomore Isaac Henderson (2^nd, 8:12.57), graduate student Will Benoit (Fairhaven, Mass.) (3^rd, 8:14.05) and van den Akker (5^th, 8:14.52) round out the River Hawks at the top of the 3,000m list, along with three others in the top 10. In the 5,000m, Moreau follows van den Akker in second with a 14:07.97 mark, while Benoit (14:16.37) and junior Nicholas Marcotte (Hudson, N.H.) (14:31.32) sit in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Freshman Jacob Szalewicz (Marblehead, Mass.) shined recently in the 800m run, earning the conference's second-best time of 1:50.95 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational just last week. Junior Brandon Riley (Weymouth, Mass.) also holds a second-place spot in the conference in the heptathlon with 5,266 points from the Dartmouth December Invite, with senior Derek Munroe (Tewksbury, Mass.) right behind him in third with 5,153 points from that same meet: both earning school records that day. Riley also ranks fourth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.22 from the Harvard Invitational on Jan. 30.

Senior Alejandro Lynch (Somerville, Mass.) has the number three time in the America East in the 500m, zooming to a 1:03.46 mark at the River Hawk Invitational on February 6. In the mile run, two River Hawks claimed the fourth and fifth spot, as Henderson and graduate student Andrew Benassi (Reading, Mass.) sit at the top of four consecutive UMass Lowell runners with times of 4:07.83 and 4:08.03, respectively. Henderson earned his at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, while Benassi picked up his mark at the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational. The fourth and fifth spots are also occupied by River Hawks in the 60m dash, with junior Daniel Kennedy (Tolland, Conn.) in fourth with a 6.83 mark from the Harvard Classic (Dec. 6) and junior Evan Imasogie (Lowell, Mass.) in fifth with his 6.84 mark from the Harvard Invitational (Jan. 30).

The 4x400m relay team of senior Tristan O'Riorden, junior Anthony Massari (Dumont, N.J.), Lynch and Fisher also rank second in the conference behind UMBC with a time of 3:14.84 that they ran at the River Hawk Invitational.

Just one athlete in the men's field events ranks in the top five of their event, and that is sophomore Camren Allain (Carver, Mass.), who sits tied for fifth in the high jump with a 1.98m leap.
As for the women, four different athletes rank within the top five in their events, including three that lead the conference. Junior Jayani Santos (Tewksbury, Mass.) is the leader in the 400m, boasting a 55.38 mark from the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational on Jan. 24. She is also tied for fourth in the 200m with a 24.75 mark from the John Thomas Terrier Classic on Jan. 31.

Sophomore Avery Pitts (Willington, Conn.) has the top high jump in the America East, clearing 1.71m at the Beantown Challenge on January 17, while teammate and graduate student Fleur Balogh de Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) ranks tied for third with a 1.66m jump.

Balogh de Galantha also leads the conference in the pentathlon, earning 3,398 points at the Dartmouth December Invite on Dec. 12, while freshman Nyrah Joseph (Billerica, Mass.) is just behind her in second with 3,100 points from that same meet.

With multiple athletes competing towards the top of the conference throughout the season, the squads are prepped and ready for a battle of a weekend at the 2026 America East Indoor Track and Field Championships.