DURHAM, N.H. – The UMass Lowell women's track and field team entered a plethora of athletes to compete in day two of the Wildcat Invitational at New Hampshire on Saturday. 

"Today, we saw a lot of progress for the team as a whole," said Associate Head Coach Ally Waruch. "I feel confident that there could be a lot of great performances when it matters most in a couple weeks. All the event groups seem to be trending up together, which hopefully leads to team success when it counts. It's time to rest and fine tune some little things."

Sophomore Lauren Long (Lunenburg, Mass.) got it all started as the lone competitor in the 3,000m steeplechase, picking up the victory in the field of five runners with a personal record time of 11:11.22. 

Next was the 1,500m run, where four River Hawks finished within the top half of the 22-runner field. Sophomore Isabel McIntyre (Dover, N.H.) led the way for the squad with a personal-best  4:47.09 mark and seventh-place finish. Next was junior Emma Eagan (Danvers, Mass.) in ninth place with a personal-best 4:49.06 mark, before sophomore Selena Wood (Abington, Mass.) claimed 10th place with a personal-best time of her own at 4:54.79 and graduate student Delaney Swanson (Swanzey, N.H.) finished 11th with a personal-best 5:00.30 mark.  

The three 400m dash women dominated the field, claiming three of the top five spots, with junior Jayani Santos (Tewksbury, Mass.) winning the event with a 56.07 mark, narrowly missing her personal record of 55.18. Next was senior Danielle Thompson (Groton, Mass.) in second place with a 1:00.09 mark, before senior Maggie McInerney (Acton, Mass.) finished in fifth with a 1:01.52 mark.  

The sprints continued with the 100m dash, where junior Bridget Geary (Lowell, Mass.) led the way in sixth place with a personal-best 12.56 mark, just before sophomore Meredith Feener (Walpole, Mass.) finished in eighth place out of 14 with a personal-best time of 12.93. The 100m hurdles immediately followed, with freshman Nyrah Joseph (Billerica, Mass.) leading the way with a third-place finish and 14.93 mark. Senior Paige Murphy (Billerica, Mass.) and junior Shayla Quill (Andover, Mass.) rounded out the River Hawk 100m hurdlers in 12th and 13th place, respectively, with times of 17.69 and 17.86. 

The 800m run was next, and four River Hawks finished within the top half of the 22-runner field. Junior Emily Burdick (Billerica, Mass.) led the squad in second with a 2:17.67 mark, before senior Raihana Yameogo (Dillsburg, Pa.) claimed second with a 2:18.49 mark and junior Katharine Cottone (Little Falls, N.J.) finished in fourth with a 2:19.39 mark. Sophomore Brenna Corcoran (Haverhill, Mass.) picked up a top six finish, earning a time of 2:20.02. 

Freshman Kathryn Perrone (Washington, Mass.) shined in the 400m hurdles as the lone River Hawk, claiming the top spot with a personal-best 1:06.90 mark for the win. The 200m dash followed, and Feener, Geary and junior Soria Roberts (Warwick, R.I.) finished in order from fifth to seventh place. Feener earned a personal-best time of 26.02, while Geary crossed with a personal-best 26.16 mark and Roberts finished in 26.38. 

Finally, the 4x400m relay team of Geary, Roberts, Thompson and Santos claimed second place with a time of 4:03.63 to close out the track events for the day. 

In the field events, the shot put was the first to finish, and junior Nhyira Nkansah (Chelmsford, Mass.) shined, claiming second out of 13 throwers with a 12.48m mark. Graduate student Fleur Balogh de Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) was the only other River Hawk to compete, reaching 11.70m for a solid sixth-place finish. 

Next was the discus, where freshman Zoe Clarke (Dracut, Mass.) broke her personal record with a 39.75m toss for third place out of 15. Nkansah also competed, claiming 12th place with a 26.81m mark. 

Sophomore Avery Pitts (Willington, Conn.) shined in the high jump, clearing 1.65m for a first-place finish. Balogh de Galantha followed in a tie for third place, clearing 1.55m, before Joseph finished in a tie for fifth place with a 1.55m mark. Murphy also competed, finishing in 15th place with a jump of 1.35m. 

Three River Hawks competed in the pole vault, and it was junior Úna Brice (Cork, Ireland) that led the way in third place with a 3.40m mark to tie her outdoor personal record. Graduate student Jules Gravier (Bronxville, N.Y.) finished in fourth with a 3.10m mark, before sophomore Jaden Kasule (Tewksbury, Mass.) claimed seventh place, clearing 2.95m. Finally, in the triple jump, junior Nethica Auguste (Bridgewater, Mass.) earned an outdoor personal-best mark of 11.01m for third place overall out of 13 jumpers.