PRINCETON, N.J. – A group of runners from the UMass Lowell men's outdoor track and field team traveled south to Princeton to compete in a field of stiff competition at the Larry Ellis Invitational. 

Kicking it off was graduate student Graham Stedfast (Rowley, Mass.) in the 800m run, zooming to a 1:50.37 mark to claim 12th place out of 45 total runners and earnt he sixth best 800m time in the conference this season. 

Next up was the 1,500m run, where two River Hawks competed. Freshman Will Simard (Francestown, N.H.) smashed his personal record to earn 15th place out of 51 total runners with a time of 3:49.22, before freshman James Cruse (Melbourne, Australia) crossed the finish line in 48th with a time of 3:58.59. 

Graduate student Jan Wouter van den Akker (Groningen, Netherlands) closed out the day for the River Hawks in the seeded 5,000m run and shined, finishing third out of 22 runners with a 14:03.87 mark, which is good for the second-best 5,000m time in the conference this season. He owns the season's best time at 13:52.52. 

"These were good tune ups for next weeks," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "Will closed his 1,500m in 57 which means he's ready to roll. Wouter and Graham had solid days and both looked good throughout. James is coming off some sickness but will be ready next week."

The team will now compete tomorrow, Saturday, May 2 in the Jay Carisella/Joe Donahue Coaches Invitational at Northeastern as they prepare for next week's America East Outdoor Championships at home.