DEDHAM, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's track and field team competed hard despite rough conditions at the Jay Carisella/Joe Donahue Coaches Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

The 1,500m run kicked it off for the team, and it was sophomore Salma Boukhtam (Quincy, Mass.) that led the team in 26^th out of 60 runners with a 4:46.71 mark. Senior Miana Caraballo (Methuen, Mass.) also finished within the top half of the field, claiming 30^th with an outdoor personal record of 4:48.10. Sophomore Haley Evans (Glastonbury, N.H.) (4:59.59) and senior Mia Jones (Blacksburg, Mass.) (5:09.16) also earned personal-best times in the race. Junior Shayla Quill (Andover, Mass.) followed that up as the lone River Hawk in the 100m hurdles, claiming 13^th out of 15 with a 17.33 mark.

Three River Hawks raced in the 100m dash, as junior Bridget Geary (Lowell, Mass.) led in 15^th place out of 24 with a 13.03 mark, just before sophomore Meredith Feener (Walpole, Mass.) claimed 16^th place with a 13.06 mark. Junior Soria Roberts (Warwick, R.I.) also competed, finishing in 20^th place with a time of 13.59. In the 400m dash, senior Raihana Yameogo (Dillsburg, Pa.) represented the River Hawks, finishing 14^th with a 1:00.88 mark.

Next was the 800m run, where sophomore Lauren Long (Lunenburg, Mass.) hit a personal record with a 2:20.64 mark to lead the team in 29^th place out of 44. Sophomore Alyssa Fiorino (Billerica, Mass.) also competed and finished in 44^th with a time of 2:34.98.

Following the 800m, graduate student Delaney Swanson (Swanzey, N.H.) picked up a personal best of her own in the 3,00m run, finishing ninth out of 17 runners and earning a time of 10:18.34 as the only River Hawk in the race.

Sophomore Avery Pitts (Willington, Conn.) kicked off the field events with a solid performance in the high jump, tying for second place out of 13 finishers with a 1.60m mark. The pole vault followed, and junior Úna Brice (Cork, Ireland) led the way with a tie for second place out of nine competitors, clearing 3.40m and tying her personal best. Graduate student Jules Gravier (Bronxville, N.Y.) and sophomore Jaden Kasule (Tewksbury, Mass.) also competed, tying for sixth with a 3.10m mark.

The long jump was next, and graduate student Fleur Balogh de Galantha (Grafton, Mass.) and senior Paige Murphy (Billerica, Mass.) finished consecutively on the leaderboard in 10^th and 11^th place out of 20 jumpers, respectively. Balogh de Galantha earned a 5.11m mark, before Murphy reached 5.10m. Freshman Nyrah Joseph (Billerica, Mass.) also competed and claimed 17^th place with a 4.75m leap. Junior Nethica Auguste (Bridgewater, Mass.) was the lone finisher in the triple jump, finishing ninth out of 11 with a 10.94m jump.

Freshman Zoe Clarke (Dracut, Mass.) got the throws started in the discus, finishing in 16^th place out of 23 throwers with a 38.74m toss. Next was the javelin, where Joseph and Murphy competed and finished in 15^th and 16^th, respectively. Joseph reached 24.84m, while Murphy hit a personal record mark of 24.16m. Balogh de Galantha followed that and closed out the field events in the shot put, finishing 22^nd with an 11.46m mark.

"The weather and outside circumstances were difficult for the team today," said Associate Head Coach Ally Waruch. "It was cold and windy then warm and sunny from attempt to attempt and race to race. It was just difficult to get into a rhythm today, but it is good that the whole team got to push through a little discomfort outside because it helps you learn and prepare in other ways for your event. We are excited to head into conference championships next weekend at home."

The River Hawks will now look forward to the 2026 America East Outdoor Championships at home next weekend on Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10.