The UMass Lowell women’s track and field team hosted the George Davis Invitational in Lowell on April 18, while also sending athletes to compete at the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville.
These meets gave the River Hawks a chance to test their skills against a wide range of competitors. Athletes achieved several personal bests and event wins, showing progress as they approach key points in their season.
Associate Head Coach Ally Waruch said, “I was really happy, first off, that we had good weather. It was one of the first meets where it hasn’t been super windy, or cold, or rainy. And we saw a lot of event wins today, and some PRs, so anytime we can come out and compete and have a lot of kids winning events, that is really where we want to be at this time of year, being competitive with the field that we are in, so that was a really exciting day.”
At the George Davis Invitational, sophomore Selena Wood finished second in the 3,000 meters with a personal-best time. Freshman Krista Bettez won the 3,000-meter steeplechase by more than 21 seconds. The River Hawks also earned top-three finishes in relays and several individual events across sprints and distance races.
In field events at home, junior Nhyira Nkansah placed fourth in discus open while freshman Zoe Clarke set a personal best for third place in discus invitational. In javelin throw competition freshman Alessandra Forgione took second place with her performance.
Meanwhile at the Virginia Challenge meet junior Jayani Santos competed solo for UMass Lowell women’s squad finishing fourteenth out of thirty-three runners with her personal-best time ranking her second within conference standings this season.
The results from both competitions reflect continued improvement for UMass Lowell as athletes post new records ahead of upcoming championship meets.
