BOSTON, MA – Graduate student Kenzie Doyle (Swansea, Mass.) broke her own school record in the 5,000 meters as the UMass Lowell women’s track team found great success at both the BU Season Opener and the Suffolk Invitational on Saturday in Boston.
“The highlight of the day was Kenzie in the 5K,” said the Head Coach Gary Gardner. “Her 15:27.42 is one of the fastest times in NCAA history and the third fastest time in the NCAA this season. It was a great day overall and it’s great to see the track and field team compete and compete well. It makes me excited for January when we will enter the meat of the season”.
Doyle faced some of the nation’s top runners at the BU Season Opener, claiming 10th place in the 5,000-meter race with a meet-record time of 15:27.42. That beats her previous record of 16:03.62 set a year ago in the same race by 36.20 seconds. Over time, it qualifies for the 2024 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, which the River Hawks will co-host in March.
“Kenzie’s race was absolutely incredible,” Gardner said. “To run that fast and one of the fastest times in NCAA history was amazing. To come out of qualifying for the indoor championships so early makes it really special with us hosting.”
The majority of the women’s team competed at the Suffolk Invitational, where the senior Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.) began the season with an impressive 8.95 in the 60m hurdles to place second overall. Junior Fleur Balogh De Galantha joined her in the event, finishing seventh with a time of 9.38.
At 60 m., superior Madison Marsh (Dudley, Mass.) rounded out the top three, missing second place by just 0.01 seconds with a score of 7.79. Freshman Jayani Santos (Tewksbury, Mass.) had an outstanding first collegiate meet, finishing just behind Marsh in the 60m with a time of 7.86 for fourth, before winning the 200m with a time of 25.34. Marsh finished fourth in the 200 meters in 26.09.
The 400 meters saw another River Hawk freshman make her debut, as Katharine Cottone (Little Falls, NJ) earned fifth place with a time of 1:02.03. The team also found success in the 800 meters as a sophomore Nia Miner-Smith (Taunton, Mass.) and senior Delaney Dorsey (Haverhill, Mass.) finished back-to-back in fourth and fifth, respectively, just 0.20 seconds apart. Miner-Smith clocked 2:27.48, while Dorsey came in at 2:27.68.
In field events, senior Wonuola Ashaju (Lagos, Nigeria) secured a win in the long jump, leaping 5.47m in the first event of her senior campaign. Senior Rebecca Crosier (Shaftsbury, Vt.) also jumped impressively, garnering a second-place 5.40m. Balogh De Galantha and Grasso accompanied them in the long jump, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively, with jumps of 5.28m and 5.26m. Ashaju took the top two spots with a triple jump, reaching 11.40m. UMass Lowell represented the top three, as Nethica Auguste and Crosier finished second and third, respectively, with jumps of 10.81m and 10.56m.
Senior Martina Quandach (Pepperell, Mass.) gave the River Hawks another victory in the shot put, posting a personal best of 14.35m. Freshman Nhyira Nkansah finished fifth in her collegiate debut, throwing 11.60 meters, while junior Arlen Davila (Peabody, Mass.) placed seventh with a throw of 11.46m. Graduate student Shataeya Smith Also competed (Malden, Mass.) placed 13th with a distance of 10.66m.
Senior Erin Jensen (Brimfield, Mass.) was the lone River Hawk in the high jump, earning third place, clearing 1.60m.
In the weight throw, Nkwantah and junior Arlen Davila (Peabody, Mass.) placed fifth and sixth, respectively, with distances of 15.01m and 14.77m, while Úna Brice (Cork, Ireland) competed in her pole vault debut, placing 10th with a 3.20 m. Inferior Jules Gravier (Bronxville, New York) reached 13th place, with a height of 3.05m.
The River Hawks will then travel to the Rhode Island Multi Event Meet hosted by Rhode Island next Thursday, December 7th and Friday, December 8th at Mackal Fieldhouse in Kingston.