RIVERDALE, NY (Sept. 22, 2007) – Graduate student Stephen DeWitt (Ellsworth, ME) placed ninth overall and eighth among scoring runners as UMass Lowell took ninth at the Iona College Meet of Champions at Van Cortlandt Park.

The River Hawks were the highest-finishing Division II or III team in the field which included 19 schools and 225 runners.

UML scored 225 points (8, 20, 59, 67, 70) and defeated the likes of Youngstown State (320), Manhattan College (337) and Harvard (354). The host Gaels won the meet with 72 points and edged out Brown (77), Penn State (93), Navy (109) and American University (120).

DeWitt ran the five-mile course in 25:36.3 while junior Ruben Sanca (Boston, MA) placed 21st overall and 20th among scoring runners with a time of 26:06.0. The meet was the first of the season for both runners.

Junior Jason DeDonato (Nashua, NH) placed 83rd/59th in 27:22.3 while sophomore Tim Guerin (Auburn, MA) placed 96th/67th in 27:38.7 and sophomore Matias Carrasco (Brookline, MA) 101st/70th in 27:42.5.

Freshman Jose DePina (Brockton, MA) closed out the UML contingent in 110th/78th with a time of 27:50.8.