SOMERVILLE, MA (Feb. 2, 2008) – Freshman Cory Murray (Methuen, MA) captured the shot put title to lead the UMass Lowell men’s track and field team to fourth place at the Tufts Jumbo Invitational II Saturday at the Gantcher Sports and Convocation Center.

The River Hawks, fielding a team of mostly freshmen and sophomores, compiled 75 points as Coast Guard won the team title with 143 points. Trinity placed second with 88 points and was followed by Ithaca (86), UML, Stonehill (70) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (66).

Murray, the Northeast-10 Conference Freshman Field Athlete of the Week last week, threw for a season-best distance of 51 feet, 7.0 inches and led three River Hawks in the top five places.

Senior Rocky LeFort (Nashua, NH) placed second with a throw of 50’ 6.75’’ while freshman Peter Burke (Haverhill, MA) took fifth with a throw of 42’ 3.25’’.

Freshman Johan Rafael (Lawrence, MA) turned in a stellar effort in the 55 meter dash as he placed second by 1/1000th of a second to Stonehill’s Torrey Price. Rafael posted a time of 6.569 seconds, just a shade behind Price (6.568).

Sophomore Robert Liekweg (Salem, NH) also had a solid day in the sprints, finishing third in the 400 meter dash in 52.01. Freshman Sam Bastien (Canton, MA) and senior Jeff Destino (Gloucester, MA) placed fourth and fifth, respectively in the 200 meter dash in 23.41 and 23.52.

Sophomore Mike Malinowski (Peabody, MA) led UML’s middle distance runners on the day as he took second in the 600 meters in 1:24.27. Malinowski led three teammates in the top nine places as freshman John Lutkevich (Mansfield, MA) placed fourth in 1:25.14; junior Robert Fernandez (Mansfield, MA) eighth in 1:25.95 and senior Jason Gustin (Wilmington, MA) ninth in 1:26.41.

In other events, freshman Chris Forbes (Methuen, MA) placed fourth in the 800 meters (1:58.82); freshman Sean Gelinas (Northwood, NH) placed fifth in the 1,000 meters (2:35.46); and freshman Matt Blazon (Lowell, MA) fifth in the 55 meter hurdles (8.15) and sixth in the pole vault (10’ 9.5’’).

UML enters the Boston University St. Valentine’s Day Classic next Saturday.