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CAMPUS ANGLE

Burlington’s Paul Hogan races to the top at UMass Lowell

Paul Hogan got bloodied along the course, but still won the America East individual championship.Bob Ellis

Over his past few races, Paul Hogan has solidified himself as the most talented runner at UMass Lowell.

The fifth-year graduate student from Burlington began his tour of excellence when he took home lateseason honors in cross-country, including winning the America East individual championship after completing the 8-kilometer race at Nashua’s Mine Falls Park in 24 minutes, 19.7 seconds.

Two weeks later, Hogan followed up with another winning performance, this time at the NCAA Northeast Regional 10k Cross Country meet on a snowy, muddy course in Buffalo.

Finishing at 32:30.9, Hogan was recognized as the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Northeast Regional Athlete of the Year.

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Hogan has used carried his momentum into the early stages of winter track. In his first meet of the season on Dec.1, he shattered the 5,000-meter school record that has stood since 2010, at the Boston University Season Opener.

The civil engineer major finished the race in a breathtaking 13:53.57, and earned America East Performer of the Week honors.

“He clearly had a lot of ability, even coming from high school, he was pretty gifted,” said head UMass Lowell coach Gary Gardner. “At the same time, he works as hard as anybody else on our team . . . between those two things, it’s a pretty good combination to have a successful career.”

Hogan took a break from studying for finals to chat with the Globe.

Q. Did you come into the winter season expecting to break a school record?

A. I didn’t really expect that at first. When I saw my training going very well, especially around Thanksgiving time, I knew it was in the tank for me to do that. I was just coming off of cross-country season. It was up and down — for a moment, I didn’t think so.

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Q. Did you use regionals as momentum for the rest of the way?

A. Yeah, I definitely used that as momentum. After the race [at regionals], I was extremely confident, but I didn’t want to be too confident. I tried to stay composed and still work hard to focus on the next race, which was Nationals, and try to seize the momentum.

Q. What’s your hardest day of the week for you?

A. The hardest day for me is Friday. I think it’s just because it’s the end of the week and you’re tired from school. That’s the hard balance — trying to focus on school and trying to get ready for a workout.

Q. What’s the hardest class you take at UMass Lowell?

A. Foundation Civil Engineering. It’s very complex. There’s a lot of math formulas. When you see it at first, you have to think about it for 10-20 minutes before you actually get it. I want to try to go into construction management or structural engineering after college.

Q. What are your goals going forward for the rest of the way at UMass Lowell?

A. Try to do the best I can in school. I want to finish up my degree and stay on top of those things. For track, I want to try to make it to nationals for indoor and outdoor track, and try to be All-American. That’s one of the biggest goals. Also, to have fun with it — enjoy being on the team and having fun with my teammates.

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Joe Rice conducted this interview. He can be reached at joseph.rice@globe.com.