Name: Ruben Sança Hometown: Cape Verde School: UMASS-Lowell Year: Jr Major: Business Administration Event: XC, Distance High School: John O'Bryant High

Ruben was first introduced to the sports of track and cross country in Dearborn Middle School by Coach Silas Almeida (a Capeverdean teacher at the school) when he first arrived in Boston Massachusetts at twelve and half years old.

At John D. O'Bryant High School under the Coach Jose Ortega Ruben found himself in one of the best running programs in the city of Boston. In the 10th grade Coach Tony DaRocha(Capeverdean) who was friends with Ruben's Coach Ortega saw some potential in Ruben and started giving him advices on training. Ruben admits that learning from coach DaRocha was the turning point for him regarding the sport.

By his senior year (2005) he was a 3-time Division II state champion in high school in the 1000 meter, mile and cross country (5000 meters). In that same year Ruben qualified for the New England Championships in the 1000 meters where he finished 5th.

Letters started pouring in from some colleges coaches that where impressed by Rubens athleticism. After being recruited by over 10 colleges Ruben chose the NCAA division II UMass-Lowell because it better fitted his needs.

In his freshman year in a NCAA division II program (2005-2006) Ruben worked very hard but struggled to a disappointed season.

In his sophomore year (2006-2007) the results were different. All the training paid off. Ruben finished 4th individually at the New England Collegiate cross country championship, which included all NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III colleges around New England. Ruben finished 2nd at the Northeast-10 Conference championships and 2nd at the NCAA Division II Northeast Championships while helping his team qualify for the NCAA Division II national championships held in Florida.

In this past year, Ruben went to Cape Verde twice and won two races including the national "Corrida de Sao Silvestre" on December 31, 2006.

When he came back to the US, Ruben started training for the Cross country championships for the fall of 2007. In October of 2007, he finished 4th at the New England college championships in Boston MA.

Then he went on to finish 2nd at the Northeast-10 Conference Championships Easton MA.

Two weeks later on Nov 3rd, Ruben finished 3rd at the NCAA Div II Championships in New York.

On Nov 17, Ruben finished 24th at the NCAA Div II National Cross Country Race, a race that included many foreigners including Kenyans and Europeans (results here), earning him an All American honors which is given to the first 30 finishers.

Ruben just earned All-American honors last month while representing UMASS-Lowell at the Division II National Cross Country Championships at Missouri. He is the 3rd All American at UMASS-Lowell in the last 15 years. The first NCAA Capeverdean All American in Cross Country.

Ruben's assistant coach is Nate Jenkins, one of the top marathoners in the US, who just missed qualifying for the Olympics.

Ruben gives a lot of credit for his accomplishments to his head Coach Gary Gardner. According to Ruben, Coach Gardner has done an excellent job in preparing him for such a great level of competition.

When he graduates in 2009, Ruben hopes to keep training with Coach Jenkins with the goal of representing Cape Verde in the Olympics.

Criolosports.com