LOWELL, MA (Mar. 14, 2008) – UMass Lowell’s men and women’s distance medley relay teams placed sixth and eighth, respectively, to earn All-America status Friday night at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championship at Minnesota State-Mankato’s Myers Field House.

Additionally, sophomore Doug Caves (Oxford, MA), a member of the men’s distance medley relay team, won his section in the 400 meter dash to move on to Saturday’s final.

The UML men, seeded third, posted a time of 10:07.65 to finish sixth. Leading off was freshman Angus MacDonald (Methuen, MA), filling in for the injured Stephen DeWitt (Ellsworth, ME), who ran the 1,200 meters in a stellar 3:06.20.

“Angus was in the lead the whole way. He ran really well, especially for a freshman in such a big meet, who has never run the 1,200 meters,” said UML Head Coach Gary Gardner. “He kept his composure and stayed in the lead pack the whole way. Every guy on that line, on paper, was better than him. And he hung with them the whole way.”

Caves ran the 400 meter dash in 49.10 while sophomore Mike Malinowski (Peabody, MA) ran the 800 meters in 1:55.60. Junior Ruben Sanca (Boston, MA) anchored with the mile in 4:15.9.0.

Earlier, Caves had placed eighth in the 400 meter dash with a time of 48.96 seconds while junior Andrew Grange (Methuen, MA) suffered a tweaked hamstring and was unable to finish.

“We were happy that Doug won his section,” said Gardner. “He got out a little slow over the first 200 meters, so tomorrow in the final he’ll need to get out a little quicker.”

Caves will run the final Saturday at 4:30.

Seeded eighth, the UML women’s DMR team matched its seed in 12:01.85 as junior Christina DaLomba (Marstons Mills, MA) and sophomore Haley Catarius (Marshfield, MA) each earned All-American honors for the second straight year. DaLomba ran the 1,200 meters in 3:46.20 while freshman Patricia Brice (Chelmsford, MA) followed in the 400 meter dash in 57.8 seconds.

Catarius ran the 800 meters in 2:14.9 while freshman Lyra Clark (Nashua, NH) ran the mile in 5:02.40.

Along with Caves in the 400 meter dash, sophomore Olivia Thibou (Boston, MA), seeded fifth, will compete Saturday in the triple jump at 4:45. Catarius and Brice, along with senior Tristin Johnson (Pittsfield, MA) and sophomore Heather McCarthy (Burlington, MA), will lead the women’s 4X400 meter relay at 6:40.