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 Senior Jacqui Barrett: No. 4 seed in the shot put |
March 5, 2010
Senior Jacqui Barrett (Woburn, MA) and the men's 4X400 meter relay team each earned No. 4 seeds and led six individuals and three relay teams from UMass Lowell who qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship Mar. 12-13 in Albuquerque, NM.
The NCAA Championship will take place at the Albuquerque Convention Center and is jointly hosted by Adams State and the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Barrett, making her third appearance, is one of four UMass Lowell athletes returning to the NCAAs as she joins senior Haley Catarius (Marshfield, MA) and juniors Donte Brown (Raynham, MA) and Angus MacDonald (Methuen, MA) in making repeat appearances.
Making their first-ever trips are freshmen sprinters Evan White (Tewksbury, MA) and Shannon Cunningham (Foxboro, MA).
Brown, Catarius and Cunningham will also run legs in the men's and women's 4X400 meter relay while MacDonald will also run either the mile or 1,200 meters in the distance medley relay.
Making her third appearance (first indoor) at the NCAA Championship, Barrett earned the No. 4 seed in the shot put by virtue of the fourth-best throw in the country this season - 48 feet, 11.5 inches - achieved Saturday when she finished runner-up at the New England Championship.
Barrett looks to improve off a 12th-place finish in 2008 (44' 4.0'') and a 15th-place showing last spring (43' 5.0''). Kelly Ash of Ashland University is seeded first with a distance of 50' 1.75''.
"Throwing her best last weekend at a championship meet will give Jacqui the confidence to do well," said UML Head Coach Gary Gardner. "This is her third NCAA meet, so she has the experience she needs."
Including the cross country season, Catarius makes her ninth career appearance in an NCAA competition and is seeded 10th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:11.91, achieved at the Yale Invitational on Feb. 6.
A two-time All-American in the outdoor 800 meters, Catarius looks for her first honor indoors as she placed 11th (up from her seed of 16th) in the indoor 800 a year ago in 2:15.18. Anja Puc of Nebraska-Omaha is seeded first with a time of 2:07.99.
"Probably the most nerve-racking part of the NCAAs is making the final," said Gardner. "This is Haley's fourth indoor NCAA Championship and ninth overall, so if anyone can handle the rounds, it's Haley."
Enjoying an impact season is Cunningham, who earned the 14th and final seed in the 400 meter dash with a time of 56.74 seconds when she placed fourth at the New England Championship.
"We figured Shannon would be running this fast - just not this year," Gardner noted. "We thought by her junior year, she would be at this level, so she has been a nice surprise this season."
Junior Kristi Buerkle of Bemidji State is tops in the 400 with a tie of 54.79 seconds.
Catarius and Cunningham will also run splits on UMass Lowell's 4X400 meter relay team, which earned the sixth seed with a time of 3:50.24, when it won the title at the Boston University St. Valentine's Day Invitational Feb. 12.
Joining them will be sophomores Amy Delgado (Bridgewater, MA) and Nicole Giaquinto (Winthrop, MA) and sophomore Ashley Zielinski (Manchester, NH) as the alternate. Lincoln (MO) University ranks first in the 4X400 with a time of 3:43.36.
Catarius and Delgado are also members of UMass Lowell's distance medley relay team which drew the ninth seed (11:54.79), but will not compete due to a foot injury sustained by junior miler Lyra Clark (Nashua, NH) last weekend at the New England Championship.
With the fifth seed in the 400 meter dash, Brown is the highest seed among the UMass Lowell men at fifth with a time of 47.94 seconds (achieved at the BU Terrier Classic on Jan. 30). Seeded fourth last year, Brown earned All-American honors as he placed seventh in 49.27 seconds.
Brown enters the NCAAs with plenty of motivation after suffering a fall on the verge of winning the New England Championship last weekend. "I thought Donte was about to run his best indoor time ever," Gardner noted. "Despite the fall, I think he came out of the New Englands feeling positive. He knows he can finish in the top 4-5 places at the NCAAs."
Brown will also run a leg on UMass Lowell's 4X400 team which drew the fourth seed with a time of 3:13.69, posted at the St. Valentine Invitational. Joining Brown will be sophomore Jeff Wundt (Southwick, MA), freshman Craig Bennett (Milton, MA), senior Robert Liekweg (Salem, NH) with freshman Nick Delguidice (Leominster, MA) as the alternate.
Josh Scott of St. Augustine's is seeded first in the 400 with a time of 47.38. St. Augustine's is also the top seed in the 4X400 with a time of 3:10.44.
MacDonald makes his third appearance at the NCAA Championship and second straight in the indoor mile. MacDonald drew the 10th seed with a time of 4:07.92, run at the BU Terrier Invitational Jan. 30.
"The mile is one of the toughest fields in the meet," said Gardner. You had to run the automatic standard to get in. Angus is the kind of athlete who is not going to beat himself. We are going to get his best effort that day."
Aaron Braun of Adams State is the top seed in the mile (4:01.44).
MacDonald will also run the mile, alongside Wundt in the 400 meters, as part of UMass Lowell's distance medley relay team, which is seeded sixth with a school-record time 9:53.97 - the winning result at the New England Championship last Friday.
Joining them is senior Tim Guerin (Auburn, MA) in the 1,200 meters; sophomore Danny Wang (Haverhill, MA), who will run the 800; and Chris Estrella (Lowell, MA) as the alternate. Metropolitan (CO) State is the top seed in the DMR with a time of 9:48.11.
White, seeded 10th in the 200 meters, has enjoyed a promising freshman season, highlighted by his school-record time of 21.63 seconds at the Terrier Invitational. White also enters the NCAAs with plenty of incentive after coming 0.06 seconds and one place short of the 200 meters qualifier at the New England Championship.
"This is a pretty small field for the 200 meters, which I think will serve as an advantage to Evan," Gardner said. "He won't be overwhelmed. If he runs what he is capable of running, he will make the final."
UMass Lowell's 2010 NCAA Championship Schedule
(All events are finals unless noted otherwise)
Friday, Mar. 12 (Eastern Standard Time)
Saturday, Mar. 13 (Eastern Standard Time)
