May 23, 2009

Junior Doug Caves (Oxford, MA) earned All-American honors twice over and junior Haley Catarius (Marshfield, MA) was also crowned an All-American for the second straight year to lead UMass Lowell at the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championship Saturday at Angelo State University.

“We’re coming back with an All-American relay team and two individuals. Overall, I would definitely say this was a success,” said Head Coach Gary Gardner. “For a lot of our kids, this was the first trip the NCAAs. For most of them to make the finals, it’s a great learning experience. It’s a great culmination to our season.”

Caves placed sixth in the 400 meter dash in 47.00 seconds, eclipsing his seed of eighth. Sophomore Josh Scott of St. Augustine’s won the 400 in 45.41 seconds.

For Caves, the honor marks the fifth and sixth times in his career he has been named an All-American, twice in the outdoor 400 meter dash and third time in the 4X400 (indoor and outdoor).

“Doug got out a little bit slow probably because he was in lane one which was the toughest lane,” Gardner said. But he moved from eighth to sixth in the last 75 meters. He was closing in on two runners in front of him and he just ran out of room. He ran about as well as he could run in lane one. It just wasn’t a great lane draw for him.”

Caves also ran a 48.12-second leg on UMass Lowell’s 4X400 meter relay team as it placed sixth in 3:12.07.

Following Caves was freshman Jeff Wundt (Southwick, MA), who ran a 48.10-second leg and junior Robert Liekweg (Salem, NH), who ran a 48.6-second split. Senior Andrew Grange (Methuen, MA) anchored in 46.4 seconds.

“This was Doug’s fourth race in three days, basically he ran out of steam,” said Gardner. “He was 1.5 seconds slower which put us in the middle of the pack. As a result, we kind of got bumped around a little bit by being in traffic. Good learning experience for Rob and Jeff.”

UMass Lowell’s finish in the 4X400 meter relay proved to be a milestone for Grange, as he earned All-American honors for the eighth time in his career, surpassing the previous school record of seven, held by former standout Dave Dunham (1984-87).

“This was a great finish to Andrew’s career,” Gardner noted. “After the 400 meters (Thursday), he came back and broke 46 seconds in the 4X4 last night. It was a great way to cap off a great career."

Catarius, who entered the NCAAs seeded 10th, placed seventh in the 800 meters in 2:15.70. Senior Ashley Puga of Northwest Nazarene won the event in 2:07.24.

Catarius’ feat marked the fifth time she has earned All-America status, the second time in the outdoor 800 meters. Seeded ninth last year, she placed sixth in 2:12.07.

“Haley was fourth in the middle of the pack and fell all the way into eighth,” Gardner said. “She actually got stepped on twice. She ran her best race of the season last night to make the finals, so we’re definitely pleased.”

Seniors Christina DaLomba (Marstons Mills, MA) and Sarah Brassard (Oxford, MA) also exceeded their standing. Seeded 12th in the 1,500 meters, DaLomba placed sixth in the preliminary (4:33.78) Thursday and finished 11th Saturday in the final in 4:42.84.

Sophomore Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific won the 1,500 meters in 4:26.75.

Brassard took eighth in the 3,000 meter steeplechase preliminary on Thursday (11:03.29) and placed 11th in today’s final in 11:37.75. Mary Ballinger of Southern Indiana won the steeple title in 10:22.98.

“For Christina and Sarah, the main goal coming out here was to make the finals, and they both did that,” Gardner said. “If you can make the finals the first time in the NCAAs, that’s great. They’re disappointed, but overall we were pleased for them.”

Sophomore Lauren Raimondi (East Longmeadow, MA) placed in a tie for 13th after clearing the opening height of 5 feet, 4.5 inches, but misfired on her next attempt.

“Lauren was a little flat,” said Gardner. “She has been here for four days and part of it is being out here for the first time and just getting used to jumping at those heights along with 19 other women. But she is only a sophomore and this is a great experience for her.”

Junior Linda Rainwater of UC-San Diego cleared 5’ 9.75’’ to win the high jump.