Oct. 18, 2009

Gary Gardner gave his University of Massachusetts at Lowell men's cross-country team specific instructions on how to run last weekend's New England championship meet, held at Franklin Park.

If the runners followed his strategy, the coach felt the River Hawks could repeat as champions and capture their third title in four years.

With junior Angus MacDonald of Methuen (above) leading the way with a sterling eighth-place finish, and each of his teammates running personal bests, UMass-Lowell captured the title, once again topping the field of 320 runners representing 47 Division 1, 2, and 3 schools.

"To do that we had to be good and we had to be lucky,'' said Gardner. "There were five or six other teams that could have won, but on this particular day we were the better team. The kids, because of what they've done in the past, come to this race expecting to do well. That's a huge piece of it. They are prepared to do well and that goes a long way in determining what happens. This was our first big test of the year and we passed it.''

MacDonald grabbed the eighth spot in 24 minutes 55 seconds, but only 35 seconds separated him from teammates. Senior Tim Guerin finished ninth in 24:58, sophomore Jeff Veiga of Lowell was 16th (25:08), junior Greg Wilson of Chelmsford 29th (25:24), senior Steve O'Brien of Groton 31st (25:26), and sophomore Danny Wang of Haverhill 35th (25:30). While MacDonald, Guerin, Veiga, Wilson, and O'Brien picked up points for the River Hawks, Wang's 35th-place showing was most important, stressed Gardner.

"He may not have scored points for us, but by finishing 35th and ahead of every [other] team's fifth-place finisher, he took points away from them, and in cross-country scoring that's a key,'' said Gardner.

Gardner said he stressed to the team that everyone would be in the hunt after 5 kilometers, but that the final 3K mattered the most.

The key, he felt, was for all six runners to run well and stay within sight of one another.

MacDonald "ran a very patient race,'' said Gardner. "He started out the first mile outside the top 30 and then started to make his move. As the race progressed, he moved into the top 10, just as he was instructed to do. If he had taken a chance and gone to the front of the pack he might have finished higher, but he ran a very conservative race to make sure he was there for the team. [Veiga] ran a similar race and really came on in the last 2,000 meters. I think he passed 15 or so runners in that span. [Wilson] was the big surprise. This was a big step for him. We thought he could run at this level, but to see it in practice is one thing, to see it in a race of this magnitude is another. It was a breakout race for him.''

Gardner said winning the New England title for the third time in four years (UMass Lowell finished second in 2007) can only help his recruiting efforts. "It has already,'' he said. "I got a phone call this week from one of the best high school runners in the state. He was at Franklin Park and liked what he saw. He didn't return any of my calls all summer and now he's calling me. He's coming in next week for a visit. This string of success really gives our program credibility.''

MacDonald was thrilled with the team's performance. "In general, the guys on this team weren't superstars in high school,'' he said, "but they're all up there now. It's all in the training, the high mileage and their work ethic. They've all made significant improvement in almost every single race. To win another New England championship is really cool considering the teams we are running against. There are a lot of people who wouldn't consider UMass-Lowell to be right up there with the best of them, but we are and now people see that we have a very legitimate program here.''