May 12, 2009

George Davis, who served as head coach of the cross country and track and field programs at UMass Lowell for 33 years, was among four individuals inducted into the University’s Athletic Hall of Fame Tuesday night at the 2009 Athletic Awards Banquet.

Davis joined former hockey standout Shane Henry (1990-94), softball standout Kristine Botto Drust (1998-01) and shot putter Heather Oldham (2000-04) as part of the 2009 induction class.

Davis started the men’s cross country/track and field program in 1970 at Lowell Technological Institute and took over the women’s program in 1990. He guided the men’s cross country team to the 1991 NCAA Championship and was named the NCAA New England/Northeast Division II Coach of the Year an astounding 19 times before retiring in 2002.

Henry is among the top scorers in UMass Lowell history and led the hockey team to a remarkable turn of fortune over the course of his career.

Botto Drust was a two-time All-American who earned a plethora of honors and remains a fixture in the softball record book.

The greatest shot putter in women’s track and field history, Oldham was a five-time All-American and a three-time New England champion (which included athletes from all NCAA Divisions).

George Davis: ‘I Really Wanted to Be a Basketball Coach’

The amount of honors that George Davis and his athletes compiled during his tenure is staggering. The irony is that his first love was basketball.

“My first job was in the physical education department in the Newburyport (MA) middle and elementary schools, and in the spring I wanted to coach track and field to broaden the kids’ horizons in athletics,” Davis said.

“My second job was at Salem (NH) H.S., when they opened up the new high school and had a brand new track. And I became the track coach,” Davis added. “But I kept trying to be a basketball coach.”

The May 12 induction will marks the fourth time that Davis has been inducted into a hall of fame. A 1963 graduate of Plymouth State College, he was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 1994, as well as the Pinkerton Academy Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Greater Lowell Road Runners Hall of Fame in late April.

“Getting into the Hall of Fame, I think, is the highest honor as you can bestow upon a coach,” Davis said.

From the time he started the men’s program in 1970 to his retirement in 2002, he coached 78 All-Americans. Perhaps equally impressive, he coached 34 New England champions, which includes all three NCAA divisions.

Davis had many crowning moments during his career, highlighted in 1991 when he guided the men’s cross country team to the NCAA championship and in 1988 when Hall of Fame member Jane Servi won the national championship in the indoor high jump.

Alongside those accolades, he also holds the year 1983-84 as one of his favorite, when UMass Lowell captured the Eastern League championship in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field.

“At that time, the Eastern League was more than 80 years old, and we were the only school that ever did that,” Davis explained. “It was a real strong track league. In those days there weren’t a lot of conferences like there are today. The Eastern League had a lot of the Division II and III schools and some Division I teams, so it was quite an accomplishment.”

In addition Davis was the recipient of many awards and was named NCAA Division II New England/Northeast Region Coach of the Year for men’s track and field or cross country an astounding 15 times, as well as four times while coaching the UMass Lowell women.

In 1991, after winning the NCAA Championship in cross country, he was voted the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year.

Under Davis’ leadership, the men’s cross country program finished among the top 10 in the NCAA championship 11 times. From 1973 to 2002, the River Hawks competed in the NCAAs 13 times, and were represented individually five times.

In 2002, Davis’ final season with the cross country teams, he guided UMass Lowell to its third straight NCAA Northeast Region title where the River Hawks finished in the top four spots to score an astounding 17. As is true today, the success from the cross country season routinely carries into the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.

In 2000, Davis led the UMass Lowell women to third place at the New England Indoor Track and Field Championships – then the highest finish ever for a non-Division I school.

The UMass Lowell women then moved on to place a best-ever 10th at the NCAA indoor track and field championships.

In 2001-02, the UMass Lowell men enjoyed best-ever finishes of third place in the New England indoors and fourth place at the New England outdoors.

Davis is currently the girls’ indoor and outdoor track and field coach at Manchester Central H.S. He resides in Manchester, NH, and Ossippee, NH, with his wife Jean. They have raised two grown children.

Shane Henry: The Complete Player

When Shane Henry played his first season for the Chiefs in 1990-91, they struggled to a 10-23-1 record. By the time he had ended his senior season, the team enjoyed a 25-10-1 finish – then its best season in Division I – which included an appearance in the Hockey East Tournament Championship game and a trip to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal.

Henry was not known for doing one thing well. He did many things exceptionally.

“Shane was one of those guys who you knew what you were getting from him every time over the boards,” said former UML Head Coach Bruce Crowder. “He was always out there killing penalties. He was at the top of the umbrella on the power play. He was very good at seeing the ice.

“Shane was a real complete player,” Crowder added. “You always got a lot more out of him than you thought. He was a guy who just played hard.”

It is 15 years after Henry played his last game for UMass Lowell, but his name remains very prominent in the record book. He played 141 of 147 games in his career, pitting him 15th all-time.

Perhaps more impressive, he compiled 56 goals and 102 assists (158 points) for his career which is currently third on the all-time list.

Henry enjoyed his best seasons as a junior and senior, the former in which he compiled 23 goals and 15 assists. As a senior he registered 11 goals and 37 assists and helped lead the Chiefs to the Hockey East Tournament final and to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated Michigan State (4-3) but fell to Minnesota (2-1) in double overtime in the quarterfinal.

An additional telling statistic is Henry’s eight game-winning goals, which ranks 10th on UMass Lowell’s all-time list (third among Division I players).

The recipient of many postseason honors, Henry is one of 16 players – six from the University’s Division I era – to earn All-America status, which he did as a senior.

Additionally, Henry was a two-time Hockey East all-star, earning second team as a junior and first team as a senior.

Henry was also responsible for some of the greatest single-game performances in the program’s history. In a Nov. 7, 1992-93 win at No. 5 Clarkson, Henry’s goal 51 seconds from time capped a four-goal third period and ensured a 4-3 victory.

Later that season, he enjoyed a five-point night (three goals, two assists) in an 8-5 win over Northeastern on Jan. 23.The effort came in the midst of a 13-game scoring streak.

“Shane Henry was the consummate hockey player, not flashy, but rather smooth, graceful and extraordinarily effective,” said Bob Ellis, radio voice of UMass Lowell Hockey for 25 years. “He could put the puck in the back of the net or make the play that gave a teammate a scoring opportunity. Henry raised the level of those players around him on the ice and off.”

From 1994-98, Henry enjoyed a brief career in the minor leagues, which included stellar seasons with the Richmond Renegades of the ECHL, in which he compiled 22 goals and 47 assists (69 points) in 57 games; and the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks the following year, where he registered 15-38-53 in 47 games.

A native of Langley, British Columbia, Henry is currently an event manager for Orlando Venues for the City of Orlando, FL, where he resides.

Kristine Botto Drust: The Face of UMass Lowell Softball

Arguably the greatest honor a college athlete can receive is earning induction into its Athletic Hall of Fame. And if there is ever a player who deserves it, says Head Softball Coach Harry Sauter, it is former standout/current assistant coach Kristine Botto Drust.

“Kristine is the face of UMass Lowell softball,” said Sauter, in his 15th year. “She was the consummate team player and nothing came before the team. All the players looked up to her and respected her as a leader both on and off the field.”

The amount of honors Botto Drust earned during her four years is staggering and rare. Highlighting them is the fact that she remains the only UMass Lowell player to earn All-American honors twice, her junior and senior seasons in which she led the River Hawks to a combined record of 59-35.

Botto Drust was also a three-time All-Northeast Region honoree by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), earning First Team twice and Second Team once.

She garnered first team all-conference honors during those years as well, earning first team status in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) as a sophomore and junior and the Northeast-10 Conference as a senior.

Botto Drust never hit a home run and only hit for extra bases three times in her entire career. She was a lead-off slap hitter, known for uncanny speed, who routinely beat out infield hits.

She compiled 205 singles and 77 stolen bases for her career, both tops on UMass Lowell’s career lists. No player is remotely close.

“With Kristine on first, the odds of having her on second were very good,” Sauter noted. “If she got on base more than once we were sure to score. She was an offensive spark plug.”

Botto Drust also ranks third all-time in runs scored (126) and hits (208) and fourth in batting (.343) and games played (185). Single season marks include singles (66 in 2001) and stolen bases (33 in 2000).

As a student-athlete, Botto Drust’s influence spread much farther than the diamond. She served on UMass Lowell’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as a junior and a senior and was involved in many community service efforts.

Following graduation, Botto Drust played for the New England Riptide of the National Pro Fastpitch League in 2005 and 2006; and the Connecticut Brakettes of the American Softball Association in 2004. She helped the Riptide to the 2006 NPF Championship and the Brakettes to the ASA title in 2004.

Underscoring her commitment to the softball program, Botto is in her eighth season as an assistant coach and commutes from Middletown, CT, to Lowell four days a week.

A native of Lowell and graduate of Lowell H.S., she was inducted into the Lowell H.S. Hall of Fame in 2007. She and her husband, Don, a former UMass Lowell standout linebacker, live in Middletown, CT.

Heather Oldham: 'She Competed Unbelievably in Big Meets'

It is rare for an athlete to earn All-America honors once. It is infinitely more so to do what Heather Oldham did, which was earn All-American honors five times.

Add her three New England championships and three Northeast-10/New England Collegiate Conference titles and her Hall of Fame inclusion becomes a formality.

Five years removed from competing, Oldham was a shot put thrower so accomplished at UMass Lowell that she still owns the top 10 indoor throws and the top eight outdoor distances in program history, including the indoor school record of 50 feet, 1.75 inches; and the outdoor record of 50’ 8.0’’.

The latter mark occurred on her very last throw at the 2003 NCAA Championship, which earned her second place.

“By far, Heather was the best shotputter we ever had,” said former Head Coach George Davis. “She competed unbelievably in big meets. One of the things we did so often was that our kids did so well in big meets. She could dig deep inside and just do it.”

Oldham qualified for the NCAA Championship seven times in her eight semesters. She was the NCAA runner-up in the outdoor shot put as a senior in 2003; third at the NCAA indoor championship in 2001 and 2003; fifth in the 2001 outdoor; and eighth in the 2000 outdoor championship.

Perhaps equally impressive, she often preceded the NCAA Championship with stellar efforts at the New England Championship (which included all three NCAA divisions). She won the New England indoor shot put in 2001 and 2002, as well as the outdoor title in 2001, while finishing second three times and third once.

“Heather came out of high school a very good athlete. I think she wanted to maintain that,” Davis noted.

As Oldham thrived, so did UMass Lowell. During Oldham’s tenure, the River Hawks placed sixth or better at the New England indoor and outdoor championships four times, highlighted with a second-place showing at the 2001 outdoor games.

UMass Lowell also captured the Northeast-10 Conference indoor title in 2002 and the outdoor championship in 2003. Oldham was a four-time NE-10 champion, including both those years.

“Heather is the best thrower I’ve ever coached, performance-wise,” said Barbara Smith, long-time throws coach for UMass Lowell. “She was always trying to figure out how to work on her skills and technique. She understood she needed to be technically better than other throwers because she wasn’t as big as some of them.”

Oldham is native of Woburn, MA. She currently resides in Billerica, MA.