UMass Lowell Athletics Hall of Fame
As UMass Lowell has dominated the last decade among Division I, II and III New England colleges among the sprints and relays, Mike Paige was a member of the 4X400 meter relay teams which captured three New England titles from 2000 to 2002 and earned All-New England honors six times.
He was a part of two indoor 4X400 relay All-American teams in 2000 and 2002, placing sixth and fourth, respectively.
Paige also did exceptionally well on his own: He earned All-American status twice in the 400 meter dash in 2001 and 2002 and emerged the New England champion in the indoor 400 as a senior with a time of 48.07 seconds.
In the 2002 NE-10 Indoor Track and Field Championship – UMass Lowell’s only conference track and field men's title to date – Paige captured the 200 meter dash and was named the Athlete of the Meet.
“Mike was probably as tough a competitor as we had,” said George Davis, who coached track and field and cross country from 1970-2002. “That was one of his great attributes. He would compete to the last ounce of energy he had. His ability to exceed expectations was renowned. He would beat people who had better times than he did. He just responded to the challenge.
“He certainly had talent, and he used that talent to the last degree every time he raced,” Davis added. “He made an awful lot of people better around him.”
Paige remains prominent among UMass Lowell’s sprinters as he currently holds the fifth-fastest individual time in the outdoor 400 meters (47.58) and 10th-best in the indoor (48.07). He is also part of two of the top 10 indoor 4X200 meter relay teams, including the No. 2 team which recorded a time of 1:29.63.
Paige was also significant player in the emergence of the men’s soccer program early in the decade. In his first season, UMass Lowell was a forgettable 5-14-1. By the time he graduated, the number of wins was in double digits, including then a school-record 13 in 2001.
He compiled 10 goals in each of his junior and senior seasons and graduated as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 29 goals and seven assists (65 points – currently third on the career list), only to be surpassed by his brother Jason. He was a NE-10 Third Team all-star as a senior.
Capping an outstanding college career, Paige was the recipient of the Lester H. Cushing Award for Male Athlete of the Year in 2002.
Paige and his wife Jill (Croft), a 2008 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, live in Tewksbury with their children Makayla and Cassidy.
