Jan. 25, 2009
Senior Ruben Sanca (Boston, MA) posted the fastest time in the country in the 5,000 meters - qualifying for both the NCAA and U.S. Championship - to highlight a spectacular afternoon by the UMass Lowell men's track and field team at the Boston University Terrier Invitational.
The non-scoring meet attracted colleges from all three divisions as well as many athletes from postgraduate track and field clubs, both regional and international.
Sanca was among an astounding five individuals and one relay team to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championship over four events, making for one of the most successful single meets in UMass Lowell history.
Sanca placed third overall - behind Girma Mecheso of Auburn (14:01.14) and UMass Lowell assistant coach/Saucony standout Nate Jenkins (14:04.68) - with a time of 14:05.46. He displaced the previous school record of 14:11.00, set by UML Hall of Famer Dennis Simonaitis in 1985, by nearly seven seconds.
The River Hawks also enjoyed a magnificent showing in the 400 meter dash, led by senior Andrew Grange (Methuen, MA) who was among three UMass Lowell athletes who met the NCAA provision in the 400 meter dash.
Grange placed second in 48.05 seconds, just behind Chris Cox of Seton Hall who took the individual title in 48.01. Junior Doug Caves (Oxford, MA) placed third in 48.18 seconds while sophomore Donte Brown (Brockton, MA) placed fifth in 48.51.
Brown pulled off a double of sorts as he also helped UMass Lowell's 4X400 meter relay team to second place (first among Division II-III teams) and improve its standing in the NCAAs with a time of 3:16.44. Brown led off with a 48.2-second leg while sophomore Sam Bastien (Canton, MA) ran a 48.3-second split. Freshman Jeffrey Wundt (Southwick, MA) ran a 49.5 leg as did junior Robert Liekweg (Salem, NH).
Bastien also placed third among Division II-III athletes (19th overall) in the 200 meter dash in 22.41.
Senior Joey DeWitt (Ellsworth, ME) and sophomore Angus MacDonald (Methuen, MA) each met the NCAA provision in the mile. DeWitt placed 12th overall (second) in 4:10.90 while MacDonald placed 18th (fourth) in 4:12.47.
Freshmen Giovanni Frias (Lawrence, MA) and Shaddi Ali (Stoneham, MA) placed third and fourth overall and topped the Division II-III field in the high jump. Frias cleared 6 feet, 4.25 inches while Ali cleared 6' 2.25''.
Sophomore Cory Murray (Methuen, MA) placed 10th overall (first) in the shot put with a distance of 48' 1.75''. Junior William Nguidjoi (Lawrence, MA) placed eighth overall (second) in the long jump with a leap of 44' 4.25''.
Other notable results included that of sophomore Matt Blazon (Lowell, MA), who topped the Division II-III field in the 55 meter hurdles (13th overall) with a time of 8.07 seconds; and freshman Danny Wang (Haverhill, MA) who took 17th overall (second) in the 800 meters in 1:56.70.
UMass Lowell enters the Reebok Indoor Games next Friday and Saturday.
