May 11, 2010

Senior Haley Catarius (Marshfield, MA) was named the recipient of the Laurie Mann Award while Ryan Richards (Holden, MA) was presented the David Boutin Award and for the Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year Tuesday night at the UMass Lowell Excellence Awards Banquet at the Costello Athletic Center.

The Laurie Mann and David Boutin Awards are presented to the outstanding UMass Lowell female and male student-athletes who excel in the classroom, playing field, exemplify leadership as well as give back to the community. The awards are named after Laurie Mann, a member of the UML women's basketball team from 1993-95, who passed away in 1998 after a long battle with cancer; and David J. Boutin, a member of the baseball team from 1988-90 who also lost his life to cancer.

Additionally, Catarius and Richards were named among UMass Lowell's student-athletes of the year in each sport. Joining them was junior Brianne Bozzella (Wilmington, MA) of the women's soccer team; senior Molly Clay (Rockport, MA) of the field hockey team and Angus MacDonald (Methuen, MA) of the men's cross country team.

Winter sports student-athletes of the year included senior Jen Valente (Prospect, CT) of the women's basketball team; senior Ali Kanaan (Montreal, QC) of the men's basketball team and senior Barry Goers (Ivyland, PA), representing the hockey team.

Graduate Ruben Sanca (Boston, MA) and senior Jacqui Barrett (Woburn, MA) were tabbed for the track and field teams while senior Dustin Ramey (Kingston, NH) and sophomore Lindsi Panarelli (Shrewsbury, MA) were cited for the baseball and softball teams.

Haley Catarius, Cross Country/Track & Field

One of the most versatile athletes in UMass Lowell's cross country/track and field history, Haley Catarius has competed in the hurdles, jumps, sprints, relays and distance. She has been crowned an All-American six times over in the indoor distance medley relay (three times), outdoor 800 meters (twice) and indoor 800.

Ironically, Catarius was never a distance runner until her junior year at UMass Lowell, when Head Coach Gary Gardner approached her about joining the women's team. The result was Northeast-10 all-star status twice, All-East Region honors in 2008 as well as the 2008 NE-10 and NCAA East Region team titles and consecutive trips to the NCAA Championship.

"Basically if Haley didn't run cross country for us, we would not have made the NCAAs the last two years," Gardner said. "Obviously she is an exceptional athlete. Last year we had her long jump at the Northeast-10 Championship and she made our top-10 all-time list.

"She would do anything we ask her to do and more," Gardner added, noting Catarius' name among the top 10 best results in 15 indoor and outdoor events, including four individual school records and two as a member of a relay team. "She has gone above and beyond for our program."

This year, Catarius highlighted the indoor season as she earned All-American honors in the 800 meters, in which she placed eighth in 2:13.28 at the NCAA Championship. She also ran a leg on UMass Lowell's 4X400 meter relay team which took ninth in the country in 3:52.53. As the NCAA outdoor championship approaches, Catarius has virtually clinched her place in the 800 meters as she currently ranks 10th in the country (2:11.49).

She has been named to both the NE-10 and U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Teams several times.

The academic plaudits only tell half the story of Catarius' collegiate experience. She is a model student with a 3.462 grade point average in environmental health sciences. She is all the more impressive considering her involvement in an array of campus clubs and causes, including UMass Lowell's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for the last two years, assisting with its many fundraisers and activities.

This year, Catarius was part of the Campus Blue Light Initiative, in which she successfully lobbied for two additional blue light emergency boxes on either end of the University Avenue Bridge. A member of the University's Green Team, Catarius was instrumental in the Zero-Sort Recycling effort, which distributed recycling bags for paper to all campus buildings and offices.

"The first time we got a hint of what she has done for this campus was about three years ago," Gardner said. "She yelled at me for not recycling my scrap paper. Quite honestly, I don't know where she finds the time to complete her coursework, train and give so much back to the University."

Catarius has also helped promote the campus educational documentary series, which includes screenings of films such as Michael Moore's SICKO, Food, Inc., King Corn and Trouble the Water. She has been involved with initiatives such as Halloween Safe Night Out, River Hawk Raise Up Rations food drive and the spring carnival bottle-free water campaign.

Catarius is the daughter of Frank and Jennifer Catarius of Marshfield, MA.

Ryan Richards, Men's Soccer

The third time is a charm for Ryan Richards, who was a finalist for the David Boutin Award in both 2008 and 2009. A four-year starting goalkeeper for the men's soccer team, Richards enjoyed a stellar career and etched his place in the record books several times over.

He will graduate with a handful of school records, including games played in a career (73) and a season (21), as well as minutes in a career (6,743) and a season (2,022 in 2008) and shutouts in a season (nine, shared with Bobby Ritter).

"It has been such a pleasure getting to know Ryan in our brief time together here at Lowell," said first-year Head Coach Bryan Scales. "When Coach (Ted) Priestly recruited Ryan, he knew that he had a special young man - and it didn't take long for me to figure out that I had a wonderful human being and outstanding goalkeeper leading our group. Ryan is a ruthless competitor who - through sheer hard work and determination - made himself one of the top players in New England."

Richards backstopped UMass Lowell to NCAA Tournament bids in 2007 and 2008, the latter which saw the River Hawks advance to the quarterfinal only to be denied by a last-gasp goal in double overtime at Dowling College. That year, UMass Lowell claimed a share of the Northeast-10 Conference regular season crown for the first time and earned the No. 1 seed for the Conference tournament.

Despite UMass Lowell's struggles last fall, Richards was named to the NE-10 All-Conference Team for the third straight year. Richards was named the men's soccer team captain as a sophomore, the youngest player ever to earn the title in Priestly's 12-year era.

"Ryan represents everything that we wanted in a UMass Lowell student-athlete," said Priestly. "His high personal standards translate into excellence in the classroom, on the soccer field, in the campus community and beyond. He is a remarkable person who comes from an equally special family, and it was sincerely a pleasure and honor to have coached him."

With a 3.86 grade point average in Chemistry, he has also earned his share or academic plaudits, including three straight years on the NE-10 Men's Soccer All-Academic Team. He was also named the 2010 recipient of UMass Lowell's National Student-Athlete Day Award for having the highest grade point average last fall on the men's soccer team.

Richards' playing career somewhat mirrored his life as a student: Whenever he was called upon, he delivered. As the vice chair of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, he was vital in such community service initiatives as the Catholic Charities Thanksgiving Food Drive, the Holiday Family Adoption and the Bowling for Wishes.

"Ryan's participation and contributions to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee have had an increasingly significant impact over the past few years," said Joan Lehoullier, senior associate director of athletics who oversees the SAAC and UMass Lowell's community service efforts. "Ryan accepted a leadership role within this group and demonstrated the maturity and leadership necessary to achieve some lofty goals.

"His intrinsic passion for service has made a difference in the lives of so many students, the Lowell community and organizations like the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Habitat for Humanity."

Richards also spearheaded a Habitat for Humanity service project for UMass Lowell student-athletes. He is also an active member of UMass Lowell's Chemistry Club.

Richards is the son of Wayne and Diane Richards of Holden, MA.