Nov. 9, 2011

Gary Gardner, who led UMass Lowell’s men’s cross country team to the 2011 NCAA East Region Championship Sunday, was named the East Region Men’s Coach of the Year, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Tuesday.

The honor marked the fourth straight year Gardner was cited by the USTFCCCA and the seventh time in his 10 seasons at the helm of UMass Lowell (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011).

“It’s an honor that really belongs to the team and my assistant coaches,” Gardner said. “This year the team is an overachieving group of underclassmen that overcame two big losses to the team to accomplish the goal we set at camp in August. I couldn’t be prouder.”

Prior to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Oct. 23, seniors Jeff Veiga (Lowell, Mass.), the 2010 East Region Athlete of the Year, and Eric McDonald (Groveland, Mass.), an All-East Region standout, were forced to redshirt the year due to injuries. Subsequently, the River Hawks placed third at the NE-10 Championship, its lowest finish since joining the NE-10 in 2000.

UMass Lowell, however, rebounded Sunday with the NCAA East Region title and a 12th straight trip to the NCAA Championship Saturday, Nov. 19 in Spokane, Wash. Six UMass Lowell runners, led by seniors Greg Wilson (Chelmsford, Mass.) (fifth, 31:44.4) and Danny Wang (Haverhill, Mass.) (10th, 32:05.4), were named to the All-East Region Team, which consisted of the top 25 finishers.

Between the USTFCCCA and Northeast-10 Conference, Gardner has been honored 37 times for UMass Lowell’s success in cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field.

A native of North Attleboro, Mass., Gardner is a 1994 graduate of Keene State College. He lives in Auburn, Mass.