Jan. 24, 2012

View NE-10 Track & Field Week 5 Release

Junior Evan White (Tewksbury, Mass.) and senior Nicole Giaquinto (Winthrop, Mass.) were each named the Track Athletes of the Week and led five UMass Lowell track and field athletes to similar honors, the Northeast-10 Conference announced Tuesday.

Sophomore Candace Greene (Annapolis, Md.) was named the Women's Field Athlete of the Week while freshman Patrick Greaney (Mansfield, Mass.) was named the Men's Field Rookie of the Week and Ryad Bencheikh (Woburn, Mass.) the Men's Track Rookie of the Week.

The honors are the result of several magnificent showings at the Boston University Multi-Invitational last Thursday, in which UMass Lowell was the sole Division II-III team in the field against the likes of Boston College, Sacred Heart, Colgate and the host Terriers.

White captured the 200 meter dash and automatically qualified for the NCAA Championship with a time of 21.32 seconds, currently the fastest time in Division II. The feat marked the second time White has qualified for the NCAAs; he currently ranks second in the 400 meter dash (48.41), run Jan. 8 at the Dartmouth Relays.

Giaquinto captured the 400 meter dash at BU with a time of 57.58 seconds. She also placed second in the 200 meter dash in 25.29.

Greene, named the Women's Field Athlete of the Week for the third time this season, threw the shot put 43 feet, 1.0 inches to place third.

Bencheikh won the 500 meters and shattered a school record with a time of 1:02.69. He eclipsed the previous record of 1:03.02 set by former standout Diego Pinheiro in 2006.

Greaney did well in two events at BU, placing third in the triple jump with a distance of 41' 5.75'' and fourth in the long jump with a leap of 21' even.

UMass Lowell enters the Boston University Terrier Invitational, the women competing Friday and the men Saturday, at the BU Track and Tennis Center.