Track & Field

By Rick Eggleston, Worcester Telegram & Gazette


OXFORD — What are the odds of two athletes from the same hometown enjoying success at the collegiate level while competing in the same sport at the same college? Apparently if you’re from Oxford, the odds are pretty good.

Indeed, such was the case this spring at UMass-Lowell, where Oxford High grads Sarah Brassard and Doug Caves logged incredible seasons on their respective outdoor track teams.

Brassard recently capped her amazing four-year career with the River Hawks by receiving the female student-athlete of the year Laurie Mann Award and graduating near the top of her class with a degree in biology and exercise physiology, while Caves finished his junior campaign claiming All-American honors twice.

For Brassard, everything seemed to come together at the right time.

“It was an amazing year,” said Brassard, whose next stop is medical school. “Everything finally came together and worked out with my training.”

Driven in the classroom first and focused on athletics second, Brassard also cited having better control of her asthma on the outdoor oval this spring as another reason for her success in her main event, the 3,000-meter steeplechase. In addition, she completed her fourth seasons as a member of the River Hawks’ cross-country and indoor track teams.

One of the top distance runners in the Northeast-10 Conference and in the NCAA Division II East Region, Brassard won the NE-10 indoor title in the mile with a record time of 5:11.02 and won the conference outdoor championship in the steeplechase in 11:08.14.

The team captain also set the school record in the steeplechase this season and is ranked 13th in the country in the event, but being a member of the indoor distance medley relay team ranks as one of Brassard’s most memorable moments this season.

“I ran the mile leg of the race (at the NCAA Championships), and we finished sixth,” said Brassard, whose 5:09 earned her and her teammates All-American honors. “That was a great feeling.”

The former running Oxford star and Central Massachusetts pentathlon champ and district champ in two-mile and triple jump is a three-time all-academic team member at UMass-Lowell, thanks to her 3.80 grade point average and dedication to other community service projects — aspects of which were recognized when Brassard was one of six undergraduates to receive the university’s Chancellor’s Medal during commencement ceremonies.

Caves’ journey is not yet complete, and the junior captain is already looking forward to his senior year. It’s easy to see why, as he is coming off an amazing outdoor season in which he captured All-American honors for the fifth and sixth times.

Caves copped the honors at the NCAA Division II Championships, where he posted a sixth-place overall finish in the 400-meter dash in 47 seconds flat followed by a sixth-place finish as a member of the 4x400 relay team (3:12.07).

“For the first time this season, I was able to train all year and stay healthy,” said Caves, who set seven records at Oxford High as a member of the cross-country, indoor and outdoor track teams and won an all-state title in the 600.

Maybe so, but not even a nagging hamstring injury his freshman year at UMass-Lowell and a bout with mononucleosis his sophomore year prevented Caves from setting school records in the indoor and outdoor 400 and the outdoor 4x400 relay. He also earned his first All-American awards and All-New England honors.

“The 400 is my main event,” he said, “but the 4x400 relay is important to us. It’s the one event that takes a total team effort, and we have to work together.”

A psychology major, Caves is studying criminal justice.