For Immediate Release
May 31, 2011
Courtesy of the UMass Lowell Sports Information Department
Turlock, Ca. – Senior Donte Brown and sophomore Evan White (pictured) were named All-Americans in two events as the UMass Lowell men's track and field team placed tied for 12th at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championship Saturday at Cal State Stanislaus.
UMass Lowell compiled 18 points behind the work of Brown, who placed third in the 400 meter hurdles; and White, who took fourth in the 400 meter dash. Both ran legs on the River Hawks' 4X400 meter relay team, which placed third in 3:10.98.
Also earning All-America status was junior Angus MacDonald, who earned the distinction for the seventh time in his career after he placed eighth in the 5,000 meters.
SophomoreCraig Bennett and freshman Keith Lewis also ran splits on UMass Lowell's All-America 4X400 team.
"This is about the best case scenario of what we were hoping for," said UMass Lowell head coach Gary Gardner. "Everybody probably exceeded what we hoped they could do. This is a great way to finish off the year, especially after what happened at the (NCAA) indoors and also after not being able to bring home a trophy at the New England Championship.
"The fact that we did it today, on the big stage, is great," he added.
Gardner alluded to UMass Lowell's misfortune at the NCAA indoor championship in March, where four individuals and three relay teams came home empty handed after a series of mishaps.
Abilene Christian won the team title with 68 points while Adams (Co.) State placed second with 55 points, and Lincoln (Mo.) University third with 51 points. UMass Lowell shared 12th place with Augustana (S.D.) University.
The top eight finishers in each event were named All-Americans.
Despite catching the final hurdle, Brown placed third in the 400 hurdles in 52.37 seconds to earn All-American honors for the fourth time in his career. The feat is all the more impressive considering he hadn't run the hurdles for three years, due to chronic hamstring problems, until this season.
"We always knew this was Donte's best event," Gardner said. "Unfortunately it worked out where he wasn't able to do (the hurdles) because of his hamstrings and because he had mono last year. It was a case in which he needed to be healthy enough to do it.
"He actually tripped over the last hurdle," Gardner noted. "He might've been able to move up a little more. We could not have asked for much more from Donte considering the season he has had."
Brown trailed only senior Steve Banton, who won the title in 51.86, and Roxroy Cato (52.10), the runner-up, both from of Lincoln (Mo.).
White ran the 400 meter dash in 47.15 seconds to place fourth and earn All-America status for the second time in his career.
"Evan actually didn't get out very well," said Gardner. "I think he was nervous about the headwind on the back straightaway. He was able to move from sixth or seventh place to fourth. As great as he finished, he knows he could've run better and as a sophomore, that's a nice feeling."
Brown and White, along with Bennett and Lewis, led UMass Lowell's seventh-seeded 4X400 meter relay team to third in 3:10.98. Bennett led off with a 47.88-second leg while Brown followed in 47.65, Lewis in 49.35 and White in a speedy 45.98 seconds.
White's split matched Andrew Grange's 45.98 seconds at the 2009 NCAAs for the fastest leg in a 4X400 in UMass Lowell history.
MacDonald, who fell one place short of qualifying for the final in the 1,500 meters Thursday night, placed eighth in the 5,000 meters in 14:18.81. SophomoreJeff Veiga placed 14th in 14:40.68.
"This was the fastest 5,000 field in Division II history, and for us to get a point out of it was great," Gardner said. "Runners 1-16 were in the pack in the first 3K, but it loosened up over the final 2,000 meters.
"Angus' strategy was to stay in the back and work his way through one by one over the last 2,000 meters. He did it perfect."
