Sports

Tanner All-Star To Be Inducted Into UML Hall Of Fame

Former Woburn resident led Tanners to soccer championship.

 

(Editor's Note: The following information was compiled by UMass Lowell and submitted by the Paige family.)

 On Sept. 29, Mike Paige will join the UMass Lowell immortals when he is inducted into that school's Athletic Hall of Fame.

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Currently living in Tewksbury with his wife Jill Paige, a current UML and Northeast-10 Conference Hall of Famer, he also has two daughters, Makayla (9) and Cassidy (6).  Mike is actively involved with as well as continuing his own soccer prowess, playing in a Division II travel league.

Mike played varsity soccer for Woburn High School with tri-captain status.  His senior year, he was voted by the Middlesex League coaches as MVP of the league and to the Eastern Massachusetts All-Star team.  The Woburn Tanners team was the first Woburn High soccer team to win the Middlesex League Championships, while also having the most winning season in the school's history.  Moving from soccer to indoor/outdoor track was seamless to Mike.  He placed third in the state, all divisions, in the 300m.

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At the New England Championship meet, determined to place, Mike ran to a fifth place finish after being pushed off the track, avoiding disqualification.  During the outdoor season, Mike ran multiple events, his best being 300m hurdles, 200m. and the 4x400m relay.  With all of his accomplishments, he was awarded Most Outstanding Athlete for Woburn High School in 1998.

Mike competed for the Riverhawks from 1998-2002.  Mike amassed many awards and athletic achievements.  Beginning with soccer, Mike was a starting striker for three of his four years.  By the end of his soccer career, he broke two school records:  most goals in career and most points in career.  His senior year, Mike was awarded UML's soccer MVP for the 2001 season.  He was also awarded the Student/Athlete Award at the UML's Excellence banquet, for outstanding academic success (Civil Engineering) and athletic performance (soccer).

Mike was also an important part of the Riverhawks Track and Field team.  During his four years with the team, he amassed top-10 times in eight different events, 10 All-New England honors and All-American status four times during the indoor seasons.  Mike is still part of six of his 8 top-10's.  The events include the indoor 400m, 600m, 4x200m and the DMR as well as the outdoor 400m and 4x400m. 

In 2000-2001, the Riverhawks entered the Northeast-10 conference for the first time.  Mike placed first in the indoor 400m as well as being part of the winning 4x400m relay team. The group then moved on to the New England championship meet which includes all schools in New England, Divisions I, II, and III.  The 4x400 meter came away with a first place finish.

Mike and his team qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships and came away with his first All-American status in the indoor 4x400 meter relay, along with teammates Tim Stott, Eric Sherry and Phil Levesque.  At the time, the only way to earn All-American status in Track and Field is to place in the top 6 at the Division II national meet.  These performances earned him the Student/Athlete Award for Track and Field at the Excellence banquet.

During the 2001 indoor season, Mike continued his stellar performances, improving individual and relay split times.  Capturing once again, the 400 meter indoor and 4x400 meter relay.  At the New England meet, Mike placed 2nd in the indoor 400m, while the 4x400 relay placed third, qualifying both himself for the NCAA Championships in the 400m and the 4x400 relay.

At the NCAA Championships, Mike placed sixth in the 400m, earning him his first individual All-American status.  The 4x400 meter was disqualified in a disappointing outcome on the track.  During the 2001 outdoor season, Mike suffered a severely pulled hamstring during an important 4x400m relay race at the prestigious Penn Relays, then rendering him injured for the rest of outdoor season.

Mike was determined to come back hard his senior year.  His performances in soccer and track were the best in his career.  During the soccer season, Mike had broken the record for most points in a season and was awarded the team's MVP.  The team then played in the Northeast-10 Championship game against St. Anselm, losing a heartbreaker, 2-1.

Mike proved another valuable asset to the Riverhawks track team by winning the 400m and running the fastest split on the winning 4x400 meter relay at the NE-10 Conference meet, earning him Northeast-10 Conference MVP.  The success continued at the New England Championships where Mike won his first individual New England Title in the 400m, while the 4x400m also won the gold metal.

At the 2001 Indoor NCAA Championships, Mike received his third and fourth All-American statuses by placing 6th in the 400m and 4th in the 4x400 meter relay, with teammates, Tim Stott, Phil Levesque and Jason Paige.  At the 2002 UMass Excellence Banquet, Mike was awarded the Lester H. Cushing Award, which is given to the Most Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year.


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