Fitchburg State Hosts Jim Sheehan Memorial Meet

Men capture first place with a perfect 15 points; Women placed third with 54 points

FITCHBURG, Mass. (September 9, 2011) – The Fitchburg State men's and women's cross country teams hosted their annual Jim Sheehan Memorial Meet this afternoon at Coggshall Park. The men's squad turned in a first place finish with a perfect score of 15 points, while the women placed third overall with 54 points.

Senior Chris Kibler (Bath, Maine/Morse) led the pack for Fitchburg State, turning in the day's top performance with a time of 26:00 over the 4.75 mile course. Freshman Eric Ouellette (Ashburnham, Mass./Oakmont) grabbed second place on the afternoon with an effort of 26:39, while junior Will Lary (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) cracked the top three with a time of 26:44.

The Falcons men's team was electric on the afternoon, grabbing the top seven spots of the meet. Freshman Brandon Davis (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) garnered fourth place for Fitchburg State with a time of 26:49, while newcomer Damion Perry (Westport, Mass./Diman Regional) followed Davis to the finish at 27:05. Junior Mike Grasela (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) and freshman Jim Quinlan (N. Andover, Mass./N. Andover) capped the Falcons top men's runners with times of 27:14 and 27:15 respectively.

Junior Emily Lane (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School) stole the spotlight again for the Fitchburg State women's team, posting the squads best finish of the day with an eighth place, 23:46 effort. Senior Katie Page (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) followed shortly behind in tenth with a time of 24:18, while freshman Braila Roy (Hyannis, Mass./Barnstable) took 13th  at 25:06.

Junior Chenice Branquinho (E. Freetown, Mass./Old Colony) and classmate Kelsey Chand (Middleboro, Mass./Bristol Plymouth) also cracked the top five spots for Fitchburg State, finishing with times of 25:09 and 26:42 respectively.

Both teams will be back in action next Friday as they travel to UMass Dartmouth at 11 a.m.