Posted: Sep 07, 2012

Fitchburg State Hosts Jim Sheehan Memorial Meet

Women capture first with a perfect 15 points; Men place second with 30 points

FITCHBURG, Mass. (September 8, 2012) – The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s cross country teams hosted their annual Jim Sheehan Memorial Meet this afternoon at Coggshall Park. The women’s squad turned in a first place finish with a perfect score of 15 points, while the men placed second overall with 30 points.

Graduate student Linda Fortunato (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam) led the Fitchburg State women’s team with a first place overall finish and time of 23:02, while newcomer Erica Mallozzi (Gardner, Mass./Gardner) placed second with a time of 23:41. The Falcons snagged the top eight spots in the race as Samantha Wilkinson (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield), Chenice Branquinho (E. Freetown, Mass./Old Colony) and Alyson Moreau (Barrington, R.I./Barrington) finished third (23:44), fourth (23:55) and fifth (24:05), respectively, while Elizabeth Ward (Ashby, Mass./North Middlesex), Braila Roy (Hyannis, Mass./Barnstable) and Jenae Harrison (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) brought in sixth (24:10), seventh (24:25) and eighth (24:54) as well.

On the men’s side, the Fitchburg State alumni stole the show as graduates Chris Kibler, Ryan Miller, Matt Germaine, Kyle Schaeffer, and Phil McCormack took to the tough Coggshall Park terrain and turned in top ten finishes. Kibler led all runners with a time of 24:59.

Senior Will Lary (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) finished third overall to lead the Fitchburg State men’s squad with a time of 25:32, while sophomore Eric Ouellette (Ashburnham, Mass./Oakmont), freshman Tim Allen (Methuen, Mass./Central Catholic) and senior Michael Grasela (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) finished with times of 25:52, 26:03 and 26:19. Sophomore Brandon Davis (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) completed the Falcons top five scorers with a time of 27:06.

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