Fitchburg State Races At UMass Dartmouth Invitational

Men finish 14th with 387 points; Women collect 739 points for 27th place

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass.  – The Fitchburg State men's and women's cross country teams traveled to UMass Dartmouth this afternoon, competing in the 2014 UMass Dartmouth Invitational as the men placed 14th overall with 387 points, while the women finished 27th overall with 739 points.

The Fitchburg State men fared well at the 2014 UMass Dartmouth Invitational, beating out the other four MASCAC teams in the field, placing 14th overall with 387points. Freshman Brian Amaral continued his strong running, placing 12th overall with an outstanding five mile course time of 25:37.03, while classmate Jake Hastings turned in a time of 25:57.56 for a 25th place finish.

Sophomore Matthew Cuomo (84th) also ran strong with a time of 27:11.53, while junior Timothy Allen placed 121st overall with a time of 27:55.75. Newcomer Sean Beverly, junior Michael Martin and freshman Liam Eble wrapped up the men's top seven with times of 28:51.89, 29:07.55 and 29:44.08 respectively.

Freshman Alex Napolitan guided the men's sub varsity team to an 12th place effort (251 points), posting a solid time of 29:10.32, while senior Jim Quinlan and sophomore Joseph Little also ran well, posting times of 29:18.46 and 29:24.55.

On the women's side, freshman Nicole Gaffney led the way for the Fitchburg State varsity squad in the 5K race, earning the top Falcon spot (55th) with a time of 19:37.35, while junior Libby Ward finished 134th overall with a time of 20:50.74. Senior Jenae Harrison also turned in a solid time of 22:03.85, while junior Jessica Mangan registered a time of 22:28.10 over the 5K layout.

Capping the Falcons top seven were sophomore Sadie Zbikowski, senior Braila Roy and newcomer Shawna Ryan with times of 22:31.84, 23:28.13 and 23:39.40 respectively.

Freshman Bridget Diggins guided the Fitchburg State women's sub varsity team to a 15th place finish (424 points) with a 102nd place finish (22:55.21), while classmate Cassie Lavallee ran well with a time of 24:58.97. Newcomer Dorothee Petzl turned in a solid effort, with a time of 25:44.90, while senior Karollynn Wickless-Adams finished with a time of 26:06.52.

The Fitchburg State men's and women's cross country teams will be back in action next Saturday as they compete at the Worcester City Meet at 11 a.m.