Fitchburg State Shines At James Early Meet
Men place 22nd overall with 587 points; Women finish 20th with a total of 535 points
WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Fitchburg State men's and women's cross country teams were in action this afternoon as the women's squad completed at the 2015 James Early Invitational hosted by Westfield State University, while the men's team ran at both the James Early Meet as well as the 2015 All-New England Championships at Franklin Park in Boston.
The women placed 20th overall with 535 points, while the men's team finished in 22nd place with a total of 587 points on the afternoon.
On the men's side, sophomore Liam Eble earned the top finish for the men, placing 86th overall with a time of 28:20, while seniors Timothy Allen and Brandon Brideau placed 91st and 98th overall, turning in times of 28:23 and 28:30 respectively.
Senior Richard Ethier, IV followed with a time of 29:53, while sophomore Mark Tonelli registered a time of 29:54. Rounding out the top seven for the Falcons were newcomer Brett Montminy and senior Daniel Fitzpatrick who recorded times of 30:11 and 30:22 respectively over the 5K layout.
At the 2015 All-New England Championship Meet, senior Eric Ouellette registered a stellar time of 25:39 to lead the way of the Falcons with a 58th place showing, while sophomore Jake Hastings followed with a time of 26:53.
Newcomer Anthony Darrigo posted a time of 27:03 , while classmate Joseph Darrigo crossed the chute in 28:07. Sophomore Matthew Cuomo added a time of 28:30, while senior Michael Martin rounded the Falcons top efforts with a time of 29:02 over the 8K layout.
"It is really nice to be able to split the squad and have the super results we had today." Said Fitchburg State head men's cross country coach Jim Jellison.
For the women, sophomore Nicole Gaffney led the way, placing 27th overall with time of 19:43 to set a new Fitchburg State course record at Westfield State, while classmate Casey Taylor put forth a solid time of 21:01 to place 95th.
Junior Sadie Zbikowski notched a time of 21:32, while sophomore Shawna Ryan and senior Jessica Mangan earned times of 21:56 and 22:27 respectively as Ryan set a new personal best time in the process.
Sophomore Holly Wentworth followed with a time of 23:00, while senior Ebony Schuerman rounded out the top seven for the ladies with a time of 24:24 over the two mile course. Fitchburg State head women's cross country coach Jamie Aubuchon said, "We had our fastest times of year, 11 seconds faster that last season as we continue to make huge improvements each race."
Fitchburg State will be back in action on Friday as it competes in the 2015 Saints Invitational, hosted by Emmanuel College at Franklin Park in Boston, starting at 4 p.m.