Fitchburg State Takes On Saints Invitational
Hastings and Gaffney pace Falcons with first place finishes at tenth annual Saints Invite
BOSTON, Mass. – The Fitchburg State men's and women's cross country teams competed in the 2015 Saints Invitational hosted by Emmanuel College at Franklin Park in Boston this afternoon.
The Fitchburg State men's team finished third overall, while the women earned a fifth place finish on the afternoon.
For the men, sophomore Jake Hastings guided the men's team to an third place finish, placing first overall with time of 26:31, while newcomer Anthony Darrigo posted a time of 27:13 over the 8k layout.
Freshman Joseph Darrigo registered a solid time of 27:22, while junior Matthew Cuomo followed into the chute with a time of 28:11. Senior Michael Martin was strong as well, posting a time of 28:27, while sophomore Liam Eble and junior Brandon Hannon closed out the top seven finishers on the men's squad with times of 28:28 and 29:07 respectively.
On the women's side, sophomore Nicole Gaffney paved the way for the ladies, taking first place honors with a 5k time of19:58, while classmate Casey Taylor follow suit with a time of 20:42 for the Green and Gold.
Junior Sadie Zbikowski put forth a strong effort, posting a time of 21:59, while senior Jessica Mangan notched a time of 22:07. Sophomore Shawna Ryan turned in a solid time of 22:28, while classmates Holly Wentworth and Bridget Diggins rounded out the top seven finishers for the ladies, turning in times of 23:43 and 24:18 respectively.
"This is the first time we had an individual winner here and today we had two." Said Fitchburg State men's cross country head coach Jim Jellison. "This was a great race by both teams as a prelude to the upcoming 2015 MASCAC/Alliance Championship Meet in two weeks." Jellison added.
The Fitchburg State men's and women's cross country teams will be in action again in two weeks as they compete in the 2015 MASCAC/Alliance Championship Meet on Saturday October 31st, hosted by Worcester State at 12 p.m.