Fitchburg State Soars At MASCAC Championships
Ouellette and Gaffney pace Falcons in 2015 conference championships
Paxton, Mass. – The Fitchburg State men's and women's cross country competed in the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Championships Worcester State University this afternoon at Moore State Park.
The men claimed the 2015 MASCAC men's cross country championship with a total of 24 points, while the women took fourth in the MASCAC with 106 total points.
On the men's side, senior Eric Ouellette earned MASCAC All-Conference honors, placing second overall with at time of 26:38 over the 8k course, while sophomore Jake Hastings followed in third place with a time of 26:47 to earn MASCAC All-Conference honors.
Sophomore Brian Amaral joined Ouellette and Hastings on the MASCAC All-Conference team with a fourth place time of 27:10, while newcomer Anthony Darrigo placed sixth overall with a time of 27:51 to earn both MASCAC All-Conference honors as well as claiming MASCAC men's cross country Rookie of the Year Honors.
Freshman Joseph Darrigo rounded out the top five efforts for the men on the afternoon, turning in a time of 28:05 with a ninth place effort.
Fitchburg State men's cross country head coach Jim Jellison was also named MASCAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year after guiding the Falcons to the 2015 MASCAC men's cross country championship, their first since last capturing the title in 2008.
The women also ran well on the afternoon as top-runner Nicole Gaffney led the way for the ladies, placing sixth overall with time of 20:06 to earn MASCAC All-Conference honors, while sophomore Casey Taylor placed 19th overall with time of 21:22 over the 5k layout.
Senior Jessica Mangan registered a time of 22:01 to finish 31st overall, while junior Kelly McCarthy crossed the finish line in 32nd place with time of 22:01 to round out the top efforts for the ladies.
Members of the Fitchburg State men's and women's cross country team will be in action again next weekend as they compete at the ECAC DIII NE Championships hosted by Mount Greylock High School, starting at 12 p.m.