Fitchburg State Hosts Jim Sheehan Memorial Meet
Falcons take home men’s crown with 30 points; women finish third overall with 76 points
FITCHBURG, Mass. (September 10, 2010) –The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s cross country teams were back in action this afternoon as the Falcons hosted the Jim Sheehan Memorial at Coggshall Park. The Falcons captured the 2010 men’s crown, earning first place with a total of 30 points, while the women placed third overall with a total of 76 points.
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On the men’s side, Fitchburg State dominated the 4.75 mile run as four of its first five runners placed within the top ten. Junior Chris Kibler (Bath, Maine/Morse) led all runners in the event, posting a school course record with a blazing time of 23:53.7. Kibler took home top honors in the race, while senior Matt Spano (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) followed closely, earning second place with a time of 25:05.
Sophomore Will Lary (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) and classmate Mike Grasela (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) added to the Fitchburg State scoring with back-to-back finishes as the pair posted times of 26:31 and 26:35 for fifth and sixth place respectively. Freshman Chris Ross (Brookfield, Mass./Tantasqua Regional) rounded out the Falcons scoring with a 19th place finish (28:21), while Larry Teague (Tyngsboro, Mass./Greater Lowell) 29:17, Josh Kaddy (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont) 29:21, Steve Ward (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) 31:40 and Nate LaRose (Sturbridge, Mass./Tantasqua Regional) 37:32, all finished strong.
On the ladies side, graduate Linda Fortunato (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam) paved the way again for Fitchburg State, finishing first on the squad and fifth overall with a time of 22:20. The veteran runner jumped five spots from her 2009 results while also shaving off a solid 1:21.5 from her 5K run.
Sophomore Emily Lane (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School) finished a close second on the Falcons team and tenth overall in the contest, posting a time of 22:53, while junior Katie Page (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) locked down 15th place with a time of 23:23. Freshman Shannon Fitzgerald (Blackstone, Mass./Blackstone Regional) also looked strong in her first collegiate race, finishing with a time of 27:38, while freshmen Felicia Nephew (Grafton, Mass./Blackstone Valley) and Kayla Reyes (Lawrence, Mass./Whittier Regional) wrapped up the Fitchburg State runners with times of 29:56 and 34:13 respectively.
The Fitchburg State cross country teams will be back in action next Saturday as it travels to UMass Dartmouth for a race starting at 11 a.m.