Fitchburg State Takes On David Hemery Valentine Invite

Kibler sets school record time of 14:44.01 in the 5000m; Wooten paces women with post-season/PR time of 29.11 in the 200m

BOSTON, Mass. (February 9, 2014) – The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams were in action this weekend as they competed at the 2014 David Hemery Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University.

On the men’s side, graduate student Chris Kibler (Bath, Maine) led the way for the men, registering an Open NE qualifying time of 14:44.01 in the 5000m, while breaking former Falcon standout runner Paul McGovern’s 5000 meter school record time of 14:45.26 set in 1980. Senior Pat Conaty (Southington, Conn.) was strong for the Falcons in the pole vault, posting an ECAC qualifying vault of 4.35 meters to set a new PR.

On the track, freshman Brian Amaral (Tewksbury, Mass.) notched a personal best and post season qualifying time of 15:16.67 in the 5000m, while sophomore Charles De La Rosa (Westfield, Mass.) registered a pair of MASCAC qualifying time in the 60 meter (7.42) and 200m (23.93).

In the mile, freshman Matt Cuomo (Carlisle, Mass.) and classmate Colen Stack (Greenfield, Mass.) registered personal best times of 4:34.15 and 4:44.46 respectively to qualify for the MASCAC”S next week, while junior Jim Quinlan (N. Andover, Mass.) was also solid in the 1000 meter with a PR and DIII NE qualifying time of 2:35.57.

Sophomores Richard Ethier (Shirley, Mass.) (52.62) and  Daniel Fitzpatrick (Framingham, Mass) (54.48) posted MASCAC qualifying times in the 400 meter, while junior Maximin Rocheleau (Winchendon, Mass.) and freshman Nicholas Levenson (Halifax, Mass.) also put forth post-season qualifying times of 53.19 and 54.23 in the 400m.

In the 1000 meter, newcomer Rawson Randlett (Plymouth, Mass.) notched a post-season qualifying time of 2:53.55, while sophomore Michael Martin (Gardner, Mass) turned in a personal best and MASCAC qualifying time of 2:53.68.

Freshman Trenton Garlington (Holbrook, Mass.) added a MASCAC qualifying time of 7.45 seconds in the 60 meter dash, while in the field, classmate Patryk Backiel (Fairhaven, Mass.) rounded out the top Falcon performances in the pole vault with a DIII NE qualifying mark of 4.05 meters.

For the ladies, junior Mary Wooten (Lisbon, Maine) posted personal best and MASCAC qualifying time of 29.11 in the 200 meter, while senior Stephanie Irvin (Malden, Mass.) also registered a PR time of 1:07.87 in the 400m.

In the 800 meter, junior Jenae Harrison (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and sophomore Jessica Mangan (Everett, Mass.) both turned in personal records of 2:22.60 and 2:55.18 respectively, while newcomer Morgan Steele (Somerset, Mass.) posted a PR toss of 12.09 meters in the weight throw.

Junior Braila Roy (Hyannis, Mass.) notched a season-best time of 3:19.53 in the 1000 meter, while senior Samantha Wilkinson (Wakefield, Mass.) was also solid in the 500m with a time of 1:22.55.

In the field, junior Morgan Cefalu (Hudson, Mass.) put forth a strong effort in the shot put with a toss of 7.94 meters, while classmate Sarah Elliott (E. Meadow, N.Y.) rounded out the top efforts on the women’s side in the weight throw, with a toss of 9.85m.

The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams return to action next Saturday as they compete at 2014 MASCAC Championships hosted by the University of Southern Maine starting at 10 a.m.