Fitchburg State Soars At Greater Boston Track Club Meet

Conaty finishes third with 4.26m vault; McClure leads women with a pair of top seven finishes

BOSTON, Mass. (January 20, 2013) – The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams were in action this afternoon as they competed at the 2013 Greater Boston Track Club (GBTC) Invitational Indoor Track Meet held at Harvard University’s Gordon indoor track facility.

Both squads received some strong efforts as several Falcons notched post season qualifying marks. Sophomore Arthina Robert (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Voc Tech) paved the way for the women, posting a 4th place finish in the 60m dash, with a MASCAC and DIII NE qualifying time of 8.22, while also qualifying for the MASCAC’s in the long jump (4.07m). Classmate Rebecca McClure (Lyndeborough, N.H./Wilton-Lyndeborough) was also solid, recording qualifying marks in the pole vault (2.93m) and the 200m dash (28.30).

Freshman Erica Mallozzi (Gardner, Mass./Gardner) put forth a strong first race of the season in the 3000m with a MASCAC qualifying time of 11:49, while sophomore Jenae Harrison (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington (S.D.) and junior Samantha Wilkinson (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield) turned in post season times in the 800m (2:41) and 400m (63.56) respectively.

In the field, senior Megan Gonzalez (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) was the top performer, placing fourth in the shot put (10.85m), while adding a sixth place finish in the weight throw, with a toss of 10.66m. Junior Katelyn Sletterink (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield) added a toss of 8.01 meters in the shot put, while sophomore Megan Cefalu (Hudson, Mass./Assabet Valley) rounded out the top Falcon field performers in the weight throw (9.33m).

For the men, junior Pat Conaty (Southington, Conn./Southington) posted a MASCAC qualifying and PR vault of 4.26m, while finishing 3rd overall in the event.  Senior Zach Desrochers (Dracut, Mass./Greater Lowell) continued his strong throwing, finishing second overall in the weight throw with a toss of 16.02m. Senior Will Lary (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock), classmate Michael Grasela (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford), sophomore Jim Quinlan (N. Andover, Mass./N. Andover), and freshman Jeff Kavasch (Seabrook, N.H./Beverly) all turned in post season marks in the 1000m with times of 2:40.72, 3:01.20, 2:2:47.97 and 3:06.20 respectively, while Quinlan and Grasela also put up solid times in the 3000m (9:40) and mile (4:38.84)

On the track, freshman Tim Allen (Methuen, Mass./Central Catholic) was also solid in the 3000m, with a time of 9:33 , while Brandon Davis (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) and Richard Ethier (Shirley, Mass./Parker Charter School) finished strong in the 800m (2:03.13) and 400m (53.38) sprints. Sophomores Ethan Gorecki (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) and Michael Osborn (Vineyard Haven, Mass./Martha’s Vineyard), senior Josh Kaddy (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont) and freshman Brandon Brideau (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) all posted MASCAC qualifying times in the 600m (1:28.30), (1:36.31), (1:30.96), and (1:33.15) respectively.

In the field, sophomore Mark Wesgan (Lunenburg, Mass./Lunenburg) qualified for the MASCAC’s in the triple jump (12.20m), long jump (9.56m) and the 60m hurdles (9.56), while freshman Akhiel Willis (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) rounded out the Falcons top field efforts in the long jump, with a post season jump of 5.97m.

The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams return to action on Friday as they travel to Boston University for a meet starting at 4 p.m.