Fitchburg State Takes On The Competition At Tufts Invite
McClure ties school record in the pole vault to lead women; Sattiewhite qualifies for ECAC's to pace men
MEDFORD, Mass. – The Fitchburg State men's and women's indoor track and field squads traveled to Tufts University to go to battle with teams from all over New England this afternoon at the Tufts Invite.
The women continued their strong season, highlighted with senior Rebecca McClure's record tying and ECAC qualifying vault of 3.35 meters in the pole vault. The mark tied her own school record from last season. McClure followed up the incredible performance with a MASCAC qualifying time of 27.97 in the 200m.
First year student Annie Woolley continued her great freshman campaign with another MASCAC and DIII New England qualifying time of 9.77 seconds in the 60m hurdles. In the circle, sophomore Morgan Steele won the weight throw with a MASCAC and DIII New England qualifying mark of 13.78m. Newcomer Julia Zamanian also faired well in her debut with the Falcons tossing a MASCAC qualifying throw of 9.01m in the shot put.
Senior Arthina Robert improved on her 60m dash season best with a time of 8.11, which qualifies her for MASCAC's and has her knocking on DIII New England's door where she missed qualifying by only a hundredth of a second. Classmate Jenae Harrison also had a phenomenal day. The senior captain took charge in the 600m with a three second personal record of 1:42.10 to place fifth. Her time qualifies her for MASCAC's, DIII New England's and ECAC's. Harrison had limited recovery, but came back in the 200m with another personal best of 28.23. Newcomer Jenna Phelps also had a solid day. The freshman sprinter ran a 1:48.47 in the 600m and then came back with a 28.58 200m, qualifying for MASCAC's in both events.
Rounding out the Lady Falcon performers were freshman Nicole Gaffney and sophomore Sadie Zbikowski. Gaffney led the distance runners with a MASCAC qualifying time of 3:20.36 in the 1,000m, while Zbikowski doubled up with a personal best in the 400m of 65.86 and a vault of 2.45m in the pole vault. Both marks exceeded the MASCAC qualifying standards.
The men had several outstanding performances, headlined by Ben Sattiewhite who was only out jumped by two DI athletes and a nationally ranked DIII athlete in the high jump. Sattiewhite exploded to 1.98 meters on his first attempt at the height to place fourth overall. His performance qualified him for MASCAC's, DIII New England's and ECAC's.
The men's sprinters started the day off hot. Philip Saint-Juste qualified for finals right off the bat with a MASCAC qualifying time of 8.95 in the 60m high hurdles. Saint-Juste later improved his time during finals with a fourth place finish of 8.80. Junior Kwaku Mensah tore up the straightaway in the 60m dash with a time of 7.27 in the trials. Mensah followed it up with another 7.27 during finals to solidify his MASCAC qualifying mark. Teammate Charles De La Rosa also qualified for MASCAC's with a time of 7.48.
Races on the oval didn't disappoint either. Captain Michael Martin threw down a huge personal record of 9:58.15 in the 3,000m, which topped his previous best by over 35 seconds. Senior Eric Ouellette mixed it up with the best by placing fifth in the mile with a personal record and MASCAC qualifying time of 4:28.06. Senior captain Jim Quinlan also had a personal record-breaking day. Quinlan started the day off with a 1:26.30 600m and came back with limited recovery to tear up a 25.27 200m. Both races were personal records and the 600m was a MASCAC qualifier that only missed DIII New England's by seven tenths of a second. Junior Rocky Ethier was hot on Quinlan's tail in each event. Ethier qualified for MASCAC's with a 1:27.00 600m and followed it up with a 25.59 200m.
In the field sophomore Patryk Backiel vaulted his way to a DIII New England qualifying mark of 4.30m. This was Backiel's first competition with his Falcon teammates since last spring, and he didn't miss a beat. After a long triple jump hiatus, junior Akhiel Willis exploded his way to a fourth place finish, jumping 12.84m and qualifying for MASCAC's and DIII New England's. Junior Daniel Rymer faired well in the circle with a MASCAC qualifying throw of 10.36m in the weight throw. Veteran Max Rocheleau also had a busy day after a long awaited return. In addition to competing in the long jump, 200m and 60m, Rocheleau qualified for MASCAC's in the pole vault with a vault of 3.25m.
The Fitchburg State men's and women's indoor track & field teams will be in action again next weekend, as they visit Harvard University for the Greater Boston Track Club Invite on Sunday, January 25th for a meet starting at 10 a.m.
Courtesy of Fitchburg State men's and women's assistant indoor track coach Chris Kibler