Fitchburg State Competes At The Greater Boston Track Club Invite
Milcent wins high jump to lead men; Harrison finishes second overall in 800m to pace women
Cambridge, Mass. – The Fitchburg State men's and women's indoor track teams outlasted the snow storm on Satruday and headed to Harvard University on Sunday to toe the line with some of the best competition in New England at the 2015 Greater Boston Track Club Invite.
Senior captain Jenae Harrison continued her push for a sub 2:20 indoor 800m with a 2nd place showing in the event. Harrison glued herself to the leader for the first three laps and surged with all she had left for a 2:20.69. This mark qualified her for the MASCAC, DIII New England, and ECAC Championships.
Senior Arthina Robert tied her season best with a time of 8.11 seconds in the 60m dash to place 2nd overall. Freshman Sadie Zbikowski placed 3rd in the 300m with a time of 46.57 seconds and followed the performance with a MASCAC qualifying vault of 2.60 meters in the pole vault. Freshman Jenna Phelps also faired well with a 5th place showing in the 400m, running 64.63.
Throwers Morgan Steele and Sarah Elliott each had a pair of MASCAC qualifying throws in the field. In the weight throw, Steele out-muscled Elliot to place 7th overall with a throw of 12.27 meters, while Elliot placed 10th with a toss of 11.33 meters. In the shot put, it was Elliot who got the best of Steele. Both Falcons threw within a millimeter of one another. Elliot placed 9th with a throw of 10.05 meters to Steele's 10.04.
Other strong performances included freshman Annie Woolley, who ran almost a one second personal best in the 200m with a MASCAC qualifying time of 28.26. Newcomer Nicole Gaffney ran strong in the mile with a MASCAC qualifying time of 5:34.24, and the sophomore, senior duo of Kelly McCarthy and Jessica Mangan placed 4th and 5th overall in the 3,000m with MASCAC qualifying times of 12:17.65 and 12:22.87, respectively. To round out a great day, the 4 x 440 yard relay of Harrison, Phelps, Zbikowski, and Gaffney performed extremely well, placing 2nd with a time of 4:32.95.
Freshman Chavinskee Milcent had an extremely successful and busy day on the track and in the field. Milcent started the day off right with a 4th place finish and MASCAC qualifying time of 9.14 seconds in the 60m high hurdles. The newcomer then switched gears and tried his luck in the field. His first event was the long jump where he placed 2nd with a MASCAC qualifying jump of 6.39 meters. Milcent finished up his extensive day with an impressive win in the high jump, jumping 1.95 meters to qualify for MASCAC's, DIII New England's and ECAC's.
Sophomore Chauncey Beatty pulled out a come-from-behind win in the 400m to stun the crowd. The second year middle distance runner had to dodge a falling competitor, but still managed to run a MASCAC qualifying time of 52.46 seconds to take the win. Sophomore Patryk Backiel continued his strong season in the pole vault with a 2nd place showing in the event. Backiel vaulted 4.30 meters to qualify for the DIII New England Championships. Senior Eric Ouellette also had a great day. The first year track runner qualified for MASCAC's and DIII New England's with a 5th place showing in the 3,000m race. Ouellette found himself in no-man's land from the start but still managed and impressive 8:44.90.
The 400m may have been the Falcon's best event today. Beatty's performance must have motivated his teammates because in the very next race, sophomore Nicholas Levenson, junior Daniel Fitzpatrick, and seniors Ethan Gorecki and Maximin Rocheleau all qualified for the MASCAC Championships. They threw down times of 53.06, 53.28, 53.82, and 54.74, respectively. With the aid of senior captain Jim Quinlan, Levenson, Gorecki, and Fitzpatrick doubled up to take the win in the 4 x 440 yard relay with a time of 3:35.33. Levenson started things off hard and handed the baton off in second place behind Bentley University. Quinlan knew his team was counting on him and passed the Bentley runner going into the final lap, Gorecki ran strong enough to continue to increase Fitchburg's lead, and Fitzpatrick sealed the deal, crossing the line first.
Quinlan also ran a season best 1,000m with a time of 2:37.82 to move him up in the MASCAC rankings. Junior Richard Ethier, IV fared well in the 800m with a MASCAC qualifying time of 2:03.20. In the mile sophomore Matthew Cuomo continued to fight back from injury with a solid 4:41.54 performance, and freshman Joseph Bernadini placed 9th with a toss of 11.39 meters in the shot put to qualify him for MASCAC's.
The Fitchburg State men's and women's indoor track & field teams will be in action again next weekend, as they visit both Tufts University and Boston University on Saturday, January 31st for meets both starting at 10 a.m.
Courtesy of Fitchburg State men's and women's assistant track coach Chris Kibler