Fitchburg State Shines at the 2015 MASCAC Championship
McClure bests her own school record with a win in the pole vault to lead women: Beatty paces men with 800m and 4x800m titles
Providence, R.I. – The Fitchburg State men's and women's indoor track teams both fought their way to fourth place finishes at the 2015 MASCAC/Alliance Championship on Saturday afternoon with several members earning individual conference championships.
Senior Rebecca McClure recaptured her MASCAC pole vault title, claiming the MASCAC crown for the second consecutive year with an a DIII NE, NEICAAA and ECAC qualifying vault of 3.38 meters, while setting both a new school, facility and meet record in the process.
Newcomer Annie Woolley claimed MASCAC top honors in the 60m hurdles with an ECAC qualifying and personal best time of 9.34 seconds, while classmate Jenna Phelps took home the MASCAC title in the 600m with a time of 1:43.57 to qualify for both DIII New England's and ECAC's
Seniors Arthina Robert and Jenae Harrison wrapped up their final indoor campaign as individual conference champions. Robert put forth a stellar performance in the finals, qualifying for the ECAC Championships with time 8.04 seconds in the 60 meter dash, while Harrison defended her indoor 800m title with an impressive MASCAC victory, posting a DIII NE qualifying time of 2:22.54, besting the runner-up by over six seconds.
Freshman Nicole Gaffney placed second in the 3,000m with a time of 11:10.13., while classmate Sadie Zbikowski placed third in the pole vault with a height of 2.75m and followed it up with a sixth place showing in the 800m, turning in a time of 2:38.57. Senior Braila Roy placed third in the 1,000m with a time 3:20.09, while the 4x800m relay team of Zbikowski, Roy, Gaffney, and Harrison placed third with a time of 10:36.03.
Throwers Morgan Steele (10.03m) and Sarah Elliott (9.88m) placed fourth and sixth respectively in the shot put, while freshman Michaella Vecchiarelli placed fifth overall in the pole vault with a height of 2.45m. Freshman Holly Sessler and senior Karollynn Wickless-Adams rounded out the top Falcon performers. Sessler placed sixth in the high jump with a leap of 1.42m, while Wickless-Adams came in sixth in the 600m with a time of 1:51.57.
Sophomore Chauncey Beatty claimed his first MASCAC title in the 800m, finishing with a time of 2:01.27 for the victory, while the 4x800 meter relay team off Beatty, sophomore Matthew Cuomo, junior Richard Ethier, IV and senior Jim Quinlan also took home a conference crown with a time of 8:15.87.
Senior Eric Ouellette took away the win in the 5,000m with a time of 15:49.29 in his first ever-indoor MASCAC Championship, while adding a second place showing in the 3,000m race with a time of 8:58.27. Junior Timothy Allen also faired well, running a personal best and placing sixth in the 5,000m with a time of 16:28.47.
Freshman Ben Sattiewhite placed second in the high jump with a DIII New England, ECAC, and NEICAAA qualifying height of 1.99m., while senior Phillip Saint-Juste finished second in the 60m high hurdles with a DIII New England qualifying time of 8.67 seconds.
Pole vaulters Timothy Breen and Patryk Backiel had strong performances, placing second and third, respectively. Breen set a new personal best and DIII New England qualifying mark of 4.30m, while Backiel was close behind with an identical height of 4.30m.
The 4x200m relay team comprised of junior Daniel Fitzpatrick, sophomore Nicholas Levenson, sophomore Javier Lozada, and freshman Bob Mello placed third with a time of 1:36.56, while the 4x400 meter relay team of Fitzpatrick, Levenson, and seniors Ethan Gorecki and Maximin Rocheleau placed fourth, while Ethier added a second place effort in the 800 meter with time of 2:20.75
Rounding out the top Falcon performers were Quinlan (5th) in the 1,000m with a time of 2:39.61, sophomore Matthew Cuomo (5th) in the mile (4:38.06) and junior Zachary Cash who came in sixth in the weight throw with a toss of 12.69m.
The Fitchburg State men's and women's indoor track & field teams will be in action again next weekend, as the men visit Springfield College and the women visit Smith College for the 2015 DIII New England Championship on Saturday, February 21st for a meet starting at 10 a.m.
Courtesy of Fitchburg State men's and women's assistant track coach Chris Kibler