Fitchburg State Opens At Bridgewater State

Gorecki paces men with pair of MASCAC qualifying marks; Robert leads women with two top six finishes

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (March 23, 2013) – The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s outdoor track & field teams were in action this afternoon as they opened the 2013 season at the BSU Bears Invite this afternoon.

Sophomore Arthina Robert (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Voc Tech) placed second in the 100m with a time of 13.16, while classmate Rebecca McClure (Lyndeborough, N.H./Wilton-Lyndeborough) posted a second place effort in the pole vault with a height of 2.85 meters. Sophomores Tashanna Brown (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Classical) (1.38m) and Rachel Blanchard (Billerica, Mass./Shawsheen) (9.00m) were solid as well, placing eighth and ninth respectively in the high jump and triple jump.  

On the track, the 4x100 meter relay team of Robert, Blanchard, Brown and McClure (57.54) placed sixth in the event, while freshmen Elizabeth Ward (Ashby, Mass./North Middlesex) and Jessica Mangan (Everett, Mass./Everett) and senior Linda Fortunato (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam) all turned in top ten efforts in the 10k with times of 44:40.10, 47:46.87 and 45:25.67 respectively.

In the field, junior Brittany Chace (Foster, R.I./Ponaganset) notched a ninth place finish in the javelin with a throw of 35.51 meters, while sophomore Ebony Schuerman (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) rounded out the top performances for the women, placing tenth in the triple jump with a jump of 8.75 meters.

For the men, sophomore Ethan Gorecki (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) paced the men with a pair of MASCAC qualifying marks in both the 400m hurdles (64.98) and the javelin (42.83m), while freshman Ben Bottrell (Malden, Mass.) was also solid, notching a post-season qualifying mark of 1.73m in the High Jump.

The 4x100 meter relay team of freshman Akhiel Willis (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough), junior Tevin Bienaime (Swansea, Mass./Joseph Case), and sophomores Elizear Torres (Bronx, N.Y./South Bronx) and Trayvon Neal (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) registered a strong showing with a time of 46.37.

In the 5000m, seniors Michael Grasela (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) and Will Lary (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) both turned in post-season times of 16:42.19 and 16:43.07, while freshman Tim Allen (Methuen, Mass./Central Catholic) (17:24.20) and junior Larry Teague (Tyngsboro, Mass./Greater Lowell) (17:58.37) also qualified for the MASCAC’s in that event.

Freshman Kwaku Mensah (Worcester, Mass./Burncoat) added a time of 11.87 in the 100 meter dash, while sophomore Brendan Coan (Westbrook, Conn./Westbrook) rounded out the top Falcon performers on the men’s side, placing 14th overall in the shot put with a toss of 11.57 meters.

The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s outdoor track & field teams return to action on Saturday as they visit Tufts University for a meet starting at 10 a.m.