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Fitchburg State Takes On Alliance/MASCAC Championships
Posted: Apr 28, 2013

Fitchburg State Takes On Alliance/MASCAC Championships

Men finish fourth overall with 49 points; women place fourth with 86 points

FITCHBURG, MASS. (April 28, 2013) – The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s outdoor track & field teams competed in the 2013 Alliance/MASCAC Championships hosted by Bridgewater State University on Saturday afternoon as both teams brought home fourth places finishes with 49 points for the men and 86 points for the women.

For the ladies, sophomore Arthina Robert (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Voc Tech) placed third in the 100m dash with a DIII NE and ECAC qualifying time of 12.72, while the women’s 4x100m relay team of Robert and sophomores Tashanna Brown (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Classical), Rebecca McClure (Lyndeborough, N.H./Lyndeborough-Wilton) and Rachel Blanchard (Billerica, Mass./Shawsheen Valley) turned in a post-season qualifying time of 50.84 with a fourth place effort.

Junior Brittany Chance (Foster, R.I./Ponaganset) was strong in the javelin, placing second with a season best throw of 37.66 meters, while freshman Elizabeth Ward (Ashby, Mass./North Middlesex) posted a secomd place effort in the 10K with a solid time of 43:46.52. Senior Chenice Branquinho (Eat Freetown, Mass./Old Colony) put forth a solid third place finish in the 5000 meter with a time of 19:24.96, while McClure finished second in the pole vault with a  height of 3.05 meters.

On the track, sophomore Braila Roy (Hyannis, Mass./Barnstable) placed fourth in the 1500 meter with a time of 5:04.43, while Blanchard finished third in the 200m with a season best time of 26.75.

Freshman Jessica Mangan (Everett, Mass./Everett) (47:51.46) and grad student Linda Fortunato (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam) (13:30.98) ran well, placing fourth in the 10 K and 3000 meter steeplechase respectively.

The women’s 4x400m relay team of Robert, McClure, sophomore Ebony Schuerman (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) and freshman Margaret Antonellis (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) placed fourth overall with a time of 4:41.95, while the 4x800 meter relay team of Roy, juniors Samantha Wilkinson (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield) and Karollynn Wickless-Adams (Lansdale, Penn./North Penn) and sophomore Jenae Harrison (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) finished strong, placing third overall with a season best time of 10:24.87.

In the field, senior Megan Gonzalez (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) also fared well in three events on the afternoon, turning in three, top-five honors. Gonzalez placed fourth in the discus (34.66m), while finishing fifth in both the hammer throw (37.00m) and shot put (10.06m)

Other notable efforts came from Wilkinson, who placed fourth overall in the pole vault with a mark of 2.15 meters, while wrapping up her efforts with a season best time of 63.06 in the 400 meter dash.

Brown (1.40m) and Blanchard (9.29m) also registered season best marks in the high jump and triple jump respectively, while freshman Shamira Nambafu (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) (14.16) and classmate Mary Wooten (Lisbon, Maine/Edward Little) (14.60) rounded out the Falcons top performances, putting forth season best time in the 100 meter dash

On the men’s side, senior thrower Zach Desrochers (Dracut, Mass./Greater Lowell) paved the way, placing first among both Little East and MASCAC schools with a new meet record toss of 51.02 meters in the discus, while also earning an Alliance Championship in the hammer throw with a toss of 55.29 meters. Zach is currently ranked 11th in the country among all division three schools in the discus, while also ranking 16th nationally in the hammer throw.

Classmate Will Lary (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) turned in a first place MASCAC effort in 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:39.10, while finishing sixth in the 800m with a time of 1:59.50.

In the 400 meter hurdles, freshman Brandon Brideau (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) (60.31) and sophomore Ethan Gorecki (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) (60.61) placed seventh and eighth respectively in the MASCAC

On the track, freshman Tim Allen (Methuen, Mass./Central Catholic) ran well in the 10K, placing fifth in the MASCAC with a time of 35:49.31, while in the 400 meter, freshman Richard Either (Shirley, Mass./Parker Charter School) (51.94), classmate Daniel Fitzpatrick (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) (52.95) and sophomore Maximin Rocheleau (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) (52.28) all posted personal best times in the event.

Sophomore Jim Quinlan (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) put forth a solid seventh place effort in the 1500 with a time of 4:22.46, while senior Michael Grasela (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) placed ninth in the MASCAC with time of 17:02.13 in the 5K.

In the field, freshman Ben Bottrell (Malden, Mass./) posted a sixth place effort in the high jump with a mark of 1.83 meters, while notching a tenth place MASCAC finish in the long jump (5.65m). Gorecki was strong in the javelin, turning in an eighth place effort with a mark of 45.07 meters, while freshman Akhiel Willis (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) placed sixth in the MASCAC in the triple jump with a jump of 12.24 meters.

Rocheleau concluded his day, with a pair of top ten MASCAC, placing seventh in the pole vault with a height of 3.40 meters, while finishing tenth in the long jump with a jump of 5.71 meters. Sophomore Brendan Coen (Westbrook, Conn./Westbrook) closed out the Falcons top performances, placing eleventh in the discus with a toss of 33.07 meters.

Members of the Fitchburg State men’s and women’s outdoor track & field teams will be in action again next weekend as they compete at the 2013 Division III New England Championships hosted by Colby College.