Fitchburg State Finishes Third At MASCAC Championships
Men placed third with 75 points; women earn sixth with 155 points
WESTFIELD, Mass. (October 23, 2010) –The Fitchburg State men's and women's cross country teams were back in action this weekend as they competed at the MASCAC Championships hosted by Westfield State University. The men's squad finished third overall with 75 points, while the ladies earned sixth with 155 points on the day.
MATT SPANO |
Paving the way for the Fitchburg State men's teams were All-Conference honorees Matt Spano (Gardner, Mass./Gardner) and Chris Kibler (Bath, Maine/Morse) who finished the race in third and fourth place respectively. The pair combined for the two fastest times that Fitchburg State has ever posted on the Westfield State course, finishing within one second of one another (25:53 and 25:54).
The Falcons three-man, Will Lary (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) turned in a solid effort, placing 18th with a time of 28:01, while freshman Chris Ross (Brookfield, Mass./Tantasqua) had a season best performance, finishing 30th overall with a time of 28:39. Sophomore Mike Grasela (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) completed the Falcons point getters with a 33rd place effort and speed of 29:03.
Despite the loss of captain Linda Fortunato (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam) due to injury, the Fitchburg State ladies squad rallied in a big way, finishing sixth out of the eight teams competing this afternoon.
Sophomore Emily Lane (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School) paced the Falcons with a time of 20:32, while classmate junior Katelyn Page (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) and finished shortly after with a time of 21:00. Senior Erin Abbott (Warwick, Mass./Pioneer Valley) also turned in a solid performance with a time of 23:06, while junior Lisa Dias (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth) cracked the top five with a 23::56 effort.
Abbott and Dias ensured the strong team finish, besting the personal records by 59 second and 40 seconds respectively. Junior Kara Reynolds (Agawam, Mass./Pioneer Valley) also ran hard, crushing her personal best time by 73 seconds with a time of 24:19.
Fitchburg State will be back in action again next Saturday as it competes in the Little East Conference Alliance Meet starting at 11 a.m.
