Fitchburg State Women’s Cross Country Team Gaining Some Steam

The Fitchburg State women’s cross country teams enters the 2012 season with strong numbers and a new direction as the Falcons look to make an immediate impact within the MASCAC. After being ranked fourth overall in the MASCAC Pre-Season Coaches poll, the Fitchburg State ladies squad is motivated to crack the conference’s top three.

“This year, we have a lot of depth within our roster,” said first year head coach, Jamie Aubuchon, who takes over the reigns of the Fitchburg State women’s team this season. Aubuchon has been part of the Falcons program for over 12 years, working directly with the cross-country, indoor track and outdoor track teams.

“Jim Jellison has created a great women’s program here at Fitchburg State,” said Aubuchon. “I have been fortunate enough to work with this team very closely over the past years and as a head coach I am just looking to continue the tradition that has been in place over the last 33 years.”

The Falcons ladies squad has come into the preseason ready to run, boasting strong numbers and great camaraderie throughout camp. With its roster size, Fitchburg State has been able to work with training partners, focusing on their health and working towards its goal of creating seven faster runners then last season.

“Currently, we already have four women faster than last year’s #1 runner,” said Aubuchon. “Over the course of the season, we would like to see that number grow to seven or eight, while staying healthy throughout the MASCAC Championships.”

Leading the pack this year will be veterans Linda Fortunate (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam), Chenice Branquinho (E. Freetown, Mass./Old Colony Regional) and Jenae Harrison (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington). Braila Roy (Hyannis, Mass./Barnstable) has also shown progress and is ahead of schedule from last year, while newcomers Samantha Wilkinson (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield) and Alyson Moreau (Barrington, R.I./Barrington) have the ability and athleticism to crack to the top 7. Freshmen Elizabeth Ward (Ashby, Mass./North Middlesex) and Erica Mallozzi (Gardner, Mass./Gardner) are also expected to make an immediate impact in their rookie campaigns.

This season, the Falcons schedule looks much the same as the 2011 slate with a couple additions along the way. Fitchburg State opens the season on September 1st at Keene State College and returns home the following week to host the Jim Sheehan Memorial. The Falcons then travel to UMass Dartmouth for their first big meet of the season.

“The UMass Dartmouth Shriners Invitational always proves to be our first big meet of the year,” said Aubuchon. “It’s a relatively flat course but consists of over 300 runners gearing us up for our big meets at the end of the season.”

From there, the Falcons visit Westfield State and Williams College, before competing in the Alliance/MASCAC Championships on October 27th. After the championships, Fitchburg State travels to the ECAC Championships and NCAA Division III Regional Qualifier to close out the season.

“This year, I have a great feeling in terms of our overall team performance,” said Aubuchon. “From the confidence throughout previous seasons and a strong work ethic this summer, we potentially could have 2-3 MASCAC All-Conference players en route to a top 3 conference finish.”