Fitchburg State Men Striving To Soar

Courtesy of Matt Stewart, Sentinel & Enterprise

Return of record-setting runner Kibler figures to boost chances of the Falcons

FITCHBURG-- The Fitchburg State University men's team received a good infusion of young talent in the distance ranks during the cross country season, but if that was not enough the indoor season will have an even bigger jolt.

Former Falcon assistant coach Chris Kibler will use his final year of eligibility for indoors, after sitting out last season to coach. Kibler's reentry might give the Falcons an immediate frontrunner who might have the chance to head to nationals.

"We have 51 men on the team, have all the guys from cross country coming over, and have Chris Kibler coming back," Fitchburg State University head coach Jim Jellison said. "Kibler only has one year of eligibility remaining so this is it, which will be a big boost for the team."

Kibler was a stellar runner for Fitchburg State from 2009-12. The Bath, Maine, native already holds the school's indoor record in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8 minutes, 28.97 seconds.

Indoor track preview

Kibler also has his name on a 2012 school record, along with teammate Jim Quinlan, when the two ran the distance medley relay (DMR) in a record-setting 10:26.19.

The Falcon graduate student missed a year of indoor with an illness during his undergraduate years, and now returns for one last go-around.

"We're hoping Kibler will have a chance to qualify for nationals," Jellison said. "There's a lot of good competition in the MASCAC (Conference), but he should have a very good shot at winning the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. We're hoping to put together a strong DMR with the other cross country guys, and we should be pretty strong in the middle and long distances."

The reappearance of Kibler will not be the only roster difference from last year to cause some major headaches for opposing teams. Two freshmen make their first appearance in indoors, as Vincent Tevnan and Brandon Hannon are coming off strong cross country seasons. Matt Cuomo and Colen Stack are two other impressive freshmen.

Quinlan and Tim Allen provide a little bit more experience in the distance ranks than some of the first-year runners. Larry Teague, a senior, is coming off his best cross country season and is looking to have a similar impact indoors.

"The middle distance and distance group should be the biggest boost in meets," Jellison said. "We're looking forward to it. Any of those can run anything from the 600 meters to the 5,000 meters. We have a lot of things we can do with those guys."

Besides the loaded distance group, the team's pole vaulters might be the strength on the team. Senior Pat Conaty will be the top returning vaulter, while freshman Patryk Backiel will look to match his elder counterpart.

"We have two athletes who should go over 15 feet this year," Jellison said. "(Conaty) did over 14-6 last year. We have a couple other guys who might sneak in and score some points as well."

Charles De La Rosa leads the team's sprinting efforts, along with Trent Garlington, Travis Joyal, Akhiel Willis and Kwaku Mensah. Pivotal jumpers include Max Rocheleau, Ethan Gorecki and Brandon Brideau. Lunenburg native Mark Wesgan should be a significant contributor to jumping and sprinting efforts as well.

The Falcons lost an All-American caliber thrower in Zach Desrochers, but a handful of other athletes are hoping to step in his place. Dan and Tim Rymer hope to compete to be the Falcons' top thrower, with David Oster, Alex DeMello and Zach Cash.

Fitchburg State begins the season this Saturday when it travels to the Reggie Lewis Center to participate in the UMass Boston meet. It is tough to predict where the Falcons will finish in the conference at this point, but Jellison seems optimistic about the season's outlook.

"Westfield State has a good team," Jellison said. "I'm not sure what Bridgewater has coming back, but Worcester has a bunch of good sprinters and jumpers. The results depend on how everything balances out, but we're going to be right in the thick of it (at the MASCAC's)."