Fitchburg State Battles at the 2015 DIII New England Championships
Springfield, Mass. – Qualifying members of the Fitchburg State men’s and women’s indoor track teams competed at the 2015 DIII New England Championship on Saturday with the men’s team competing at Springfield College, while the women traveled to Smith College.
Sattiewhite places second with a school record in the high jump to lead men; McClure places fifth in the pole vault to pace women
Springfield, Mass. – Qualifying members of the Fitchburg State men's and women's indoor track teams competed at the 2015 DIII New England Championship on Saturday with the men's team competing at Springfield College, while the women traveled to Smith College.
On the men's side, newcomer Ben Sattiewhite earned All-New England honors by placing second overall in the high jump with an ECAC and NEICAAA qualifying height of 2.08 meters (6 feet, 9.75 inches). Sattiwhite's performance etched his name into the Falcon record books by topping a school record that had stood for 26 years.
Freshman Timothy Breen placed 11th in the pole vault with a jump of 4.05m., classmate Chavinskee Milcent competed well in both the long jump and high jump, placing 12th and 15th respectively. Rounding out the top field performers was junior Akhiel Willis, who placed 17th in the triple jump with a distance of 12.67m.
On the track, sophomore Chauncey Beatty finished 17th overall in the 800m, while junior Kwaku Mensah put forth a solid effort in the 60m dash. The Falcons 4x800m squad of Beatty, classmate Matthew Cuomo, senior Jim Quinlan, and junior Richard Ethier, IV posted a 14th place finish with a time of 8:17.45.
While at Smith College, senior Rebecca McClure claimed All-New England honors with a fifth place showing in the pole vault to lead the way of the women's squad. McClure vaulted a height of 3.35 meters to qualify for the ECAC Championships, while freshman Jenna Phelps ran strong in the 600m with a personal best time of 1:43.33.
Sophomore Morgan Steele notched a 16th place showing in the weight throw with a toss of 13.20m, while senior Jenae Harrison registered a 22nd place finish in the 800 meter. The 4x800m relay team of Harrison, senior Braila Roy, and newcomers Nicole Gaffney and Sadie Zbikowski placed 15th overall, upping their seed with a time of 10:11.36.
The Fitchburg State men's and women's indoor track & field teams will be in action again next weekend as they travel to Boston University for the 2015 NEICAAA Championships for a meet starting on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.
Courtesy of Fitchburg State men's and women's assistant track coach Chris Kibler