Fitchburg State Host Annual Jim Sheehan Memorial
The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s track and field teams hosted their annual Jim Sheehan Memorial meet this afternoon at Elliot Field. The Falcons men’s team placed seventh overall with 45 points, while the women finished in fourth with 86 points.
Desrochers throws potential NCAA mark; Lane qualifies for ECAC high-jump
FITCHBURG, Mass. (April 7, 2012) – The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s track and field teams hosted their annual Jim Sheehan Memorial meet this afternoon at Elliot Field. The Falcons men’s team placed seventh overall with 45 points, while the women finished in fourth with 86 points.
Junior Emily Lane (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School) led the way for the Fitchburg State women, qualifying for the ECAC Championships in the high-jump with a mark of 1.62m. Lane also fared well in the 100m hurdles (16.36), finishing third overall, while placing eighth in the long-jump (4.94m). The third-year runner capped her day in the 400m hurdles with a second place finish and time of 1:07.03.
Senior Madeline Merchant (Gardner, Mass./Monty Tech) was also strong, taking top honors in the triple jump (11.00m), while placing sixth in the long-jump (4.97m) and tenth in the 100m (13.32).
Freshman Jenae Harrison (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) and senior Kat Marrone (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) led the Falcons in the 800m, placing third and fourth respectively with times of 2:26.73 and 2:27.48. Marrone also joined the Falcons ECAC 4x100 relay qualifying team (50.45) with Madeline Merchant, Arthina Robert (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Voc Tech) and Rebecca McClure (Lyndeborough, N.H./Wilton-Lyndeborough). Sophomore Rachel Blanchard (Billerica, Mass./Shawsheen Valley) rounded out the Falcons runners with a third place effort of 200m (27.12).
In the field, McClure continued her strong efforts in the pole vault, finishing fourth overall with a height of 2.45m. Sophomore Brittany Chace (Foster, R.I./Ponagansett) notched a DIII mark in the javelin with a distance of 32.84m, while junior Megan Gonzalez (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) qualified for the DIII’s in the discus (32.67m – 4th) and place sixth in the shot-put (9.83m).
For the men, sophomore Zach Desrochers (Dracut, Mass./Greater Lowell) paved the way as he potentially qualified for the NCAA Championship with a throw of 55.71m in the weight throw (2nd). Freshman Mark Wesgan (Lunenburg, Mass./Lunenburg) also qualified for the post-season, turning in a DIII qualifying performance with a second place effort in the triple jump (12.96m), while sophomore Joseph Hollenbeck (Ashby, Mass./North Middlesex) finished fifth in the 400m hurdles with a time of 59.25 (5th).
Newcomer Andre Neita (Hyde Park, Mass./Tech Boston) was also strong in the long-jump with a sixth place mark of 6.18, while sophomore Pat Conaty (Southington, Conn./Southington) and junior Kimson Jean (Roslindale, Mass./Swampscott) placed 7th and 8th respectively in the pole vault (DIII – 3.90m) and high-jump (1.77m). Junior Will Lary (Winchendon, Conn./Murdock) chipped in with an eighth place, 1500m effort with a time 4:10.15.
Senior Chris Kibler (Bath, Maine/Morse) wrapped up the Falcons top performances at the George Davis Invitational hosted by UMass Lowell. Kibler set the school record in the two-mile run, posting a third place mark of 9:23.91. Kibler also joined the Falcons 4x800 team at the Jim Sheehan Memorial, leading the Falcons to a second place finish and time of 8:16.12.
The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s track and field teams will be back in action next weekend as it competes at the University of New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon.