Fitchburg State Earns Second In Pre-Season Poll

Men picked second overall with ten points; women finish fourth with five points

FITCHBURG, Mass. (November 8, 2011) – The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams were picked second and fourth respectively in the 2011-12 MASCAC Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Pre-Season Coaches Poll as announced by the league office Tuesday morning.

The Owls of Westfield State University were tabbed as the pre-season favorites to win both the 2011-12 MASCAC Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field championships in a vote of the league’s coaches.

Five-time defending champion Westfield State captured all four first place votes on the men’s side to amass 16 points and outdistance runner-up Fitchburg State, which collected ten points. Worcester State follows in third place with eight points, while Bridgewater State closed out the poll in fourth place with six points.

Westfield State claimed three first place votes on the women’s side in collecting 15 points to edge out two-time defending champion Worcester State, which took the other first place vote in amassing 13 points. Bridgewater State follows in third place with seven points, while Fitchburg State rounded out the poll in fourth place with five points.

The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, the nation’s first Division III men’s and women’s playing conference, has a rich and storied tradition of competitive success while celebrating excellence in the classroom. MASCAC member schools include Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, MCLA, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Salem State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University. Two other institutions, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Plymouth State University, are affiliate members of the conference in the sport of men’s ice hockey.