Fitchburg State Battles At All-New England's

Ivanov earns All-New England honors with second place finish in decathlon

AMHERST, Mass. (May 10, 2009) - Junior Alex Ivanov (Carlisle, Mass./Carlisle) earned All-New England honors in the decathlon as Fitchburg State battled at the All-New England Championships this past weekend at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Fitchburg State finished 28th overall with eight points led by the solid performance of Ivanov. The junior standout started the Championships off strong, totaling three top five performances in the first five events of the decathlon. Ivanov registered a second place showing in the 100 meter dash (11.43), while totaling a third place finish and fifth place finish in the high-jump (1.85m) and 400 meter dash (51.34) respectively. He finished the first day of events with a sixth place showing in the long jump (6.14m) and a ninth place finish in the shot-put (9.79m).

On day two, Ivanov sealed his NCAA Championship performance (6,301 points) with three more top-five finishes. He notched two second place finishes in the javelin (48.44m) and 1500 meter run (48.44m), while placing fourth in the discus (32.52). Rounding out his career day, Ivanov battled in the 110m hurdles with an eighth place finish (16.90), while posting a distance of 3.85m in the pole vault for sixth overall. 

The Falcons 4x800 relay team was also solid as junior Brian Schell (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington), freshman Chris Kibler (Bath, Maine/Morse), senior Keon Valcourt (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) and classmate Shane McDowell (Nashua, N.H./Nashua) posted a time of 7:59.03 for a 17th place finish. Valcourt also competed in the 3000 meter steeple chase, finishing 25th overall with a time of 9:59.91.

Junior Devon Jennings (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) earned a 25th place showing for the Falcons, posting a time of 11.34 in the 100m dash, while sophomore Denard Mondesir (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) completed Fitchburg State's track stars with an 18th place finish in the 110m hurdles (16.41).

In the field, sophomore Carlos De La Rosa (Holyoke, Mass./Holyoke) notched an 18th place showing in the triple jump with a distance of 13.02, while also racing solid on the track with an 11th place finish in the 200 meter dash (13.02). Sophomore Matt Muolo (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) led the Falcon throwers, competing in three events while posting his best showing in the shot-put with a throw of 13.50 meters (17th). Junior Brandon Jean (Dunstable, Mass./Dunstable) also threw for the Falcons, registering an 18th place finish in the javelin (50.91m).

Fitchburg State track members will be in action again next week as qualifying athletes compete at the ECAC Championships on Friday and Saturday afternoon.