Fitchburg State Battles At Division III Championships

Jean and Muolo pace Falcons with strong finishes in field events

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (May 3, 2009) - The Fitchburg State men's and women's track and field team competed the New England Division III Championships this past weekend hosted by Springfield College.

Sophomore Matt Muolo (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) and junior Brandon Jean (Dunstable, Mass./Dunstable) led the Falcons field attack, posting five, top-ten finishes throughout the contest. Jean paced the Falcons with a sixth place showing in the shot-put (13.71m) and a ninth place finish in the javelin (52.31m), while Muolo recorded eighth place finishes in the discus (43.18m) and javelin (52.85m) and a tenth place showing in the shot-put (13.40m).

On the track side, senior Keon Valcourt (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) notched a 12th place finish in the 3000 meter steeplechase, registering a time of 9:57.65, while junior Kyle Schaeffer (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) finished strong in the 10000 meter run with a time of 35:19.91. Junior Devon Jennings (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) also battled for the Falcons, totaling a 23rd place finish in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.88.

Sophomore Carlos De La Rosa (Holyoke, Mass./Holyoke) and junior Alex Ivanov (Carlisle, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) also aided Fitchburg State both on the track and in the field as the two competed in six individual events. De La Rosa notched an 11th place finish in the 200 meter dash (22.74), while finishing 16th in the long jump (6.40m) and tenth in the triple jump (13.17m). Ivanov was also solid, posting a 14th place showing in the pole vault (3.90m), an 11th place finish in the 400m hurdles (56.55) and a 27th finish in the long jump (6.16m

For the women, freshman Madeline Merchant (Fitchburg, Mass./Monty Tech) was the lone member of the Fitchburg State women's team competing at the Championships. The rookie sensation registered a 17th place showing in the long jump with a distance of 4.91 meters, while jumping 9.80 meters for a 22nd place finish in the triple jump.

The Fitchburg State track and field team will be in action again next weekend as qualifying members compete at the All New England Championships on Saturday afternoon.