Fitchburg State Starts At Northeastern Invitational

Valcourt leads Falcons with first place finish in steeple chase

DEDHAM, Mass. (March 22, 2009) - The Fitchburg State men's indoor track and field team kicked off the 2009 outdoor track and field season at the Northeastern Husky Spring Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Keon Valcourt (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) recorded Fitchburg State's top finish of the day, placing first in the 3000 meter steeple chase with a total time of 10:19.76. Freshman Jim Petersen (Groton, Conn./Fitch) and junior Kyle Schaeffer (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) were also solid for the Falcons, as both posted Division III qualifying times. Petersen notched a fourth place finishing in the 400 meter with a time of 51.84, while Schaeffer finished tenth overall in the 10000 meter (6.2 miles) with a time of 33:14.10.

Senior Brian Schell (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) and freshman Chris Kibler (Bath, Maine/Bath) rounded out the Fitchburg State top track performances with a sixth and ninth place finish in the 800 meter run respectively, while junior Alex Ivanov (Carlisle, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) finished sixth in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 58.78 seconds.

On the field side, the duo of junior Brandon Jean (Dunstable, Mass./Dunstable) and sophomore Matt Muolo (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) led Fitchburg State, posting solid finishes in the javelin, discus and hammer events. Jean paced the Falcons field events with a seventh place finish in the javelin (169 feet), while posting a 13^th place showing in the discus with a throw of 120 feet, 4 inches. Muolo registered an eighth place finish in the javelin with a toss of 166 feet, 4 inches, while placing 19^th in the hammer with a throw of 120 feet, six inches.

The Fitchburg State outdoor track team will compete in the Worcester City Meet next Saturday starting at 11 a.m.