Fitchburg State Breaks Record At All-New England's

Falcons distance medley relay posts new school record

BOSTON, Mass. (February 27, 2010) - The Fitchburg State men's and women's indoor track teams were in action this past weekend as they battled at the All-New England Championships hosted by Boston University.

CHRIS KIBLER

The Falcons men's team kicked things off Friday evening in record breaking fashion, setting a new school record in the distance medley (4000m) portion of the meet. Junior Matt Spano (Gardner, Mass./Gardner), sophomore Jimmy Petersen (Groton, Conn./Fitch), senior Tim Wood (Holden, Mass./Wachusett Regional) and sophomore Chris Kibler (Bath, Maine/Morse) all teamed up in the 4000m race, posting a time a time of 10:27.27, 12.66 seconds better than the previous school record.

Senior Devon Jennings (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) was also solid on the track, posting a time of 6.72 in the 55m dash, while on the women's side, Madeline Merchant (Gardner, Mass./Monty Tech) totaled a time of 7.59. Junior Carlos De La Rosa (Holyoke, Mass./Holyoke) wrapped up the Falcons first day sprinters in the 200m dash, totaling a time of 22.92.

Closing out the day in the field was veteran throwers, junior Matt Muolo (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham). Muolo ended the day strong for Fitchburg State in the weight-throw, narrowly missing the finals with a toss of 48 feet, seven inches.

On Saturday afternoon, the Falcons continued to soar as the 4x800 relay team set a metric relay record. The team of Wood, Spano, Kibler and Everett Pankey (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) notched a time of 7:58.00, posting a ten second personal record and qualifying for the ECAC Championships next week.

The 4x400 relay team was also solid, finishing the season strong with a personal best time of 3:27.22. The four man team of Petersen, Jennings, De La Rosa and Matt Claar (Orono, Maine/Orono) received great performances from all members, shattering their season best mark by four seconds.

In the field, De La Rosa rounded out the day for Fitchburg State as the junior jumper competed in the triple jump. De La Rosa posted an incredible mark in the event, recording his second highest score throughout his career with a jump of 44 feet, 1.5 inches.

The Fitchburg State men's and women's track team will be in action next weekend as several members compete at the NCAA Division III ECAC Championships.