Fitchburg State Races At Harvard University Open
The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s indoor track team saw action this afternoon as it competed at the Harvard Open hosted by Harvard University.
Fitchburg State Races At Harvard University Open
Eight Falcons qualify for 14 DIII New England events in final meet of 2009
BOSTON, Mass. (December 12, 2009) - The Fitchburg State men's and women's indoor track team saw action this afternoon as it competed at the Harvard Open hosted by Harvard University.
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Both the men's and women's squads posted solid efforts as multiple members registered Division III New England marks. Leading the way was sophomore Madeline Merchant (Gardner, Mass./Monty Tech) who notched four Division III honors in the 60m dash (8.38), 200M (27.79), long jump (4.85m), and triple jump (10.15m). In addition to her Division III accomplishments, Merchant finished among the top 20 in all four events, including a 13th place showing in the triple jump.
Freshman Emily Lane (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School) was also solid on the women's side, qualifying for her first collegiate Division III New England appearance in the high-jump. Lane registered the top MASCAC height in the event, placing sixth overall with a jump of 1.55m (5'-1"). The freshman standout was also strong on the track, finishing 22nd in the 60m hurdles with a time of 10.31.
Senior Linda Fortunato (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam), classmate Lindsay Suprenant (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam) and freshman Shanissa Sampson (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough) rounded out the ladies top performers, posting personal bests in their individual events. Fortunato notched a career best time of 20:43.79 in the 5000m run for a 14th place finish, while Sampson (15th - 10.46m) and Suprenant (10th - 6.50m) recorded personal bests in the shot-put and weight throw respectively.
MADELINE MERCHANT |
On the men's side, Fitchburg State witnessed a record breaking day as six Falcons qualified for nine Division III New England events. Junior Carlos De La Rosa (Holyoke, Mass./Holyoke) and freshman Michael Iasevoli (Ayer, Mass./Ayer) paved the way with a pair of qualifiers each, while senior Devon Jennings (Brockton, Mass./Brockton), classmate Denard Mondesir (Brockton, Mass./Brockton), junior Matt Muolo (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) and sophomore Jimmy Petersen (Groton, Conn./Fitch) all topped the charts.
De La Rosa, Iasevoli and Jennings all qualified for the Division III New England's in the 60m dash as the trio finished within seconds of each other, taking the 18-20 spots with times of 7.30, 7.30 and 7.31 respectively. De La Rosa and Iasevoli also ran strong in the 200m sprint, posting qualifying marks of 23.04 (19th) and 23.34 (27th).
Mondesir and Peterson rounded out the men's track honorees with solid performances in the 60m hurdles and 400m run. Mondesir collected DIII accolades with a time of 8.87 (14th) in the hurdles, while Peterson tallied a 12th place finish with a time of 51.89 in the 400m.
Leading the Falcon throwers again was Muolo who brought in a pair of qualifying marks in the shot-put and weight throw. Muolo topped his MASCAC Field Athlete of the Week performances from a week ago, throwing a distance of 13.82m (9th) in the shot and 15.08m (7th - Personal Best) in the weight.
Senior captain Brandon Jean (Dunstable, Mass./Dunstable) notched a 10th place showing in the shot put with a toss of 13.29m, while posting a mark of 12.98m (15th) in the weight throw.
Fitchburg State is off until after the winter break when it returns to action on January 16th at the Tufts University Stampede at 11 a.m.