Fitchburg State Races At George Davis Invitational

Muolo earns first in discus for men; Merchant places second in 100m dash for women

LOWELL, Mass. (April 10, 2010) – The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s track team was back in action this weekend as it traveled to the University of Massachusetts Lowell for the George Davis Invitational this afternoon.

Junior Matt Muolo (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) continued his hot-throwing this weekend, earning a trio of top-eight finishes, including a first place showing in the discus with a toss of 44.60m. Muolo was also strong in the shot-put, earning third place with a throw of 13.70m, while placing seventh in the javelin with a distance of 50.48m.

Senior Devon Jennings (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) added to the Falcons elite finishers, earning a second place honor in the 100m dash. Jennings completed the sprint in a time of 11.42, while freshman Jimmy DINuccio (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) was also strong in the event, collecting fifth place with a time of 11.51.

Junior Kyle Callahan (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) was as consistent as they came this afternoon for the Falcons, posting a pair of top-ten finishes both on the track and in the field. Callahan notched his top finish of the day in the 400m hurdles, placing sixth overall with a time of 57.63, while tallying a ninth placing finish in the long jump with a distance of 6.04m.

On the distance side, sophomore Chris Kibler (Bath, Maine/Morse) was stunning, placing eighth in the 800m with a time of 1:58.83, while freshman Michael Grasela (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) registered fourth place honors in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:36.35.

Rounding out the men’s performances were the two Falcon relay teams who collected a set of strong performances. The 4x100 relay of Jennings, DiNuccio, Callahan, De La Rosa collected third place honors with a  time of 43.77, while the 4x400 team placed sixth overall with a time of 3:27.22.

For the ladies, sophomore Madeline Merchant (Gardner, Mass./Gardner) continued her dominance, totaling three, top-ten honors in the 100m dash, long-jump and triple jump. Merchant’s best finish of the day came in the 100m, earning second overall with a time of 12.72 while finishing sixth in the triple jump (10.64m) and ninth in the long-jump (4.98m).

Freshman Emily Lane (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School) earned a fourth place finish in the women’s high-jump, totaling a height of 1.50m, while junior Erin Abbott (Warwick, Mass./Pioneer Valley) finished 11th overall with a height of 1.45m.

The freshman duo of Shanissa Sampson (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough) and Megan Gonzalez (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) led the Falcon throwers, garnering three solid finishes. Sampson led all Fitchburg State throwers with a fifth place finish in the javelin (35.57m), while Gonzalez finished 15th in the discus (33.02m) and 16th in the shot put (9.60m).

The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s track team will be in action next weekend as it hosts the Eric Loeschner Memorial starting at 11 a.m.