Fitchburg State Shines At Tufts Invite

Backiel earns top honors with 4.15m vault to pace men; McClure ties own school pole vaulting record to lead women

MEDFORD, Mass. (January 18, 2013) – The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams were in action this afternoon as they visited Tufts University for the 2014 Tufts Invitational #1.

On the women’s side, junior Rebecca McClure (Lyndeborough, N.H.) continued to shine in the pole vault, tying her own school pole vaulting record of 3.35m to place second overall, while classmate Arthina Robert (Lynn, Mass.) collected a pair of post-season marks in the 60 meter dash with a time of 8.13.

On the track, senior Samantha Wilkinson (Wakefield, Mass.) placed seventh overall in the 800m with a MASCAC qualifying time of 2:35.36, while junior Braila Roy (Hyannis, Mass.) also posted a post-season time of 2:42.20 in the event with a 15th place effort.

In the 1000 meter, junior Jenae Harrison (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and newcomer Kelly McCarthy (Assonet, Mass.) finished with times of 3:14.15 and 3:25.20 respectively to qualify for MASCAC’s, while sophomore Elizabeth Ward (Ashby, Mass.) collected a pair of MASCAC qualifying time in the mile (6:02.38) and in the 3000m (12:19.11).

Senior Stephanie Irvin (Malden, Mass.), classmate Karollynn Wickless-Adams (Lansdale, Penn.) and junior Mary Wooten (Lisbon, Maine) all qualifying for the MASCAC’s in the 400m with times of 1:11.13, 1:11.78 and 1:11.95 respectively, while McClure turned in a post-season qualifying time of 28.75 in the 200 meter.

The ladies were also solid in the field, led by junior Sarah Elliot (East Meadow, N.Y.) who registered a pair of MASCAC qualifying marks in the shot put (9.56m) and weight throw (10.86m), while freshman Morgan Steele (Somerset, Mass.) posted a post-season qualifying toss of 8.65 meters in the shot put to round out the top Falcon efforts on the afternoon.

Freshman Patryk Backiel (Fairhaven, Mass.) led the way for the men’s squad, finishing first overall in the pole vault with a MASCAC and DIII NE qualifying vault of 4.15 meters, while senior Pat Conaty (Southington, Conn) placed second in the pole vault with a DIII NE qualifying height of 4.00m. Graduate student Chris Kibler (Bath Maine) was also strong, placing second in the 3000m with an ECAC qualifying time of 8:41.6, with his time in the event, Chris currently ranks within the top 15 in the NCAA DIII.

In the 1000m, junior Jim Quinlan (N. Andover, Mass.) posted a MASCAC qualifying time of 2:42.82, while freshman Matt Cuomo (Carlisle, Mass.) and classmate Colen Stack (Greenfield, Mass.) both notched personal best times of 2:46.93 and 2:56.79 to also qualify for the MASCAC’s. Newcomer Rawson Randlett (Plymouth, Mass.) and sophomores Sam Carroll (Brockton, Mass.) and Michael Martin (Gardner, Mass.) also turned in MASCAC marks in the 1000m with times of 2:56.79, 3:00.68, and 3:04.00 respectively.

On the track, the 4x800 meter relay team of Kibler, Quinlan, Cuomo and freshman Brandon Hannon (Pelham, N.H.) ran extremely well, placing fourth overall with a time of 8:30.05 to garner a pair of post-season honors to round out the top efforts for the men.

The Fitchburg State men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams return to action next weekend as they compete at the 2014 John Thomas Terrier Invitational hosted by Boston University starting on Friday at 2:30 p.m.