Falcons Place Third & Fourth at Worcester City Meet

PAXTON, Mass. - Fitchburg State University cross country participated in the Worcester City Area Meet on Saturday afternoon at Moore State Park. The women placed fourth with 92 overall points, while the men's side took third with 95 points.

Matthew Cuomo led the Fitchburg State men's side today for his first time as the Falcons top runner, placing 24^th overall at 29:52. Liam Eble had an impressive day on the course placing 26^th at 29:55, while Jake Hastings crossed the line at 30:06 in 28^th. Michael Martin placed 29^th (30:16) and Brett Montminy finished at 31:27 in 40^th place. Rounding out the Falcons top seven was Austin Landress and Daniel Fournier at 44^th (32:03) and 45^th (32:03) respectively.

"We ran a controlled run with people hitting specific mile markers as we prepared for the MASCAC Championships," said Coach Jim Jelliison. "It was a very good day as we showed our depth and competiveness as a team."

Nicole Gaffney earned a top ten finish, placing eighth at 20:23. Casey Taylor crossed the line at 21:34 for 18^th place, while Sadie Zbikowski placed 21^st at 21:52. Kelly McCarthy took 29^th at 22:32, and Jessica Mangan had a finish time of 23:10 (38^th). Shawna Ryan and Holly Wentworth rounded out the Falcons top seven at 23:38 (43^rd) and 24:01 (48^th) respectively.

"Grace, Taylor Decschenes, and Sadie all ran more than two minutes faster than their times last year in this meet," stated Coach Jamie Aubuchon. "We are making great progress as a team and as soon as we get everyone healthy we will really start to move up and progress as a team."

Fitchburg State will run at Keene State next Saturday, Oct. 3 starting at 11:00 am.