Fitchburg State Races in UMass Dartmouth Invite

DARTMOUTH, Mass. - Fitchburg State University cross country competed in the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The men's side placed ninth, led by senior Eric Oullette who paced the Falcons with a sixth place finish out of 43 teams. The women finished in 27^th and were led by Nicole Gaffney who ran a 20:23.10 5k.

Gaffney was followed by Sadie Zbikowski in 155^th (21:21.16), and Casey Taylor with a finish time of 21:22.09 in 159^th. Placing in 193^rd was Jessica Mangan at 22:00.24, while Shawna Ryan crossed the line at 22:26.56, good for 212^th. Holly Wentworth placed 259^th at 23:57.77 to round out the Green & Gold runners in the field of 315.

Out of the 324 runners in the field, Oullette finished the 8k with a finish time of 25:27.14, while Brian Amaral crossed the line in 36^th at 26:25.25. Jake Hastings was the third Falcon to finish at the 26:45.89 mark (53^rd), and freshman Anthony Darrigo placed 71^st at 27:00.02. Joseph Darrigo placed 97^th at 27:27.16, while Michael Martin and Timothy Allen wrapped up the Fitchburg State top seven at 28:24.34 (149^th) and 177^th (29:09.74) respectively.

Brandeis took top honors on the women's side with three runners in the top 10 and a team total of 49 points, while also winning the men's race with 93 total points.

The Falcons will be back in action next Saturday, Sept. 26 as they travel to the Worcester City Meet.