Fitchburg Open 9/8/06

WOMEN:   Fitchburg 25   Worcester State 32

In a close contest in the season opener for both teams, Worcester State was beaten by state college rival, Fitchburg State the Coggshall Park 5K course in Fitchburg.  Worcester State took the top two places with individual winner, junior Lindsay Shields winning with a time of 23:53.7 over the challenging and hilly terrain. Freshman teammate Kara Antrim finished second with a time of 24:07.2, only 13.5 seconds behind Shields. The Lancers next finisher was senior captain, Jenelle Cunningham in 8^th place overall with freshman Megan Tuite scoring next in tenth place. For Fitchburg, a pack of five in a row finished ahead of Cunningham to secure the victory for the Falcons. The top finisher for the Fitchburg was senior Tess Godin with a time of 24:33.8 for third place overall followed by freshmen Francesca Boggs with a time of 25:51.2 for fourth place.  Sophomore Emily Sullivan (5^th), freshman Christina Gagnon (6^th), and junior Michelle Mjeon (7^th) rounded out the Falcons’ top five.  For Worcester State, the meet help to set some team and individual goals at the start of the season.  Though the team ran cautiously on this difficult course, much promise was shown by the women.  As they continue their workout regimen over the weeks of fall, much improvement can be expected from this squad. Hops are high that the gap between the top two and the rest of the team will narrow significantly with several more meets being contested.

MEN:  Fitchburg 25    Worcester State 32   Anna Maria  85

The men engaged in another close contest, even closer than the score indicates. The men had a tri-meet finishing second overall in the contest.  However, the top two collegiate finishers were both representing a new and improved Lancer team. Leading the way, was Sophomore transfer Rob Lind who finished as the first collegian in an excellent first meet performance with a time of 25:32.9 over the difficult 4.8 mile course.  Hanging with him most of the way was freshman Adam Malek former Burncoat standout, who was the second collegian in a time of 26:15.4 for the distance. Sophomores Chris Mancuso and transfer Andrew Rossi rebounded after being misguided off course to finish 10^th and 11^th respectively. The misdirection may have changed the outcome of the race but it could not be determined with certainty and it was decided to maintain the order of finish despite the mishap. Rounding out the top Lancer places were freshman Joseph Bourdelais in 17^th place overall, freshman Norman Everett (19^th), and Derrick Willand (20^th).  For Fitchburg State, sophomore Phil McCormick was the top Falcon as the 3^rd collegian overall in a time of 29:24.7 for the race while sophomore Keon Valcourt was next in 4^th with a 29:41.9 over the distance. Right behind, all within ten seconds, were freshman Kyle Schaefer, sophomore Jon Miganowicz(6^th), senior Chris Keegan(9^th) and then the two Worcester State runners, Mancuso and Rossi.