Chris Fitzsimons Hometown: Hamden, Conn. High School: Hamden Position: Cross Country/Distance Birthdate: 08/08/1992 Experience: Jr./Jr.

On Fitzsimons: Showed significant progress during the second half of his sophomore season and is poised for a big year ... Top individual event is the 800 meters and is part of a talented middle distance group for Villanova ... Has a chance to be one of the team's top contributors during the coming year.

2012 Outdoor: Qualified for the NCAA East Regional in the 800 meters ... Came in 26th in the national first round with a time of 1:50.90 at the regional meet ... Posted his top collegiate time of 1:48.91 in a fourth place finish at the Virginia Challenge to secure his spot in the East Regional ... Earned All-BIG EAST honors for a runner-up finish at the BIG EAST Championships ... Lowered his time from 1:52.51 in the preliminary heats to 1:51.24 in the finals ... Came in second at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational (1:51.07), finished sixth out of 78 runners at the Colonial Relays (1:52.49) and came in 22nd at the Larry Ellis Invitational (1:52.00) ... Won the 1500 meters at the Widener Invitational (3:51.67) and came in 14th out of 117 runners at the Danny Curran Invitational (4:01.83) ... Ran the third leg of the distance medley relay at the Penn Relays.

2012 Indoor: Helped lead Villanova to a BIG EAST title in the 4x800 meter relay and a Millrose Games championship in the distance medley relay ... Ran the second leg of the 4x800 meter relay at the BIG EAST meet as the Wildcats won with a time of 7:27.91 ... Competed on the third leg of the DMR at the Millrose Games and Villanova finished first in 9:38.02 ... Individually came in fifth in the 800 meters (1:54.13) at the BIG EAST Championships ... Recorded the second-fastest time (1:54.12) in the BIG EAST preliminary heats ... Finished seventh in the invitational section (1:51.06) at the Penn State National ... Came in 21st in the 1000 meters in 2:40.92 at the Great Dane Classic ... Ran the third leg of the distance medley relay in a first place finish at the NYC Gotham Cup (10:13.58) and a fourth place finish in the invitational section of the Penn State meet (9:48.64).

2011 Cross Country: Finished in 42nd place as an unattached runner at the Main Line Invitational ... Had a time of 21:23 on the four-mile course ... Lowered that mark to 20:53 at the Haverford Invitational on the same course and came in 20th out of 110 runners.

2011 Outdoor: Redshirted ... Won the 800 meters as an unattached runner at the Widener Invitational, with a winning time of 1:53.37 ... Had his top time of the season at the Swarthmore Last Chance Meet, where he crossed the finish line in 1:49.91 as an unattached entry ... Placed fourth out of 69 runners in that race.

2011 Indoor: Placed third in the 1000 meters at the Albany Great Dane Invitational with a time of 2:27.52.

2010 Cross Country: Redshirted ... Ran unattached on the four-mile course at Haverford College for the Main Line Invitational and came in 44th with a time of 21:43.27 in his first collegiate race.

Hamden High School: Anchored the winning 4x800 and distance medley relay teams at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals ... Placed third in the 800 meters at the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships ... His personal best in the 800 meters is a Connecticut state record ... Connecticut Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

Personal: Born 8/8/92 ... One of two sons of Tom and Mary Sue Fitzsimons ... Has a brother, Tom ... Undeclared major in the school of Liberal Arts.

PERSONAL BESTS

800 Meters (Relay)       1:47.15           High School
800 Meters (Open)        1:48.83           High School
1000 Meters              2:27.15           High School
1500 Meters              3:51.67           2012 Widener Invitational

CAREER AWARDS (Indoor Track)

BIG EAST Champion                          2012 (4x800 Meter Relay)
All-BIG EAST                               2012 (4x800 Meter Relay)
Millrose Games Champion                    2012 (Distance Medley Relay)

CAREER AWARDS (Outdoor Track)

All-BIG EAST                               2012 (800 Meters)