'NORTHFIELD, MINN. 11/23/02 – With a tough, competitive field, the Keene State College men's cross country team knew it had an uphill battle to finish among the leaders at Saturday's NCAA Division III Championship at St. Olaf College with a healthy Mark Miller. But when Miller, a two-time All-America, had to miss the race after getting sick, the task became to much for the Owls, who finished a disappointing 12th at the meet.

"Mark became sick the night before and wasn't able to run," said KSC Coach Peter Thomas.  "The team didn't respond very well after hearing the news.  But they should have run better than what they did."

Mary Proulx did provide Keene State with some good news. The senior from Ashland, N.H., earned her third All-America honor with a fourth place finish. She covered the 6K course in a time of 21:28.

Making their sixth consecutive trip to the nationals, the Owl men had their second straight disappointing performance.  Last year, KSC melted under the warm temperatures and placed 15th at Augustana  (ILL.) College and today they couldn't overcome the loss of its top runner.

Keene State finished with 341 points.   Wisconsin-Oshkosh had 66 points to run away with the team championship. Calvin College of Michigan was second with 122 points.

Dave Raymond was the Owls' top finisher. The sophomore from Princeton, MA., earned his first All-America honor with his 17th place effort (25:35) on the 8K course.  Josh Ferenc of Westmoreland, N.H. was farther down the pack at 66th place (26:02). 

Dave Bridgewater (Unionville, CT) (102nd/26:27), Paul Phelps (Pittsfield, MA.) (106th/26:28), and Casey Cole (Southbury, CT) (181st/27:26) round out the Owls' top-five finishes.

Trinity's Ryan Bak won the race in a time of 25:01.

In addition to Proulx, Karen Jordan was also running in the women's race.  Making her first appearance at the nationals, the junior from Enfield, N.H., was 126th overall in a time of 23:29.

Two New England schools, Williams College (42 points) and Middlebury College (145 points) finished 1-2 in the women's team standings.  Missy Buttry of Wartburg (IA.) College won the race in a time of 20:17.

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