HANOVER, N.H. 9/14/02 - The Keene State College men's cross country team placed third and the Owl women finished fifth at the Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday.

The KSC men finished with 72 points.  Host Dartmouth (25 points)  ran away with the championship. 

Running in his first meet of the season, Mark Miller (Shelburne Falls, MA.) was KSC's top finishner. He finished third over the five mile course in a time of 25:15.  Other top finishers for KSC included: Dave Bridgewater (Unionville, CT) (sixth/25:24), Josh Ferenc (Westmoreland, N.H.) (14th/25:53), Casey Cole (Southbury, CT) (36th/27:02), and Matthew Haley (Middleton, MA.) (43rd/27:20).

Mark Nichols of Dartmouth won the race in a time of 25:01.

The KSC women finished with 113 points. Led by the first place finish of Rosien McGittigan, Providence College won the women's title with 34 points.

On the trails for the first time this season, Mary Proulx (Ashland, N.H.) paced the Owls with a strong second place (19:09) finish on the 3.1 mile course.

Other top finishers for KSC included: Beth Vachon (Amherst, N.H.) (19th/20:26), Stephanie Gibson (Sanbornton, N.H.) (32nd/21:06), Karen Jordan (Enfield, N.H.) (33rd/21:07), and Meghan Matthews (Springfield, MA.) (52nd/21:58).