'NEW YORK, N.Y. 9/28/02 - Keene State College's Mary Proulx (Ashland, N.H.) raced to a ninth place finish in the Iona Meet of Champions at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on Saturday.

The senior from Ashland, N.H. covered the 3.1-mile course in a time of 21:44.4.  Kate O'Neill of Yale (20:36.6) won the race.

Overall, the KSC women placed 18th with 524 points. Other top finishes for the Owls included Stephanie Gibson (Sanbornton, N.H.) (143rd/24:23.9) and Laurie Yorgensen (Wethersfield, CT) (167th/24:57.9).

The University of Missouri won the women's team title with 62 points in the 25-team field.

The Keene State men's cross country team had 351 points to place 15th in the 26 team field. Host Iona, led by Pete Riley's first place finish (24:31.7) won the men's team championship with 54 points edging Dartmouth (56 points).

Dave Bridgewater (Unionville, CT) was the first KSC runner to the finish line. He posted a time of 25:43.4 on the five-mile course to place 28th. Other top finishes for KSC included Mark Miller (Shelburne Falls, MA.)

(74th/26:29.9), Josh Ferenc (Westmoreland, N.H.) (84th/26; 35.6), Dave Raymond (Princeton, MA.) (101st/26:51.5), and Paul Phelps (Pittsfield, MA.) (102nd/26:52.4).

The Owls will host the KSC Invitational next Saturday (10:45 a.m.).