'GRAFTON, MASS. 11/8/03 - Sophomore Matt Haley (Middleton, Mass.) captured the men's individual title to lead the Keene State College men's team to a second place finish at the ECAC Division III Cross Country Championships held Saturday at Tufts University Veterinary Center in Grafton, Mass.

Haley covered the five- mile course in a time of 26:36 to claim his first individual championship. The KSC tallied 82 points to finish behind front-runner and host Tufts (38 points) in the 33-team men's field.

Pat Ard (Kingston, N.H.), who was sixth (26:55) and Kevin McGrath (Auburn, N.H.) in 15th place (27:35) along with Haley earned All-ECAC Honors.

The remaining scorers for KSC also included Joe Hegarty (Springfield, Mass.) (18th/27:52) and Luke Marcum (Pelham, N.H.) (45th/28:30).

Senior Karen Jordan (Enfield, N.H.) placed second with a time of 23:01 on the 3.1 mile course to lead the Owl women to a third place showing. 

KSC had 76 points.  Williams College (55 points) edged Middlebury (60 points) for the team title in the 31-team field.

After taking a tumble, Stephanie Gibson (Sanbornton, N.H.) recovered to place seventh (23:41) and earn All-ECAC honors with Jordan.

Other top finishers for KSC were Allison Fergione (Marlborough, Conn.) (18th/24:10), Meaghan Matthews (Springfield, Mass.) (25th/24:25), and Laurie Yorgensen (Wethersfield, Conn.) (27th/24:27).

KSC will compete next Saturday at the New England Regional Championships at Cumberland, Maine. The Owl men are looking for their fifth straight title.