NORTH DARTMOUTH, MASS. 10/30/04 - The streaks are still intact for the Keene State College men's and women's cross country teams which raced to victories at the Little East/Alliance Championships at UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday.

It was the eighth straight title for the Owl men who finished with 23 points to easily outdistance runner up Southern Maine (78 points). The KSC women had 24 points to claim their fifth straight championship. USM place second with 73 points.

Senior All-America Dave Bridgewater (Unionville, Conn.) defended his LEC/Alliance championship by winning the race on the 8K course with a time of 24:41.

The Owls placed six runners in the top 10 with Ryan Gough (Billerica, Mass.) placing third (25:21), Joe Hegarty (Springfield, Mass.) taking fourth (25:30), and Patrick Ard (Kingston, N.H.) finishing sixth (25:35). Freshman Mark Garcia (Everett, Mass.), who placed ninth (25:58) and Derrick Hamel (Northwood, N.H.) in 10th (26:12) round out the Owl runners who earned All-LEC/Alliance honors.

Erin Landon (Hampton, Conn.) paced the Owl women with her first place finish on the 5K course with a time of 18:33. KSC placed six runners in the top 10 with Stephanie Gibson (Sanbornton, N.H.) third (18:43), Laurie Yorgensen (Wethersfield, Conn.) had a personal best time of 18:52 with her fifth place performance, and Shannon O'Brien (Tilton, N.H.) took seventh (19:28). Jennifer Adams (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) who place eighth (19:35) and Stephanie Westcott (Bellows Falls, Vt.) who placed 10th (19:41) round out the top-10 finishers for KSC.