'WATERFORD, CONN.  11/5/05 - The Keene State College men's cross country team finished 12th at the ECAC Division III Championships held in Waterford, Conn. on Saturday.

With several of their top varsity runners taking the week off, the Owls finished with 320 points.  Williams College placed three runners in the top-10 to take team honors with 46 points in the 28-team field. Steve Monsulick of Bates won the race with a time of 25:19.

Freshman Sheridan Welch (Merrimack, N.H.) placed 36th (26:43) to pace the Owls on the 8K course.   Other top performers for KSC included: Sean Gavaghan (Monore, Conn.) who was 53rd (27:03), and Jason Garrity (Topsfield, Mass.) who came in 72nd (27:20).

Only four runners competed for the KSC women, who didn't register in the team scoring.  Senior Shannon O'Brien (Tilton, N.H.) was the Owls top finisher (27th) with a time of 23:32 on the 6K course.  Other top finishers included: Stephanie Westcott (Bellows Falls, Vt.) (39th/23:49) and Amanda Reynolds (Maplewood, N.J.) (75th/24:54).

Springfield's Meg Young won the race in a time of 21:46.  Amherst College (71 points) edged Tufts (73 points) for the team title.

The Owl men will gear up for the New England Regional Championship at Springfield next Saturday when they will be looking for their ninth straight NCAA Championship bid.  Sophomore Jennifer Adams is a strong candidate to earn an individual berth in the women's field.