KEENE, N.H. 9/29/07 - Competing on their home turf for the only
time this season, Owl men's and women's cross country teams turned
in dominating performances to run away with victories at the 13th
Annual Keene State Invitational at Owl Athletic Complex on
Saturday.
Ranked 12th nationally and third in the New England Region, the
Owl women finished with 26 points to easily out-distance
Springfield College (66 points) and win their second straight KSC
Invitational.
Senior Jennifer Adams (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) captured
individual honors with a winning time of 18:09 on the 5K
course; She was 32 seconds ahead of second place finisher
Catherine Beck of Tufts (18:41). It was the second win of the
season for Adams who also won the UMass-Dartmouth
Invitational. "Everything went pretty smoothly," said
Adams. "I just went into the race with a relaxed
feeling,"
All five scorers for the Owls finished in the top-10.
Freshman Nicole Slane (4th, 19:12; Adelle Zocher (6th, 19:51),
Katelynn Carr (9th, 20:18), and Rita Marcotte (10th, 20:26) all
turned in solid efforts for KSC.
The Keene State men's team (23 points) had an equally strong
performance claiming eight of the top-10 places to win their ninth
home Invitational in the last 10 years. UMass-Lowell was second
with 53 points.
Mark Garcia, a former Owl now running for UMass-Lowell won the
race with a time of 26:25 on the five mile course. KSC
freshman Craig MacPherson was six seconds back to finish second
(26;31). " We're a really deep team," said MacPherson, who posted
his best freshman debut by an Owl runner on the course.. We
don't have a superstar who's a favorite to win nationals. We have
10 guys who are willing to work hard every day."
"I thought the guys put in a good effort on our course," said KSC
Coach Peter Thomas. "It's another stepping stone in the course of
their development over the season."
Other top finishers for KSC included Jason Garrity (3rd, 26;39),
Jared Samuel (5th, 26:52), Sam Wood (6th, 27:00), and Charlie
Baldour (7th, 27:16).
Keene State will compete next Saturday at the All-New England
Championships at Boston's Franklin Park.
