SARATOGA, SPRINGS, 10/25/08 - Back on the trails after taking a
week off, the Keene State men's cross country team raced to a
first place finish at the Saratoga Invitational on Saturday.
It's the second consecutive year the Owls have won the
championship.
Nursing several injuries, the KSC women placed fourth with 145
points. St. Lawrence won the women's championship with 65 points in
the 24-team field.
The Owl men, who entered the race ranked 28th in this week's
national poll, tallied 62 points. St. Lawrence was second
with 70 points. KSC should move up in the ranking after
defeating St. Lawrence and Trinity, which were 21st and 17th
respectively in the poll.
Sophomore Craig MacPherson (Derry, N.H.) paced the
Owls with a sixth place finish (25:46) on the 8K course.
Teammate, Brandon Schillemat (Nelson, N.H.), a
sophomore, was right behind him in seventh place with a time of
25:47. Sophomore Jeff Trethewey (Merrimack,
N.H.) (9th/25:50), senior Jason Garrity
(Topsfield, Mass.) (19th/26:02), and junior Patrick
Davis (Wethersfield, Conn.) (21st/26:08) round out the top
scorers for KSC.
Hamilton's Peter Kosgei won the race with a time of 25:05.
A pair of freshmen led the KSC women. Heather
Piece (Buckland, Mass.) was 16th (18:36) and
Andrea Walsh (Bolton, Conn.) was 18th (18:42) on
the 3.1 mile course.
Junior Rita Marcotte (Heath, Mass.), the Owls' top
runner so far this season, tweaked her knee, and dropped back to
20th (18:46). Junior Kate Carr
(Scituate, Mass.) was 44th (19:15), and freshman Natalie
Ferro (Dennis, Mass.) was the Owls' fifth runner, placing
52nd with a time of 19:22.
Paige Mills (Keene, N.H.) and Nicole
Slane (Milford, N.H.) didn't compete and Amy
Knoblock (Plymouth, Mass.) dropped out of the race.
Wendy Pavlus of St. Lawrence won the race with a time of 17:28.
Keene State competes next week at the LEC Championships at
Westfield State. The KSC women have won the race the past eight
years.
