WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. 9/27/08 - The Keene State men finished fourth and the Owl women placed fifth at the Williams College Purple Valley Cross Country Classic held at Mr. Greylock High School on Saturday.  

The Owls finished with 174 points in the 18-team women's field.  The host Ephs won the team title with 38 points. Elise Tropiano of Amherst won the race with a time of 22:01 on the 6K course.  

Keen State runners were packed together at the finish line.  Junior Rita Marcotte (Heath, Mass.) was the top Owls finisher. She placed 35th with a time of 24:27.  Other top performers for KSC included sophomore Amy Knoblock (Plymouth, Mass.) (37th/24:33), freshman Heather Pierce (Buckland, Mass.) (38th/24:35), freshman Natalie Ferro (Dennis, Mass.) (44th/24:43), and freshman Paige Mills (Keene, N.H.) (57th/25:10).  

In a meet that featured the top New England Division III teams, the Owl men tallied 123 points.  Host Williams placed three runners in the top-10, including front-runner Edger Kosgey (25:48) to win the championship with 41 points in the 18-team field.  

Racing in his first meet of the season, Sophomore Craig McPherson (Derry, N.H.) was the Owls' top finisher, placing 16th on the 8K course with a time of 27:02.  He was followed to the finish line by senior Patrick Davis (North Kingstown, R.I) (20th/27:10), sophomore Brandon Schillimat (Nelson, N.H.) (27th/27:19), sophomore Timothy Pipp (New Ipswich, N.H.)(28th/27:21), and sophomore Jeff Trethewey (Merrimack, N.H.) (32nd/27:27).  

 The Owls host the KSC Invitational next Saturday.