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.  

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 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).   The Owls host the KSC Invitational next Saturday.           .