SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. 10/24/09 - Returning to the trails after a week off, both Keene State men's and women's cross country teams raced to wins at the Saratoga Invitational on Saturday.

The Owl men, ranked sixth in New England, placed all five of their scorers in the top-10 to claim the championship with 23 points.  Plattsburgh was second with 54 points.

Senior Jared Samuel (Londonderry, N.H.) was the first KSC runner to the finish line, placing second on the wet and sloppy 8K course with a time of 25:31. 

Four of his teammates were right behind.  Juniors Jeff Trethewey (Merrimack, N.H.) was third (25:41), Eric MacKnight (Newtown, N.H.) was fourth (25:44), Brandon Schillemat (Nelson, N.H.) placed sixth (25:57), and sophomore Kevin Hoyt (Newtown, Conn.) took eighth (26:16).

Plattsburgh's Mike Heymann won the race with a time of 25:17.

The Keene State women, ranked eighth in New England, placed four of its runners in the top-10 to win the team title with 53 points.  Plattsburgh was second in the 14-team field with 77 points.

After suffering a series of injuries in her previous races, junior Allison Chamberlain (Scarborough, Me.) navigated through the muddy 5K course to finish second with a time of 18:05.

Sophomore Paige Mills (Keene, N.H.) placed fifth (18:20).   Sophomore Andrea Walsh (Bolton, Conn.), who was eighth (18:33), junior Amy Knoblock (Plymouth, Mass.), who finished 10th (18:38), and freshman Maggie Fitter (Branford, Conn.), placing 28th (19:39), round out the top finishers for the Owls.

Kaitlin Fadder of Houghton College won the race in a time of 17:56.

Keene State returns home to host the LEC Alliance Championships next Saturday.