KEENE, N.H. 10/3/09 - The Keene State men's cross country team dodged the rain drops to capture the 15th Annual KSC Invitational on Saturday.  The Owls, ranked 12th nationally and third in the region, placed four runners in the top-10 to win the title with 44 points.  Dartmouth (B-Team) was second with 65 points and Amherst College took third with 69 points.  

The KSC women, ranked 26th nationally and fifth in New England, turned in a strong second place finish with 85 points.  Amherst College, which placed all five of the scorers in the top-10, raced to the championship with 25 points. 

Junior Jeff Trethewey (Merrimack, N.H.) was the first Owl to the finish line, placing third on the five mile course with a time of 26:08.  "I tried to rally but I didn't have enough at the end." said Trethewey, who took a tumble at the four and a half mile mark.  "It was great to have this many fast runners here.  Amherst, MIT and Southern Maine are all good teams, strong in the region and that's who were going to be fighting with at the end of the season, so it's good to see how we can do against them now."

"I thought the guys ran well considering the conditions," said KSC Coach Peter Thomas.  "Jeff had another sold race, but he needs to be a little stronger."

Junior Eric MacKnight (Newtown, Conn.) placed seventh (26:15). Junior Brandon Schillemat (Nelson, N.H.) and senior Jared Samuel (Londonderry, N.H.) were ninth (26:18) and 10th (26:18) respectively and sophomore Corey Loonan (Sandwich, Mass.) rounded out the KSC scorers with his 15th place (26:34) performance.

Ruben Sanca an alumni runner from UMass-Lowell won the race with a time of 25:05.  Daniel Murner of Amherst College was second (25:54).

Keene State, who has won the meet 11 out of the past 12 years, continued its strong season on the trails defeating regionally ranked teams Amherst College (#2), Southern Maine (#5), and MIT (#9).

The Owls women managed a second place finish without sophomore and top runner Paige Mills (Keene, N.H.), who was out with an illness, and junior Allison Chamberlain (Scarborough, Me.), who turned her ankle early in the race.

Senior Rita Marcotte (Heath, Mass.), who is also getting back to form after battling the bug, stepped up for the Owls and finished eighth with a time of 19:22 on the 5K course.  "When Ally went down I know I needed to make a move," said Marcotte.  "I was hurting, but I was able to pull away and give us a chance for second place."

"Without Paige and Ally it takes a way our two front-runners, but I though the team did a good job of rallying to take second," said Thomas.

Marcotte was followed to the finish line by sophomore Andrea Walsh (Bolton, Conn) who was 10th (19:31), junior Amy Knoblock (Plymouth, Mass.) who placed 16th (19:43), Sophomore Haley Lydstone (Manchester, N.H.) who was 18th (19:490, and freshman Maggie Fitter (Branford, Conn.) who finished 33rd (20:36).

Amherst College's Sophia Galleher won the race with a time of 18:40.  The Lord Jeffs came into the race ranked seventh in New England.

Keene State races next Saturday at the New England Championships at Boston's Franklin Park.