NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. 9/18/10 – The
Keene State College men's cross country team, led by senior
Eric MacKnight's (Newtown, Conn.) first
place finish, ran their way to victory at the UMass-Dartmouth
Shriner's Invitational on Saturday. The Owl women, led by
Paige Mills' (Keene, N.H.) first place
finish, came in third place.
MacKnight covered the course in 24:40 to pace the Owls.
“I pushed myself the entire race to stay with the front
guys. With a mile to go, I picked it up and never looked
back. It was my first collegiate victory, so I was pretty
pumped,” said MacKnight. “There were several good
teams running today, including Brandeis, who was ranked no. 1 in
the region, so it was good to take them down. This win helps
sets the tone for the season and lets people know we're ready
to roll.”
Right behind him, junior Kevin Hoyt (Newtown,
Conn.) finished the race in 24:48 for a second place
finish, and senior Tim Pipp (Keene, N.H.) rounded
out the top three finishers with an eighth place finish in
24:57.
Sophomores Andrew Sears (Derry, N.H.) and
Thomas Paquette (Bolton, Conn.) rounded out the
top five with 28th and 39th place finishes
respectively.
The men won the meet with 73 points, edging M.I.T who finished
the day with 76 points.
On the women's side, Mills won the race in 17:34.
“I couldn't ask for better result, I felt
awesome,” said Mills. “It was a great way to
start the season. Almost everyone had a personal best
time. There were smiles everywhere. It was a great
day.”
Junior Andrea Walsh (Bolton, Conn.) finished
the race in 13th, covering the trail in 18:29, while
senior Amy Knoblock (Plymouth, Mass.) came in
16th, in a time of 18:38.
Haley Lydstone (Bedford, N.H.) and
Maggie Fitter(Branford, Conn.) came in 30th and
44th to round out the top five for the Owls.
The women finished in third with 93 points behind M.I.T. and
Wellesley, who won the meet with 41 points.
The Owls hit the trails next at the Williams Invitational on
Saturday, September 25th at 11 a.m.
