NEW BRUNSWICK, MAINE 11/12/11- Oh my gosh, they're going to Oshkosh. Keene State seniors Kevin Hoyt (Newtown, Conn.) and Paige Mills (Keene, N.H.) are headed to Wisconsin-Oshkosh for next Saturday's NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship.
The pair earned at-large berths to the national meet with strong performances at the New England Regional cross country championships at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine on Saturday. Hoyt finished ninth on the fast 8K course with a time of 25:02 while Mills placed 12th on the 6K women's course, posting a time of 21:47.
"I ran the exact race I wanted to do," said Hoyt, who earned All-Region honors. "I got out and held on and it worked out in my favor."
Hoyt was in the top-five for most of the race before falling back the last half mile. The senior will be competing at the NCAAs for the first time. It feels great knowing I'm going to nationals," he said. "It's a great end to my four years running at Keene State. I'd love to finish my career as an All-American."
Hoping to finish in the top-three, Mills said it was just one of those days. "My head wasn't in it. I was really confident and excited before the race, but I'm not sure what happened."
"Paige didn't look comfortable at all during the race," said KSC Coach Peter Thomas. "I kept telling her to relax and run."
"Hopefully I'll have some redemption next week," said Mills, who will be racing in the nationals for the third straight season.
Looking to earn one of the five NCAA team berths, the Keene State women missed by two spots, placing seventh with 213 points. "The women gave a good effort, but just came up a little short," said Thomas. "If we could've improved in a few places, we'd have a better result. But it didn't happen today."
Junior Maggie Fitter (Branford, Conn.) just missed earning an at-large berth, finishing 25th with a time of 22:05. Senior Andrea Walsh (Bolton, Conn.), an NCAA qualifier last year, placed 30th (22:11). Senior Sarah Titus (Derry, H.H.) who finished 56th (22:59) and sophomore Erin Crawford (Townsend, Mass.) who placed 90th (23:38) round out the scorers for the Owls.
Chiara Piccolo, a sophomore from Williams won the race with a time of 20:52. Defending national champion Middlebury edged Williams 55-60 for the women's team title.
The Keene State men finished 11th in the team scoring with 303 points. Top finishers for the Owls included juniors Thomas Paquette (Bolton, Conn.) and Andrew Sears (Derry, N.H.), who were 53rd (25:51), and 72nd (26:18) respectively. Sophomore Ryan Widzgowski (Camden, Maine) was right behind Sears in 73rd place (26:19) while junior George Stevens (Alton, N.H.) was the Owls' fifth man, placing 96th (26:45).
