DELAWARE, OHIO 5/28/11   - The emphasis was on the field for Keene State College athletes competing at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Ohio Wesleyan University this weekend. 

On Saturday, Glenn Guilmette became the second Owl at the championship to earn All-American in a field event, finishing fifth in the javelin event with a season best throw of 206'-00".  The sophomore from Kensington N.H. becomes the first Keene State male athlete to earn All-American in the javelin. "It's a real exciting feeling," said Guilmette after the competition.  "Coming in as the 11th seed, I never expected to move all the way up to fifth.  But I had nothing to lose and just gave it my all."

Gary Zack, a junior from Moravian won the event with a mark of 221'-00".

There was a little suspense leading up to Guilmette's All-American throw. The sophomore fouled on his first two preliminary attempts before unleashing a throw that would get him on the podium.  "I was too excited during my first two throws," said Guilmette.  "Fortunately, I was able to calm down and get off a good throw."

"It was make-it or break-it time and Glenn was able to pop a big one at the right time, "said KSC throwing Coach John Napolitano.  "It was really clutch."

Guilmette said he learned a lot from last year's NCAA trip when he was unable to reach the finals.  "Last year I was too excited and that altered my form," he said.  "I knew I had to be calm this time around.  I have two more years to go.  Hopefully, I can be a national champion."

Senior Bryan Kolacz (Brentwood, N.H.) also received All-American recognition with his second place performance in the hammer on Thursday.  

Keene State runners continued to have a tough time on the track. Earlier in the day, senior Amy Knoblock (Plymouth, Mass.) finished 11th in the finals of the 1,500-meter race, clocking a time of 4:40.58.  Christy Cazzola, a sophomore from Wisconsin-Oshkosh won the race with a George Gauthier Track record time of 4:22. 11.            

Knoblok went up against a wide open 1,500 field that had just one returning All-American, Grayce Selig, a senior from Brandeis. However, Knoblock, who had the fourth fastest time going into the final, never got untracked.  Jockeying for position in the first turn, she stumbled and almost fell off the track.  "She got slammed and that totally through her off. Once that happens, it's really hard to recover," said KSC Coach Peter Thomas.  "Amy felt miserable after the race.  It wasn't the way she wanted to end her college career."

Temporarily regaining her form, Knoblock managed to stay close to lead pack for another lap.  When the leaders made their move and the field spaced out, Knoblock appeared to have enough in her tank to finish among the top-eight and earn All-American honors.  But she was unable to stay in contention, falling farther behind in the 12 runner field.    

Junior Andrea Walsh (Bolton, Conn.) ran into the same trouble in her 3,000-meter steeplechase race on Friday night.  The junior got cut-off going over the water obstacle in the third lap and lost momentum. 

With the addition of Kolacz and Guilmette, Keene State has now produced 12 national champions and 46 All-Americans in outdoor track.