WATERFORD, CONN. 10/13/12 – Keene State
College men's and women's cross country team finished
third at the Conn. College Invitational held at Harkness Memorial
State Park in Waterford, Conn. on Saturday.
The Keene State men, who returned to the regional rankings this
week in the 10th spot, finished with 147 points.
The Owls topped both Tufts and Springfield, which were ranked
second and eighth in this week's regional poll. The
University of Connecticut took home team honors in the 22-team
field with 86 points.
After a tough race last week at the New England Championships,
senior Thomas Paquette (Bolton, Conn.) returned to
form placing seventh on the challenging 8K course with a time of
25:27.
Junior Ryan Widzgowski (Camden, Maine) was the
Owls' second man, placing 12th with a time of 25:42.
Other top finishers for KSC included: freshman Ryan
Brady (Dover, N.H.), who was 21st (26:04), senior
Chance Wilk (Burnt Hills, N.Y.), who as 49th
(26:33) and junior Chris Plankey (Bristol, N.H.)
who placed 59th in a time of 26:43.
UConn junior Ryan McGuire won the race with a time of 24:53.
The Keene State women made a case to move back into the regional
poll with its strong third place finish. The Owls had 151
points to finish behind Tufts (54 points) and Plattsburgh State (91
points). Tufts is ranked fourth in New England while
Plattsburgh holds down the sixth spot in the Atlantic region.
Senior Maggie Fitter (Branford, Conn.) was the
Owls' frontrunner, finishing third on the 6K course with a
time of 21:57. Junior Erin Crawford
(Townsend, Mass.) was KSC's second runner, placing 26th with
a time of 22:56. Junior Marie Whitney
(Jaffrey, N.H.) who was in 35th place, sophomore Kaley
Mientkiewicz (Hanson, Mass.), who was 45th (23:29) and
sophomore Riley Wilk (Burnt Hills, N.Y.), who
placed 52nd (23:40) round out the scorers for Keene State.
Molly Rouillard, a junior from Bridgewater State won the race
with a time of 21:44.
The Owls will race next week at the Little East Alliance
championship at Westfield, Mass. The Keene State women have won the
championship the past 12 years.
