WESTFIELD, MASS. 9/27/12 – Keene State College once against rules the roads in the Little East Conference.  Owl men's and women's cross country teams raced to Little East Conference titles at the 2012 New England Alliance Championships held at Stanley Park in Westfield Mass. on Saturday. 

The Keene State women edged Southern Maine (33-38) to capture its 13th straight LEC crown, tying the USM women's outdoor track team for the most consecutive team championships (13) in the history of the Little East.

The Keene State men outdistanced Southern Maine 28-54 to claim its 12th conference title.  The Owls won nine straight LEC championships from 1997-2005.

Both teams had to compensate when their top runners had off-day on the trails.  Despite not being at her best, senior Maggie Fitter (Branford, Conn.) held on to finish second behind Molly Carl of Southern Maine.  Fitter posted a time of 18:44 on the 8K course while Carl won the race with a time of 18:24.

Freshman Kaitlin Wheeler (Exeter, N.H.) was the Owls' second runner, reaching the finish line in a time of 19:05.  Juniors Marie Whitney (Jaffrey, N.H.) and Erin Crawford (Townsend, Mass.) were right behind her, finishing in 7th (19:07) and 8th place (19:08) respectively. 

"Marie Whitney was the savior of the day," said KSC Coach Peter Thomas. "She was running fifth for us going into the last half mile.  She moved up to third and past a group of Southern Maine runners."

Sophomore Kaley Mientkiewicz (Hanson, Mass.) was the Owls' fifth runner. She finished 10th with a time of 19:17.  Kaitlin, Whitney, and Kaley set personal best times on the course.

"It's nice to keep the string intact," said Thomas.  "The USM Coach (George Towle) said I thought we had a shot at you.  It might be 12 years before we get that good again." 

With senior Thomas Paquette (Bolton, Conn.) still recovering from a mid-week sickness, fellow senior Andrew Sears (Derry, N.H.) stepped up to lead the Owls.  He finished third on the five mile course with a time of 26:10. "It was nice to see the men get the championship back," said Thomas.  Paquette had been sick all week, but everyone stepped up to fill the void. Andrew had good day. "

Junior Ryan Widzgowski (Camden, Maine) finished right behind Sears, placing fourth with a time of 26:14.  The trio of sophomore Chris Plankey (Bristol, N.H.), Paquette, and freshman Ryan Brady (Dover, N.H.) came in right after each other.  Plankey was sixth (26:28), Paquette was seventh (26:33) and Brady was eighth (26:34.).

A senior from Rhode Island College, Conor McCloskey won the men's race with a time of 25:37.