WESTFIELD, MASS 11/10/12 – Keene State College senior Maggie Fitter never competed in cross country while attending Branford (Conn.) High School.   But that didn't stop her from earning a berth to the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday. 

            Competing in the New England Division III Cross Country Regional Championship at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass., Fitter used a strong finish to place ninth in the highly-competitive field to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships that will take place next Saturday in Terra Haute, Indiana.

            I told Pete (KSC Coach Peter Thomas) "If you would've told me four years ago I'd be in this position, I would've told him he was crazy," said a jubilant Fitter, who covered the 6K course in a time of 21:56.   "All the hard work and training paid off."

            "Maggie made it," said Thomas.  "She ran just the way we planned."

            Letting the first few runners go out, Fitter fell back in a pack behind them, staying in the 10-15 position.  "We talked a lot about closing the race out and using her track ability," said Thomas. "When Maggie came on the field with a half mile to go she dropped the hammer and moved from 16th up to ninth." 

            "Going into the last 600-yards, I saw the girls I needed to get past. That was my ticket to nationals," said Fitter. "It pushed me to get there and get past them."

            Fitter didn't learn about her berth until she crossed the finish line. "When I finished people were coming up to me and telling me I was ninth," she said. "It was amazing. I've never finished that far up in this race."  

            "This is something I've been working toward since June and something I've been thinking about for the last three years," added Fitter.  "To finally do it in my last year is a great accomplishment."

             KSC has qualified a women's runner to the NCAAs the past four years with Paige Mills earning All-American honors the past two seasons for the Owls.

              Making his last run at a NCAA berth, senior Thomas Paquette (Bolton, Conn.) finished a disappointing 53rd (26:03) on the men's 8K course.  "I was hoping Thomas would run a little better, said Coach Thomas.  "I think the pressure of getting to nationals got to him.  Instead of relaxing and running he was forcing himself to run."

             Going into the race, Thomas said he'd be pleased with a top-10 finish by both teams and that's exactly what he got.  "From a team perspective it was a very good day," he said.   

            The Keene State women's team finished ninth with 327 points.  MIT, the No. 1-ranked team nationally, placed fourth runners in the top 12, capturing the championship with 58 points.

            The Keene State men placed 10th with 270 points.  Middlebury College placed five runners in the top 26 to claim the men's title with 91 points.

            Junior Erin Crawford (Townsend, Mass.) followed Fitter to the finish line, placing 53rd (22:51).  Junior Marie Whitney (Jaffrey, N.H.) who was 74th (23:09), sophomore Riley Wilk (Burnt Hills, N.Y.), who finished 87th (23:24) and freshman Kait Wheeler (Exeter, N.H.), who placed 104th (23:46) round out the top finishers for the Keene State women.

           Junior Ryan Widzgowski (Camden, Me.) was the first Owl to the finish line for the KSC men's team.  He placed 31st overall with a time of 25:34.  Other top finishers for Keene State included:  senior Andrew Sears (Derry, N.H.), who was 47th (25:56), Paquette,  junior Chris Plankey (Bristol, N.H.), who was 60th (26:13) and freshman Ryan Brady (Durham, N.H.), who placed 79th (26:37).