KEENE, N.H. 9/1/12 – The MIT Engineers successfully navigated their way around the trails at Owl Athletic Complex, winning both men's and women's races at the Keene State College Alumni Cross Country Race on Saturday.

            The MIT men placed all five of their top finishers in the top-10 to win the championship with 27 points.  The Keene State alumni were second with 36 points while the current Owl team was third with 99 points.

            Junior Roy Wedge (Lawrence, Kan.), with a time of 15:46 and sophomore Benjamin Xie ((El Dorado, Ca.), with a time of 15: 49, finished first and the second to pace the Engineers on the 3.1 mile course.

            The KSC alum team members Josh Ferenc (15:56), Eric MacKnight (16:09), Gregg Hammett (16:12), and Kevin Hoyt (16:15) were the next runners to cross the finish line. 

            Senior Thomas Paquette (Bolton, Conn.) was the top finisher for the current Owl team, finishing 11th with a time of 16:24.  "I'm not happy, but I'm not disappointed," he said.

"It was so much fun being out there with the alumni, being with the guys you used to run with, being with my teammates."

            Freshman Ryan Brady (Durham, Conn.) was the Owls' second runner, placing 19th with a time of 16:39.  Junior Brett Mastrangelo (Millis, Mass.)  was KSC's third-man, placing 30th with a time of 17:09.

            MIT, fifth in the Division III preseason poll, placed four runners in the top-six spots to coast to an easy win in the women's race with 19 points.  Keene State was a distant second with 67 points while AIC took third with 90 points.

            MIT junior Alexander Taylor (Harbor Springs, Mich.) won the race with a time of 11:29 on the two mile course.  AIC senior Jeptui Cherutich (Springfield, Mass.) finished with the same time and was awarded second place.  Jacqui Wentz, a member of the MIT alumni team was third with a time of 11:36.

            Senior Maggie Fitter (Branford, Conn.) was the top finishers for the owls, placing 10th with a time of 11:56.  "I wanted to stay with the MIT girls but I couldn't hang with them," she said.  "MIT is one of the top teams in the region, so taking second to them this early in the season was a good showing for us."

            Junior Marie Whitney (Jaffrey, N.H.) and freshman Kaitlin Wheeler (Exeter, N.H.) were the next two KSC finishers, finishing back-to-back in 22nd (12:28) and 23rd (12:28) with the same exact time.

            Amy Knoblock was the top finisher for the KSC women's alumni team, placing 20th with a time of 12:24.

            Keene State returns to the trails on Sept. 15 when it competes in the UMass-Amherst Invitational.