AMHERST, MASS. 9/15/12 – Keene State College men's and women's cross country teams jumped right into the fire competing against some of the top Division I, Division II and Division III programs in New England at the UMass-Amherst Minuteman Invitational on Saturday.
The Owls faced a strong field, which included host UMass-Amherst, UConn, Stonehill College and Amherst College as well as Boston College in the women's race.
The Keene State finished fifth in the five-team men's field with 129 points. Senior Thomas Paquette (Bolton, Conn.) was the top finisher for the Owls in the men's race, finishing eighth with a time of 24:41 on the five mile course. Only one Division III runner, Greg Turissini, a sophomore from Amherst College, beat Paquette to the finish line.
Senior Chris Plankey (Bristol, N.H.) was Keene State's second man, placing 41st with a time of 25:47. Junior Ryan Widzgowski (Camden, Me.) placed 46th with a time of 26:06. Several Owl freshmen had a good day on the trails, Ryan Brady (Durham, N.H.), who was 47th (26:06), Brandon Davis- O'Donnell (Nashua, N.H.) placed 49th (26:07) and Hayden Patterson (Dover, N.H.) finished 50th (26:13).
Sophomore Anthony Taylor won the race with a time of 24:20 leading UMass-Amherst to the team championship with 39 points.
The Owls finished sixth in the six-team women's field with 168 points. Boston College with 19 points ran away with the championship.
Senior Maggie Fitter (Branford, Conn.) was the first Owl to the finish line on the 5K course, placing 33rd with a time of 19:43.
The rest of the KSC lead pack finished in a tight group; junior Marie Whitney (Jaffrey, N.H.) was 47th (20:05), junior Erin Crawford (Townsend, Mass.) placed 51st (20:10), freshman Samantha Goldsmith (Derry, N.H.) was in 53rd place (20:15) and sophomore Kaitlin Wheeler (Exeter, N.H.) finished 56th (20:23).
Jillian King, a senior from Boston College won the race with a time of 17:53.
"It was a very challenging field, but good experience for both young teams," said KSC Coach Peter Thomas.
Keene State will take next weekend off, before hosting the KSC Invitational on Sat., Sept. 29 at Owl Athletic Complex.
