WATERFORD, CONN. 10/19/13 – The Keene State College men's cross country team placed two runners in the top-10 to capture the Conn. College Invitational at Harkness Memorial State park in Waterford, Conn. on Saturday.

The Owls placed fourth in the women's race.

The KSC men finished with 74 points to edge Coast Guard (77 points) for the championship.

Bouncing back following a tough race at the New England Championships last week, senior Ryan Widzgowski (Camden, Maine) was the first finisher for the Owls, placing fifth on the 8k course with a time of 25:28. Sophomore Ryan Brady (Durham, N.H.) followed him the finish line, placing eighth with a time of 25:37.

Seniors Chris Plankey (Bristol, N.H.), who was 12th (25:50) and Brett Mastrangelo (Millis, Mass.), who was 19th (26:06), were the Owls' third and four runners.  Freshman Patrick Chabot (Derry, N.H.), was KSC's fifth man, finishing 30th with a time of 26:27.

Keene State finished fourth in the 21-team women's field with 167 points. Tufts raced to the team title with 52 points.

Junior Kaley Mientkiewicz (Hanson, Mass.) led the owls, finishing 19th on the 6K course with a time of 22:47.  Sophomore Samantha Goldsmith (Derry, N.H.) was right on her shoulder, placing 20th with the same time.

Senior Erin Crawford (Townsend, Mass.) was KSC's third runner, placing 38th (23:17).  Sophomore Lauren Markoe (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) was the fourth Owl to finish, placing 47th (23:36) while freshman Lindsay Szuch (Stratford, Conn.) round out the top scorers for KSC with her 51st (23:40) place finish.

Keene State men's and women's cross country teams will be looking to defend their Little East championships when they compete in the conference meet on Nov. 2 in Gorham, Maine.