GORHAM, MAINE 11/2/13 – Keene State College men's and women's cross country teams raced to impressive wins at the Little East Conference Championships held Saturday in Gorham, Maine. 

 "This can only help both teams as far as confidence is concerned," said KSC Coach Peter Thomas.  "Hopefully this bodes well as we get ready for the New England regionals in two weeks."

Despite running in enemy territory, one mile away from the University of Southern Maine campus, the Owls were once again terrors on the trails. 

Keene State College sophomore Samantha Goldsmith (Derry, N.H.) won the women's individual race to lead the Owls to the 2013 Little East Women's Cross Country Championship this afternoon at the Narragansett School.  Goldsmith posted the 15th fastest time in conference championship history to outrun the 75-person field.

Keene State College continued its firm grasp on the Little East Women's Cross Country Championship, capturing the team title for the 14th consecutive season.  The Owls defeated the seven-team field with 17 team points, 27 markers ahead of host University of Southern Maine.  Eastern Connecticut State University placed third with 96 points, followed by Rhode Island College (103), University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (135), Plymouth State University (179), and University of Massachusetts Boston (181). 

Goldsmith became the 14th Owl in the past 15 years to capture the Little East women's individual title, covering the 5-kilometer course in a time of 18 minutes, 36.93 seconds.  Sophomores Lauren Markoe (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) and Kait Wheeler (Exeter, N.H.) provided Keene State with a 1-2-3 punch across the finish line.  Markoe placed second with a time of 18 minutes, 59. 07 seconds, nine seconds ahead of Wheeler.  Junior Kaley Mientkiewicz (Hanson, Mass.) was the Owls No. 4 runner and fifth overall with a time of 19 minutes, 16.64 seconds, while freshman Rachel Klaski (Chesterfield, N.H.) was the top-rookie finisher and seventh overall (19:17.35). 

"We got off to a good start and never let up,' said Goldsmith.  "I was definitely surprised how well we did.  "I expected one of the runners from Southern Maine to come up behind me sometime during the race, but we just had a strong pack of girls today and never let them get past us." 

The Keene State men had an equally strong showing.The Owls captured their second straight and 14th overall Little East Men's Cross Country Championship with a perfect team score of 15 points this afternoon at the Narragansett School.  Sophomore Ryan Brady (Durham, N.H.) won the men's individual race, covering the five-mile course in a time of 25 minutes, 40.43 seconds.

The Owls have posted a perfect team score in the men's championship meet three times in program history as the current squad joined the 1999 and 2000 teams. The University of Southern Maine placed second in the seven-team field with 49 points, followed by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (65), Rhode Island College (148), Eastern Connecticut State University (154), Plymouth State University (170), and University of Massachusetts Boston (171).

Brady averaged a five minute, 8.1 second mile to become the 12th Keene State runner to win the Little East Men's Cross Country Championship and first since Kevin Hoyt defeated the field in 2011.  Senior Christopher Planey (Bristol, N.H.) was the Owls No. 2 runner, crossing the finish line at 26 minutes, 2.67 seconds.  Senior Ryan Widzgowski (Camden, Maine) edged Hayden Patterson (Dover, N.H.) for third place, while Brett Mastrangelo (Millis, Mass.) completed Keene State's five-person scoring with a time of 26 minutes, 24.21 seconds.  

Brady, who posted a winning time of 25:40 (22 second ahead of the second place finisher) on the five mile course, said he was surprised by his performance. "I just took it out at a good pace and held on," he said. "I didn't go into the race thinking I was going to win it all, especially by that much."

Keene State is scheduled to race next Saturday at the ECAC Championships in Bristol R.I.