PROVIDENCE, R.I.--The Keene State College track and field teams placed second at the Little East Conference/Alliance Track & Field Championships at Providence Career & Tech Academy on Saturday.
The Owls picked up a combined 30 All-Conference or All-Alliance honors, winning eight events on the day. The Keene State women finished with 145 points, second only to Southern Maine, while the KSC men finished with 82 points, against coming in runner-up to the Huskies and fourth overall at the Alliance meet.
Ben Keach picked up an All-LEC nod and set a new meet record with a LEC victory in the shotput, throwing 15.70 meters to win by more than a meter-and-a-half. Keach's throw bested a record that had stood since 1998, set by Rob Greico of UMass Dartmouth. The toss was also a new KSC record, breaking the previous mark of 15.51 meters set by Dante Hill a year ago.
Mark Rabasco and Philip Parent earned All-LEC honors in the 5,000 meter run, with Rabasco finishing in 15:56.09 and Parent in 15:58.74.
Ryan Brady also picked up an individual win in the mile, in 4.21.91, while Ryan Milewski was also All-LEC in the event, in 4:30.31.
Hayden Patterson was the Little East champion in the 1,000 meters in 2:39.18, and Brady added another LEC win in the 3,000 meters, in 8:57.38.
Eric Dietz placed second amongst LEC competitors in the 400 meter dash, with a time of 51.30 , and teamed with Quentin Bazarnicki, Devin Sanford, and James Stergis Cox to take second in the 4x400 meter relay, with a time of 3:28.45.
On the women's side, Katelyn Terry earned All-LEC honors in the triple-jump, leaping 10.73 meters, while Lucia Martin picked up the same in the pole vault with a 2.75 meter effort.
Kaley Mientkiewicz and Molly Schaefer went 1-2 in a photo finish in the 5,000 meters, with Mientkiewicz winning in 19:20.08, a mere .10 seconds ahead of Schaefer. Kait Wheeler continued the KSC wins in the mile, taking the event in 5:16.53.
Lauren Markoe was second in the 600 meters in in 1:40.16, while Wheeler picked up another individual win in the 1,000 meter run in 3:09.65. Markoe, Schaefer, Mientkiewicz, and Wheeler also claimed the LEC championship in the 4x800 meter relay in 10:06.25.
The postseason continues for KSC next weekend, at the New England Division III Championships at Springfield College.
