KEENE, N.H.--Senior Maggie St. John started 2023 as she ended 2022 - at the head of the pack - as the Keene State College cross country team opened the season by hosting the KSC Alumni Invitational.

Women's Results

St. John won the 2-mile race in 11:40, beating Southern Maine's Olivia Mosca by 1.7 seconds.  St. John was second and Mosca fourth at the 2022 LEC Championships, and with LEC individual champion Alexa Van Voorhis graduated, and KSC's Grace Furlong exhausted her eligiblity, St. John and Mosca figure to battle for the top spot in 2023, along with Haley Oliver of Rhode Island College.

KSC also placed three other runners in the top 10, including junior Aurora Couto (sixth, 12:05.6), sophomore Anna O'Reilly (seventh, 12:16.6), and junior Sarah Ames (10th, 12:26.5).   Other KSC runners included freshman Alyssa Edgren (14th, 12:55), sophomore Alana Perry (20th, 13:04.5), senior Juliana Yialiades (28th, 13:39.1), junior Autumn Boisvert (30th, 13:58.4), freshman Anna Bentley (31st, 14:02.6), sophomore Kailyn Fleury (38th, 14:48.4), freshman Maya Wedge (41st, 15:56.6), and senior Melanie French (44th, 16:37.1)

Keene State was second of four teams with 34 points; the Owls were clipped by Westfield State, who won the team event with 32 points.  

Men's Results

Freshman Griffin Urnezis was fifth overall in 16:33.8 to lead the men on the 5K course.  Junior Marty Nelligan was next (13th, 17:02.4), followed by junior Ben Harley (17:34.2), freshman Tyler Bolaske (32nd, 18:03.7), and sophomore Tyler Robinson (37th, 18:20.5).    The rest of the Owl contingent included freshman Nathan Giordano (41st, 18:29.3), freshman Jonathan MacQuarrie (43rd, 18:48.9), senior Samuel Hennedy (47th, 19:11.3), junior Ted Rockwell (56th, 20:50.6), and sophomore Michael Gigliotti (62nd, 22:08.8).

Keene State was fourth overall with 99 points.  Southern Maine won the team race with 35 points, including four runners in the top 10.   Westfield State's Nathan Sylven won the individual race in 16:07.7.

The Owls return to action next Saturday at the Trinity College Invitational.