HOPKINTON, N.H. - Fifth year Jake Velazquez added yet another accolade to a magical season, capturing the NCAA Division III Cross Country East Regional individual championship at the Hopkinton State Fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon.
 
Velazquez, a transfer from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and Keene native, covered the 8K course in 24:35.22, beating second placed Will Goddard of Bowdoin College by nearly six seconds, holding off a push by the Polar Bear over the final push.  Velazquez, who earned All-Region honors along with three other Owls on the day, will certainly go to the NCAA Division III championships, slated for next weekend at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

Also earning All-Region honors for the Owl men was sophomore Tyler Bolaske, who finished 33rd in a 228-runner field in 25:54.12.  He was just three seconds from a top-30 finish.  The Owls finished ninth as a team with 253 points, improving their finish by nine spots at the same venue from a year ago.  They were just one point behind eighth-place Suffolk University.  The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ranked 20th nationally, took home the team title with 43 points, outdoing second-place Tufts University (61 points).
 
On the women's side, graduate student Maggie St. John finished 24th of 224 runners in 22:52.92, while junior Anna O'Reilly finished 30th in 23:01.98 as they both earned All-Region honors to pace KSC's seventh-place team finish (207 points) of 30 scoring entrants.  The Owls moved up six spots and improved by 163 points from last year, with both events held at the Hopkinton State Fairgrounds.  Sarah Ames (23:19.71) placed 37th and first year Kallie Warner 58th (23:52.40).  Sarah Christian added a 67th-place finish in 24:15.75 and Ava Fortin, another rookie, completed in 24:33.83 to finish 77th.  Rita Cummings rounded out the Owl field in 25:50.15 (129th).

"I'm very happy with the group," said Keene State head coach Dan Roark.  "Coming out of today with top ten team finishes on both sides, an individual champion, and four all-region athletes.  We made a giant leap from last year.  I'm proud of where this program is going and the hard work this group put in."

The Owls will await the NCAA championship qualification announcements, with both championships next Saturday (November 23).