WATERFORD, Conn. – Keene State College junior
Tyler Bolaske ran to a 17th-place finish in a 264-runner field that included participants from 12 nationally-ranked teams as the Owls competed at the Connecticut College Invitational at the Harkness Memorial State Park on Saturday.
Each side having two races, split into a white and a blue (elite) category, Bolaske finished in 24:25.9 – bettering his most recent finish by nearly seven seconds. His time also was just one tenth of a second away from former KSC runner, 2024 All-American, and 2024 East Region Runner of the Year
Jake Velazquez, who ran a 24:25.8 at the Little East Conference championship before finishing 29th at nationals. Bolaske has broke his PR in each of his last five appearances, beginning with a 25:55.2 mark at the league championship last year, which the Owls will be looking to defend on their home course in two weeks. He also was just five seconds from a top ten finish at the event on the heels of a top four finish at the Keene State Invitational two weeks ago.
Junior
Griffin Urnezis added a time of 26:05.7 to KSC's ledger, while sophomore Nicholas Terranova finished in 26:11.9 as the Owls finished 25th of 34 teams with 677 points in a men's championship race that featured 12 nationally-ranked teams. Emmanuel LeBlond of Johns Hopkins University won the race in 23:42.0, breaking Elias Lindgren's (Williams College) meet record by one second. The Bluejays won the team title with 96 points, placing all seven of their runners in the top 29.
On the women's side,
Maggie St. John finished in the top 100 of the blue race field – one that included individuals from 16 nationally-ranked teams including each one of the top five – finishing in 22:38.2. Williams College took the team title with 73 points, placing their first five runners all within the top 22. Audrey Maclean of Middlebury College was the individual champion in 20:17.2, 23 seconds ahead of second-place Olivia Warr from Washington and Lee University.
Keene State also had participants in the white races. On the men's side,
Alex Vaccaro finished in 28:37.2 while sophomore
Kallie Warner finished the race on the women's side in 23:53.4 – finishing 72nd of 345.
Ellie Tighe was 104th in 24:28.3. KSC was 25th with 665 points in the women's white race.
"It was a solid last day of the regular season for the Owls," said Keene State head coach
Dan Roark. "We had a strong one on both the men's and women's sides. The women were a little scattered with
Maggie St. John in the blue race and the rest of the team in the white race. We held out a couple of the women to keep them fresh, but we are ready to go for both sides for the LEC.
Tyler Bolaske had a big day."
The Owls will return home in two weeks, aiming to defend their Little East Conference championships on both sides Saturday, November 1. The men's race at the Owl Athletic Complex begins at 10:00 a.m. and the women at 11:00 a.m.
"We are looking for a strong performance at LEC's on our home course and we are looking to make a big splash," added Roark. "But it is a competitive LEC field and the LEC showed up today making things tough for us. We are hoping that we step up and do the right things, and if you do well, things will happen in two weeks and that is the big picture."
