KEENE, N.H. – A windy but sunny prototypical fall day in the Elm City ended in triumph for
Tyler Bolaske and the Keene State College men's cross country team, which captured their league-record 17th Little East Conference championship and successfully defended their 2024 crown as they played three runners inside the top five to win by six points on Saturday morning at the Owl Athletic Complex.
Post-Race Interview (Tyler Bolaske)
Post-Race Interview (Griffin Urnezis/Nicholas Terranova)
Bolaske finished the 8K course in 24:50.0 to become the 15th Owl to win the LEC championship individually, marking the second straight year KSC has also occupied the top spot after eventual All-American
Jake Velazquez ran to a win at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth a season ago. Philip Parent also won a individual title in 2015, Ryan Brady in 2013, Kevin Hoyt in 2011, and Eric MacKnight in 2010. KSC also had the winner eight consecutive times from 1997 – their debut season in the league – to 2005 (Matt Kocyba, Scott Jensen, Matt St. Germaine, Wilson Perez, Mark Miller, Dave Bridgewater, Ryan Gough).
KSC ensured their team victory by having two others in the top five – later to become All-LEC First Team selections – and four of their five in the top 20. Junior
Griffin Urnezis improved upon his personal record 8K time of 25:44.0 at the regular season Keene State Invitational to 25:16.4, finishing runner-up to Bolaske and maintaining an eight-to-nine second lead over UMass-Dartmouth's Cameron Thompson, who finished in third. Sophomore Nicholas Terranova also shaved 20 seconds off his previous time at the KSC Invitational, finishing in a PR of 25:50.7 to come in fifth. Ben Tetu finished the course in 26:30.5 for 16th and KSC's all-important fifth runner – or runners, given seven tenths of a second of separation –
Jonathan MacQuarrie finished in 26:58.0 for 28th. Rookie
Andrew Klinedinst was right behind in 26:58.7.
The Owls edged Plymouth State University by six points, combining for 52 team points to PSU's 58. The Panthers had five within the top 20, but KSC's top three runners were 11 points better. Plymouth was vying for their third title all-time – all coming since 2022.
KSC's title leaves them with seven more than the next closest team. Since joining Division III and the LEC prior to 1997-1998, the Owls have won 61 percent of the league titles – 17 of 28.
Individually, Bolaske has been a PR machine for the better part of the past year. He ran to a fourth-place finish in a strong field at the KSC Invitational in early October and placed fourth at last year's conference championship, behind teammate
Jake Velazquez (24:25.77), current Owl assistant coach
Dylan Flewelling – then at Plymouth State, and Connor Wilcox of PSU.
On the women's side, the Owls ran to a second-place team finish with 59 points and had two runners in the top seven.
The race turned into a competition between a pair of in-state rivals, but ultimately Plymouth's pack running – placing five runners in the top 14 – proved to be the difference, as KSC's No. 5 wound up behind by a five-point gap.
Maggie St. John finished second with a 6K personal record time of 22:14.3 in the final race on her home course – one of a slew of strong performances for the women on the day.
Kallie Warner came in seventh in 23:30.0, 23 seconds faster than her time two weeks ago, while Ava Forton (a sophomore) finished in 15th in 24:08.0 and rookie
Ellie Tighe 16th (24:09.4).
Maya Wedge also set a new individual best with a 24:24.8 time to place in 19th and rounded out the Owls' scoring contingent. Remarkably, that time is nearly one minute and ten seconds better than her mark at the Connecticut College Invitational two weeks ago.
"I'm very happy with both of our teams today," said KSC head coach
Dan Roark. "The men came out on top and the women had a strong showing. We have had a tough year but our athletes are tough. It is hard to be upset with a women's team that had nine women all have personal bests. Plymouth was the better team today and we made them work for it. On the men's side, Plymouth pushed us but our men came ready to go and all stepped up. I don't think I can be happier with the group I have and the toughness – both mentally and physically – that they showed today."
The KSC banner of league championships inside the Spaulding Gymnasium/Recreation will need to add another number for men's cross country to a long list, joining 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2024.
Roark, in his fourth season, has guided the Owls to at least one cross country championship on either side in all four years – including two last year – and has had three runners qualify for the NCAA championships individually.
Bolaske and the rest of the Owls' contingent on both sides will aim to add their name to the list of national qualifiers when they travel to the Hopkinton State Fairgrounds for the NCAA East Regional Championships on November 15.
