ATLANTA, Ga. – The Keene State College outdoor track and field season started with a bang this weekend as the Owls qualified seven people in 10 different events for the New England Division III championships in May and broke two school records as they competed at both the non-scoring Thrills in the Hills hosted by Emory University and the University of Massachusetts Lowell Invitational at the Cushing Field Complex.

Five Owls ventured to Atlanta, and all of them impressed, qualifying for the Division III New England championship in every event they participated in.  Four new personal records were set, including Keely Giordano's 26.00 mark in the 200 meters that broke Nicole Geyselaers' school record that was set 23 years ago.  She finished 22nd of 80 competitors in that event and also 11th of 50 in the 100 meters, finishing in a personal best 12.66.  Molly Lu McKellar was second of seven in the heptathlon with a PR 3,863 points, behind only 2024 national runner-up Nikki Boon (5,638 points).  McKellar was second in five different events, including setting personal records in the javelin (31.40 meters) and the 200 meters (27.76).  Boon won all seven events to set the pace, though McKellar challenged her in the high jump, placing second just .15 meters behind.  McKellar's previous high score in the heptathlon was 3,853 points at last year's New England Division III championships.  Her score qualified her for that event again this year, as did three others on the men's side with Eden Damis posting a triple jump mark of 13.24 meters (eighth of 15).  Aidan Law was 15th of 75 in the 200 meters (21.96) and third of 36 in the long jump (7.01 meters).  Kyle Thomas finished tied for 18th in a field of 75 in the 200 meters, finishing in 22.08, and his 10.77 time in the 100-meter preliminaries was a personal best as an Owl and new KSC record – beating Tom Neary's mark of 10.94 that stood since 1977, 20 years before the Owls were in Division III.

"In Atlanta we had some great early season marks by all five of those athletes," said Keene State head coach Dan Roark.  "We came back with two school records with Keely in the 200 and Kyle in the 100.  The men's record was from the 1970s, so it was not an easy one to get."

Saturday, another group of Owls traveled to a much closer locale in Lowell, Mass., and KSC qualified two more for Division III New Englands after Drea Defreitas posted an impressive win in the women's long jump and Jayden Baker finished second in the men's shot put.  Defreitas recorded a mark of 5.19 meters on her initial attempt that was good enough to edge fellow rookie Julia Kane of Bowdoin College by .04 meters.  She also had a second mark that would have won the event, while Kane aside from the 5.15 mark was at 5.05, 5.04, and fouled three times.  Baker's shot put mark came in at 13.66 meters, .08 better than Will Pavlinsky from the University of Hartford who finished third.  Ian Camerato, a junior from the host Division I River Hawks, won the event with a 14.88-meter mark.

Caroline Cooper added an individual win for KSC on the women's side, beating our four others with a 10.52 meter triple jump.  Sara Christian was second of 10 in the 3,000 meters (11:10.24) while Anna O'Reilly placed seventh of 34 in the 1,500 meters (5:02.10) and Maggie St. John eighth of 19 in the 800 meters (2:37.11).

On the men's side in Massachusetts, Sean Von Ranson was fifth of 21 in the 200 meters (22.97) while Jonathan DeAguiar also finished in the top third (7th/21, 23.29).  Tyler Bolaske was sixth in a 45-runner field in the 1,500-meter race, finishing in 4:08.52 and Ben Tetu fifth of 12 competitors in the 3,000 meters (9:12.59).  Troy Tenney was fourth in the javelin (44.27 meters).  Von Ranson also ran the 100 meters in 11.36 (15th/27) and Keith O'Donnell the 400 meters in 52.89 (12th/21).

 "The weather had a big impact on our competitions this weekend," added Roark.  "Spring in New England comes with some challenges and our team competed with some grit and tactical races well.  We have a short season, but if we continue to compete the way we did in Lowell the times will come."

Keene State travels to the Springfield College Classic next Saturday, April 5.  The Little East Conference championships are Saturday, April 26, hosted by the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.