Owl Harriers Set For Regional Championships

KEENE, N.H. 11/9/07 - Keene State cross country teams will be racing for a trip to the NCAA Division III championships when they travel to Waterford, Conn., on Saturday for the New England regional qualifying championship. The championships, hosted by Connecticut College, will take place at Harkness State Park. The women's championship will get underway at 11 a.m. with the men's race to follow at noon.
 

Currently ranked 39th in the national poll and fifth regionally, the Owl men's team appears to have the best shot at reaching the championship, which will take place on Nov. 17 at St. Olaf's College in Northfield, Minnesota.
 

Hampered by injuries, the KSC women's team, ranked 40th nationally and eighth in New England, has an upward climb to earn a return trip to the nationals.
 

In each race the top two teams will qualify automatically for the NCAA Championship.  The third through fifth place teams will enter into an at-large pool and await the final selections on Nov. 11.  The top seven individual qualifiers that are not members of a qualifying team will receive individual bids.
 

A young KSC men's team, which saw their string of nine consecutive Division III berths end last fall, picked up the pace as the season progressed.  They followed up a win at the KSC Invitational with a first place finish at Saratoga.  "They worked themselves into a position where they got a shot to go to the championships if they have a good race," said longtime KSC Coach Peter Thomas. 
 

Thomas will need to get strong performances out of a pack that includes freshmen Craig MacPherson (Derry, N.H.), Eric MacKnight (Newtown, Conn.), and Jeff Trethewey (Merrimack, N.H.), sophomores Jared Samuel (Londonderry, N.H.), Patrick Davis (Wethersfield, Conn.), and Sam Wood along with Owl senior citizens, juniors Jason Garrity (Topsfield, Mass.) and Sean Gavaghan (Monroe, Conn.).
 

Williams College, the top seed in the region, and Amherst are the favorites in the race.
 

Flying high at the start of the season, the Owl women have been grounded by the departure of All-American Breanne Lucey and a run of injuries and illnesses.  KSC front-runners senior Jennifer Adams (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and freshman Nicole Slane (Milford, N.H.) should be contention for individual berths. With Adelle Zocher (Branford, Conn.) out with a stress fracture and Katelyn Carr (Scituate, Mass.) battling bronchitis, Thomas will look to get solid efforts from senior Sophie Holly (Ledyard, Conn.), sophomores Rita Marcotte (Heath, Mass.), and Melissa Pelletier (Merrimack, N.H.), and freshman Cassy Larmand (Greenville, N.H.). 
 

Adams, a 2005 All-American, has had a super senior season on the trails for KSC posting wins at the UMass-Dartmouth, KSC and Saratoga Invitationals and placing a strong fifth at the New England championships.  "I feel good about my chances to qualify," said Adams.  "My workouts have gone well and Peter says I'm ready to go."

Ranked first nationally and in the region, Amherst College is the team to beat in a strong women's field.