Adams and Samuel to Race at NCAA Championships

KEENE, N.H.  11/15/07 - St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., doesn't conjure up good memories for the Keene State College men's cross country team. 

Back in 2002, the last time the Oles hosted the NCAA Division III championship, KSC All-American Mark Miller became ill the night before the race and the Owls sputtered to a disappointing 12th place finish.  The silver lining on the day was the performance of Mary Proulx, who turned in a fourth place finish to garner All-American honors.

The Owls will be looking for another silver lining on Saturday. For the first time since joining Division III in 1997, KSC Coach Peter Thomas won't be bringing a Owl team to Saturday's championship at St. Olaf.  The Keene State men's team made nine consecutive trips to the national meet from 1997-2005 and the Owl women kept the streak a live last fall with their surprise berth. 

"It's disheartening," said Thomas about the streak come to an end.  "But on the positive side, we have everyone on the men's team coming back and the women can be contenders if they overcome the injury bug." 

Concentrating on the present, the Owls will still have a chance to add to its lengthy list of cross country All-Americans on Saturday.

Jennifer Adams, a senior from Saratoga Springs, N.Y. will represent Keene State in the women's race and Jared Samuel, a sophomore from Londonderry, N.H., will be the lone Owl entry in the men's field.

Adams, who was recently named Women's New England Regional and Little East runner of the year, has had a super senior season for the Owls.  Adams became the first KSC female to win the a regional title when she broke a way from the pack at the two-mile mark to win the New England Regional by 11 seconds.  She also won the UMass-Dartmouth, KSC and Saratoga Invitationals and placed fifth at the New England championships.

"I'd like to finish my college cross country career with another All-America honor," said Adams, who will be running in her third NCAA race. 

After winning All-America honors as a sophomore in 2005, Adams was slowed down by a sloppy, muddy course at last year's championship in West Chester, Ohio.

"Provided Jenn doesn't run into any mud or get sick, she should be in good shape," said Thomas.  "We're hoping for a top-10 finish."

The top-35 finishers earn All-America honors.

Adams, who has won a combined five All-America awards, will once again follow the same successful strategy of going out with the leaders and making her move midway in the race.  "It's a fast course with rolling hills, so I'm just going with my instincts and will see what happens," she said.

Samuel, who finished 12th at the New England meet, was one of seven runners from the region to earn an at-large spot at the NCAA Championships.

"He might be a little wide-eye because this is his first championship race, but he has the talent to contend for All-America," said Thomas. 

Working at Canobie Lake Park, Samuel found little time to train during the summer. Instead, he worked himself into shape as the season progressed. 

Once he got rolling and had some confidence in his fitness level, Jared began moving up the Owls' pack.  He placed sixth at the Saratoga Invitational and had a fifth place performance at the LEC championships leading up to his strong effort at the regional race. 

"Jared sometimes underestimates what he's capable of doing," said Thomas.  "He just has to run to his capability and he has a shot at All-America."

Top-ranked Amherst leads the field of contenders in the women's race and Calvin College is the team to beat in the men's field.

Thomas said he is looking forward to starting a new streak of Keene State national qualifying teams at next year's championship. In the meantime, coming back with two All-Americans won't be too bad.