Owl Harriers to race for an NCAA berth on Saturday

           KEENE, N.H. 11/12/09 - It's time for the Keene State College cross country teams to cut to the chase. 

            Both Owl men's and women's squads will be racing for a berth at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships when they step to the start line of the New England Regional race at the Cumberland (Me.) Recreation Center on Saturday.  The women's race begins at 11 a.m. followed by the men's competition at 12 p.m.

            The Owls will be looking to return to champion form.  Last year marked the first time since 1997 that Keene State wasn't represented at the national meet.  The Owl men, who earned consecutive berths from 1997-2005, had a disappointing seventh place finish at last year's regional. A young KSC women's team, which captured the program's only NCAA berth in 2006, placed ninth. 

            The Keene State men hope history repeats itself on Saturday.  Back in 2004, the last time the regionals were held in Cumberland, the Owls finished a strong third to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships. 

            "We've had some success up there," said KSC Coach Peter Thomas.  "It's a challenging course with numerous hills. If we run up to our potential, I think the men's team will qualify." 

            Currently ranked sixth in the New England, the Owls will have to fly past at least at least a couple of teams to earn a trip to Cleveland, the site of this year's national championship.

            Handicapping the race, Thomas has Williams as the clear favorite followed by either Amherst or Southern Maine.  He sees the Owls finishing fourth and taking the last guaranteed team spot for the NCAAs.

            Hampered by a little sickness and some bumps and bruises, the Owls will be led by a pack that includes senior Jared Samuel (Londonderry, N.H.), the junior foursome of Jeff Trethewey (Merrimack, N.H.), Brandon Schillemat (Nelson, N.H.), Eric MacKnight (Newtown, Conn.), and sophomore Kevin Hoyt (Newtown, N.H.). 

            The goal this weekend is to make it to nationals," said Trethewey.  "We haven't made it the past three years, so we're determined to do whatever it takes to go this time." I think we're all ready to get into the race, compete for one of the top spots and punch our tickets to Cleveland."

            According to Thomas, the Keene State women's team, ranked eighth in the last regional poll, will have an uphill battle to make it to the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  "There going to be underdogs," he said.  "The women need to run well and have someone else slip up a bit. So far this season, they haven't had all the pieces together at the same time.  Hopefully, everyone is on the same page on Saturday."

            Junior Allison Chamberlain (Scarborough, Maine) will lead a KSC pack that will include sophomores Paige Mills (Keene, N.H.) and Andrea Walsh (Bolton, Conn.), junior Amy Knoblock (Plymouth, Mass.), sophomore Haley Lydstone (Bedford, N.H.), and freshman Maggie Fitter (Branford, Conn.).   

            We're all getting pretty pumped and have to stay focused," said Mills, who missed the regionals last year due to an injury.  "We have a lot of potential as a team and all need to be "on" this Saturday.  "I can't wait to show the region what the Keene State women's cross country team is really made of."

            "This is the meet we've been working for all season," said Chamberlain.  "All the grueling hill workouts and endless runs have led us to this point.  We're going into this race with an optimistic view, knowing that it's going to be quite a challenge to compete with the top teams in the region and try to make it to nationals.  Everyone has to run to their full potential. There's no room for error.  We have the talent to go to Ohio.  It all comes down to working together and showing the rest of the region what we're capable of."