Continuing a tradition he helped establish as an Owl harrier in the 1970s, Peter Thomas begins his 24th season as head coach of Keene State's men's and women's cross country and track programs.

Under Thomas, the recipient of multiple coach-of-the-year honors at both the Division II and III level, Keene State continues to be a premier cross country team nationally and regionally. He has led the Owl men's team to a combined 16 NCAA championship berths, including nine consecutive trips as a Division III member. Five members of the KSC women's cross country team have also earned All-America honors.

Not breaking their stride in 2005, the Keene State men captured their ninth straight LEC title, placed third at the New England regional, and made their ninth straight trip to the NCAAs. The Owl women claimed their sixth straight LEC championship and also had an NCAA All-America. Coach Thomas has now produced 46 Keene State cross country All-Americas, including Rob Edson, the 1989 Individual National Champion.

Having earned a reputation as one of the top cross country coaches in Division III, Coach Thomas has now set his sights on developing a well-rounded and competitive track and field program at Keene State. He took a major step in that direction in 2002-03 by directing Mary Proulx and Mark Miller to their fifth and fourth national championships, respectively. Last season, Breanne Lucey (800 meters) and the DMR team of Jennifer Adams, Kystin Gavin, Sarah Miller, and Lucey added their names to the impressive list after racing to national titles at the indoor championship. With nine honors, Keene State's impressive list of track All-Americas grew to 74 last year.

Needless to say, Coach Thomas, a New Ipswich, N.H., native has been extremely successful in developing the talents of Owl runners on trail and track.

Now entering his 30th year at Keene State and 15th as assistant coach after working for years as a volunteer, Jerry Jasinski has helped put the field in Keene State's track and field program. Playing a major role in the development of KSC athletes in the technique events, Jasinski has worked with many Owls who have gone on to qualify for regional and national competition. He has the distinction of helping produce KSC's first national decathlon champion, Paul Trocki, who captured the title in 1979.

A former high school record holder in the high jump and captain of the University of New Hampshire track team, Jasinski coached at Springfield (Vt.) and Stevens high schools prior to joining the Owl program. The Newport, N.H., native has been a KSC chemistry professor for the past 30 years.