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Mills and Thomas Earn Major Cross Country Honors
NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. 1/4/10 - The cross country trails might be covered with snow, but Keene State College's Paige Mills and Coach Peter Thomas were recognized for their accomplishments this past season by the Little East Conference on Monday. Mills, a sophomore, was named the women's runner of the year while Thomas was tabbed as both men's and women's coach of the year.
Mills was the lone runner from the conference to compete at the 2009 NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships after earning an at-large berth into the national field. The Keene, N.H. product bolstered her resume at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships, where Mills covered the 6-kilometer course at Southern Maine in a time of 22 minutes, 3.7 seconds to finish sixth overall. On her home turf at the New England Alliance/Little East Conference Championships, she tripped the clock on the 5-kilometer course at 19 minutes, 3 seconds to help Keene State capture both team championship titles. Mills represented the Owls on the All-Little East and All-New England Alliance teams with a second and third place result, respectively. Earlier this season, she was the first conference harrier in the 301-person field to cross the finish line at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational. Mills earned the runner of the week citation from the conference office for her efforts in North Dartmouth, Mass.
"It was really nice to be healthy for most of the season and get to show people my potential," said Mills, who suffered another injury right before NCAA Championships. "We accomplished so much last season and I'm proud that I was one of the team leaders."
"Despite a series of injuries, Paige is a battler," said Thomas. "We're very fortunate to have her on the team."
Teammates, juniors Allison Chamberlain (Scarborough, Maine) and Amy Knoblock (Plymouth, Mass.), and Andrea Walsh (Bolton, Conn.) joined Mills on the 2009 All-LEC Women's Cross country team.
Receiving women's coach of the year for the second-straight season, Thomas has the distinction of becoming the first LEC coach to earn both men's and women's coaching honors in the same year. Thomas guided the Keene State women to its 10th consecutive Little East Championship this fall. The Owls cruised to the conference championship, placing all five of their scorers inside the top-10. Chamberlain paced the hosts, while Mills and Walsh followed in suit as Keene State finished 1-2-3. Two weeks later, the Owls finished eighth overall at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships. Keene State captured three team titles on the campaign, while placing in the top-five in four of its seven meets. Thomas mentored four student-athletes on the All-Little East team, while seven harriers were All-Little East Academic honorees.
Thomas led the Keene State men to its first team appearance at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships since 2005 after finishing third at the 2009 NCAA Division III New England Championships. The Owls ranked among the elite teams in the nation throughout the campaign, debuting at No. 11 on Sept. 23 and completing the year at No. 22. Keene State finished inside the top-five in the team standings in five of its eight meets, including winning three team championships. Senior Jared Samuel (Londonderry, N.H.) paced the Owls attack throughout the campaign, leading Keene State across the finish line in five of his seven races. The Owls earned three of the seven spots on the annual All-Little East teams.
"It's nice to be recognized by your fellow coaches," said Thomas. "I was fortunate to coach runners on both the men's and women's teams who were willing to put in the hard work necessary to be successful."
In addition to Samuel, juniors Jeff Trethewey (Merrimack, N.H.) and Brandon Schillemat (Nelson, N.H.)were also selected to the 2009 All-LEC Men's Cross Country team.
2009 All-Little East Women's Cross Country Team
1 Allison Chamberlain Keene State College
2 Paige Mills Keene State College
3 Andrea Walsh Keene State College
4 Caitlin McGarigal University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
5 Carly Dionne University of Southern Maine
6 Amy Knoblock Keene State College
7 Jennie Foley University of Southern Maine
2009 Little East Men's Cross Country All-Conference Team
1 Tyler Jasud University of Southern Maine
2 Jeff Trethewey Keene State College
3 Jared Samuel Keene State College
4 Alex Gomes University of Southern Maine
5 Justin Richardson University of Southern Maine
6 Brandon Schillemat Keene State College
7 John Vallo University of Southern Maine
