First – year Griffin Urnezis of the men’s cross country team was recently named Second Team All-Conference after helping the Owls to a fourth place finish at the LEC Championships. Urnezis put together the fastest time by any freshman at the meet on the 8k course with a time of 26:52.6. For Urnezis, it’s not the first recognition this year. He was also nominated LEC rookie of the week for the second time.
High finishes are nothing foreign to the Meredith, New Hampshire native. At Lebanon High School, he set the outdoor track and field 4×800 school record. Urnezis joined his high school team during his freshman year thinking he would love running.
“I hated running. But I made some friends who took running seriously and were very talented. I trained with them and learned that I love running,” said Urnezis. The love he eventually developed in his senior year made him want to pursue the sport at the collegiate level.”
His high school successes brought him to Keene State, which he chose for the location and his interest in construction safety. His high school success would quickly transfer to the college level.
“The team has contributed the most to my success this year. Having training partners during workouts and long runs makes the pain tolerable and pushes me,” said Urnezis. Head Coach Dan Roark also had high praise for the rest of the team and their efforts.
“This class is a special group and is bringing Keene State cross country in the right direction. Griffin is an important piece of that group,” said Roark.
The men’s cross country team wrapped up their season on Saturday, Nov. 11 with the NCAA Regional Championship in Hopkinton, N.H. The team would finish 18th/34 with a total of 526 points. Urnezis paced the team with a 73rd place finish in 26:45.77. MIT won the event with the top three runners. The women’s team finished in first place, going back-to-back as LEC Champions.
Urnezis will now face his attention towards next season. Hh said his individual goal is to qualify for nationals and for the team to achieve a top two finish at LEC. Roark said he feels there’s a lot more to see from Urnezis and the best is yet to come. “We look forward to a good track season and see how he develops. He still has more in the tank and we’re excited to see how his college career develops over time,” said Roark.
Cal Thompson can be contacted at
cthompson@kscequinox.com
