Saturday, Nov. 1 was the Little East Conference (LEC) Championship, with eight DIII schools hosted at Keene State College. For the Owls, the previous invitational saw both the men’s and women’s teams place 25th overall at Connecticut College.
Once again, the air was filled with excitement, with parents and fans coming in to support their respective teams.
The weather felt more like a true fall day compared to the previous invitational at Keene State, which saw mid-60s and clear skies. This one saw cooler temperatures and wind, much more realistic for this time of the year.
The day began at 10:00 a.m., the first event being the men’s 8K race. Keene State junior Tyler Bolaske finished the race in first place with a time of 24:50.0 to win the LEC Championship for Keene State’s Men’s Cross Country team.
This is Keene State’s 17th LEC championship, a league record, and the men’s second in a row following a championship in 2024. The KSC Men’s team had three other runners finish within the top 20 with Bolaske, including junior Griffin Urnezis (2nd, 25:44.0) who improved his personal record 8K time, and sophomores Nicholas Terranova (5th, 25:50.7) and Ben Tetu (16th, 26:30.5). Keene State had 52 points, while the runner up school, Plymouth State University, had 58.
For the women’s team, which began at 11:00 a.m., Rhode Island College senior Haley Oliver won the women’s 6K race, with a time of 21:32.4. For the Owls, five runners finished within the top 20.
Graduate Student Margaret St. John finished second place with a new personal time of 22:14.3. Sophomores Kallie Warner (7th, 23:30.7) and Ava Fortin (15th, 24:08.0), along with first-year Ellie Tighe (16th, 24:09.4) and senior Maya Wedge (19th, 24:24.8), rounded out those who finished in the top 20.
The women’s team placed second overall with 59 points, just short of the winner, Plymouth State, which had 53 points in total.
As with any sporting event, fellow teammates, coaches, classmates and family came to show their support for the runners participating in the event.
One of the attendees was Ben O’Neil, who is a family member of one of the runners.
“I used to run [cross country] back when I was in middle school, and a little bit in high school, and watching them [runners] run makes me tired, though I still love being out here,” O’Neil said.
Another attendee, Tyler Vasquez, had something similar to say.
“I would think that they [runners] are tired, especially late into the season, but I can also see them being motivated, especially with the idea of winning the championship,” Vasquez said.
With the end of this event, the Keene State Owls will move onto the NCAA Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 15, and will be hosted at the Hopkinton State Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, N.H.
Nathan Eliopoulos can be contacted at
