CASTLETON, Vt. – Senior Kim Bowles (Wonalancet, N.H.) won the individual title to help Plymouth State University capture its first Little East Conference (LEC) championship at the LEC women's cross country championships hosted by Castleton University on Saturday.
 
Bowles topped the field by 15 seconds to claim the program's first individual and team conference title. Plymouth State's previous best individual finish was a third place showing in 2017, when the team finished second.
 

Bowles and senior Maryann Cousens (Sunapee, N.H.) earned All-LEC First Team honors as Cousens took sixth. Freshman Abby Snow (Grantham, N.H.) also earned an all-conference nod, being named All-LEC Second Team after finishing 14th.
 
The Basics:

• LEC Championships – 1st of 9 Teams

Team Scores:

• Plymouth State (69), Eastern Connecticut St. (70), Keene State (79), UMass Dartmouth (86), Southern Maine (155), Rhode Island College (155), UMass Boston (156), Western Connecticut St. (175), Castleton (212)

How it Happened:

• Bowles ran an impressive 6:41 average mile to finish the 5k course in 20:45, a full 15 seconds better than her closest challenger.
• Cousens was also impressive with a time of 21:44, crossing the line just in front of a UMass Boston runner.
• Snow claimed the final all-conference spot after crossing the line in 22:19, while sophomore Lexi Marcolini (Milford, Mass.) was the Panthers' fourth point-scorer with her 20th-place finish in 22:59.
• Freshman Gracie Villareal (Walden, Vt.) ended up 28th in 23:41.
• Sophomore Bri Therrien (Plymouth, N.H.) and senior Hailey Botelho (Rumney, N.H.) secured the team title with their strong finishes. Therrien wrapped up the course in 24:14, with Botelho finishing in 24:20 to hold off Eastern Connecticut by a single point.
• Senior Mia DeMarco (Merrimack, N.H.), freshman Niki Monoxelos (Litchfield, N.H.) and sophomore Meghan Hogg (Honolulu, Hawaii) also competed for the Panthers.

Up Next:

• Plymouth State competes at the NCAA Division III East Regional Championships at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass. a week from Saturday (Nov. 13).