NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Paced by a trio of seniors, the University of Southern Maine Huskies men's cross country team claimed its second consecutive Little East Conference Championship and won the 2007 New England Alliance Championship Saturday afternoon in North Dartmouth, Mass.

The Alliance Championship runs concurrently with the Little East Championship and is comprised of the conference teams from the LEC and Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC).

Seniors Nick Wheeler (Derby, Vermont/North Country Union) and Curtis Wheeler (Derby, Vermont/North Country Union) finished one-two for the Huskies and were followed closely by classmate Chris Hopkins in fourth place as Southern Maine claimed its first-ever Alliance championship with 31 points.

The Wheelers and Hopkins finished one-two-three in the Little East Championship to help the Huskies retain the title of conference champions with 25 points. Last fall, USM won its first Little East Championship after finishing as runners-up in 2004 and 2005. Last year, the Wheelers and Hopkins finished third, fourth and sixth in the LEC Championship.

Nick Wheeler finished as the meet's individual winner, crossing the finish line first in a time of 25 minutes, 6 seconds. Twin brother Curtis quickly followed placing second, also with a time of 25:06. Hopkins covered the five-mile course in a time of 25:31.

The Wheelers and Hopkins each earned All-Little East Conference honors finishing in the top seven of the LEC Championship, and All-Alliance honors for finishing in the top twenty overall among the 144 runners. Joining USM's senior trio on the All-Alliance honor list are sophomore
Tyler Jasud (Rumford, Maine/Mountain Valley) and junior Nick Downing (Winthrop, Maine/Winthrop). Jasud placed 10th overall with a time of 25:50 and Downing placed 14th clocking a time of 26:10.

Keene State finished second behind the Huskies in both the Little East Conference and Alliance Championship scoring totaling 31 and 38 points respectively. In the Alliance Championship, Westfield State, the MASCAC Champion, placed third with 115 points followed by Worcester State in fourth place with 121 points.

In the Little East Conference championship, host University of Massachusetts Dartmouth placed third with 104 points followed by Rhode Island College in fourth with 118 points. Eastern Connecticut placed fifth with 141 points and University of Massachusetts Boston placed sixth with 147 points.

Southern Maine returns to action on November 3 (12:00 p.m.) when it competes at the ECAC Division III Championship hosted by Williams College in Williamstown, Mass.