Higgins, Johnson Lead Men's Track & Field at NEICAAA Championships

DORCHESTER, Mass. -- Senior Nick Johnson (Marstons Mills, Mass.) garnered All-New England honors in the weight throw, and classmate Joshua Higgins (Fitchburg, Mass.) placed eighth in the preliminaries of the 800-meter, run to lead the Bridgewater State University men's indoor track & field team at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Championships held on Friday at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Johnson placed eighth in the weight throw (and tops among Division III student-athletes) with a toss of 55 feet, 2.75 inches (16.83m). The top eight placewinners earn All-New England accolades.

Higgins posted a preliminary time of 1:55.23 in the 800 as he was the top Division III runner in the event. The top eight finishers in the preliminaries advance to Saturday's finals.

Sophomores Jacob D'Andrade (Taunton, Mass.) and Jadin Bruneau (Taunton, Mass.) competed in both the preliminaries of the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. D'Andraded finished 19th in the 60 (7.12) and 14th in the 200 (22.331), while Bruneau tied for 21st in the 60 (7.14) and finished 15th in the 200 (22.34).

Freshman Exondus Barnes (East Providence, R.I.) placed 17th in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 3.5 inches (6.49m).

The BSU men's indoor track & field team will compete on Saturday at the Branwen Smith-King Invitational hosted by Tufts University.