Barnes, DeAndrade Lead Men's Track & Field at BSU Bears Invitational

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Sophomore Exondus Barnes (East Providence, R.I.) broke the school record in the high jump and junior Jacob DeAndrade (Taunton, Mass.) equaled the 100-meter mark to lead the Bridgewater State University men's outdoor track & field team at the season-opening BSU Bears Invitational on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.

The non-scoring meet featured the Bears and fellow Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) schools Fitchburg State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University.

Barnes captured top honors in the high jump with a leap of six feet, six inches (1.98m) as he eclipsed the previous school outdoor record of six feet, five inches set by Mike Barrows 37 years ago in 1984.

DeAndrade won the 100-meter race with a time of 10.74 seconds as he tied Brian Espinosa's program mark set in 2015.

Barnes also placed first in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 10.75 inches (6.37m).

Junior Matthew Lighten (Dracut, Mass.) and sophomores Dimetri Morris (North Andover, Mass.), Jacob Belcher (Halifax, Mass.) and Corey Stalters (Norton, Mass.) also picked up event wins for the Bears. Lighten posted a first-place time of 21.87 seconds in the 200-meter dash, while Morris won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.37 seconds. Belcher tossed the hammer a meet-best 131 feet, seven inches (40.12m), and Stalters rounded out Bridgewater State's event winners in the javelin with a distance of 184 feet, two inches (56.13m).

DeAndrade and Lighten are currently ranked third in all of Division III in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, respectively. Barnes is ranked fifth nationally in the high jump, Stalters sixth in the javelin and Morris 21st in the 110 hurdles.

Following an off weekend, the Bears will compete at the Jim Sheehan Memorial Invitational hosted by Fitchburg State University on Saturday, April 10th.