MASCAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships Preview

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's outdoor track & field team will bid for an eighth straight Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference championship this weekend.

The Bears travel to the Elliot Field Athletic Complex on the campus of Fitchburg State University for the meet, which begins at 10 a.m.

BSU begin its run of championships in 2018 (the 2020 meet was canceled due to COVID), scoring at least 220 points to finish first those seven times.

The seven straight titles are the most in the MASCAC since Westfield State University won 15 consecutive championship from 1997-2011.

Prior to this streak, BSU had won only three conference titles since the first one was held in 1972.

Last season, the Bears won their latest championship at home with 240 points ahead of Westfield State (172).

BSU won 11 individual events and two relay races on the way to the title.

Double winners last season included Corey Stalters (shot put and javelin), Kevin McBirney (800 and 1,500) and Alex Huynh (high jump and long jump). Those three are no longer on the BSU roster with Stalters serving as an assistant coach.

Returning single winners are seniors Ryker King (Wareham, Mass.), who was first in the pole vault and Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, R.I.), the winner in the 10,000, and junior Matthew Mooney (Douglas, Mass.), the winner in the 200.

BSU has had seven meets this spring, starting on March 27.

The team hosted the BSU Bears Invitational last Friday and had a strong showing with six first-place finishes.

Mooney took the 100 and 200 on his home track.

Other winners included sophomore Joshua Cardichon (Brockton, Mass.) in the 400, seniors Nicholas Grace (Acushnet, Mass.) in the triple jump and Mitchell Parent (Cumberland Center, Maine) in the 1,500 and junior Aydan Fournier (Assonet, Mass.) in the 800.

Ackroyd was second in the 1,500 in the meet. In the season opener in Atlanta, Ga., Ackroyd was 10th in the 5,000 at the Thrills in the Hills meet hosted by Emory University with a career-best outdoor time of 15:30.18.

Freshman Clayton Pastor Norales (New Bedford, Mass.) earned MASCAC Rookie of the Week honors after placing fourth in the long jump at the Amherst Spring Fling.

Mooney is currently ranked first in the MASCAC in both the 100 and 200 which Fournier is tops in the 800 and Pastor Norales leads the way in the long jump. The quartet of senior Chris Beaulieu (Monson, Mass.), Grace, Fournier and freshman Sean Venator (Manchester, N.H.) are the top ranked 4x400 squad.

The Bears have also won six straight MASCAC indoor championships, the latest in February at Wheaton College. BSU had 237 points with Westfield State second with 136 points.

After the MASCACs this weekend, BSU will take part in the Division III New England Championships May 1-2 at Springfield College.

The all-divisions New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Championships are May 8-9 at Stonehill College.