By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Five members of the Bridgewater State University men's cross country team earned All-Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference honors this season.
The Bears won the conference championship for the second year in a row last Saturday in Westfield, Mass., taking the title for the fourth time in the last six seasons. The five picks make up half of the all-conference squad.
The All-MASCAC team, which was announced on Wednesday, includes BSU senior Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, R.I.), graduate student Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.), senior Mitchell Parent (Cumberland, Maine), freshman Tyler Amaral (Dartmouth, Mass.) and junior Aydan Fournier (Assonet, Mass.).
The top 10 finishers in the field of 70 runners are on the All-MASCAC team.
Ackroyd placed second for the second time in his career with the Bears.
Ackroyd completed the eight-kilometer course in 26:01.16, 34 seconds faster than 2024.
It marks the third straight year that Ackroyd has earned All-MASCAC honors after finishing second in 2023 and fourth a year ago.
McBirney was third in a time of 26:06.45, which was 19 seconds faster than his winning time in 2024.
The conference's Runner of the Year last season, McBirney is a three-time All-MASCAC selection. He was fourth as a freshman in 2021 and won last season in Leominster, Mass.
Parent made the all-conference team for a third year in a row after placing sixth with a time of 26:42.94.
Parent was ninth in the 2023 race and was also fourth a year ago.
Amaral is a newcomer to the All-MASCAC team, finishing seventh in 26:50.43 in his conference meet debut.
Fournier is on the All-MASCAC team for a second year in a row, finishing 10th in 27:12.81. He was in the fifth spot in 2024.
Fitchburg State University freshman Paulino Guevara Mateo (Cambridge, Mass.) was both the MASCAC Runner of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
He won the race by 56 seconds with a time of 25:08.
Also on the all-conference team are Westfield State junior Nathan Sylven (Wrentham, Mass.), Fitchburg State sophomore Samual Edwards (Townsend, Mass.), Westfield State freshman Andrew Organ (Suffield, Conn.) and Framingham State sophomore Aaron Corlette (Brockton, Mass.).
Jim Jellison of Fitchburg State was named the BSN Sports Coach of the Year.
BSU returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 15 when it travels to Contoocook, N.H., for the NCAA Division III East Region race.