Bridgewater State Reclaims MASCAC Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship
After winning the crown in 2022, the Bridgewater State men reclaimed their indoor title at the 2024 MASCAC Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship hosted by Westfield State on the campus of Smith College.
After winning the crown in 2022, the Bridgewater State men reclaimed their indoor title at the 2024 MASCAC Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship hosted by Westfield State on the campus of Smith College.
The Bears finished with 263 team points while Westfield State came in second with 139. Rounding out the field were Fitchburg State in third with 99 and Worcester State in fourth with 35.
Bridgewater State took home 11 individual titles on the day and two relay crowns. Leading the way was Thomas Barinelli who won three individual MASCAC titles and finished with a meet-best 30 team points. Barinelli captured top honors and hit indoor personal bests in both the high jump (1.95m) and long jump (7.60m). He also recorded a finals time of 8.68 seconds to win the 60-meter hurdles. Kevin McBirney and Jordan Rivera-Silva also won multiple conference individual titles for the Bears. McBirney was the first to cross the finish line in both the mile (4:34.94) and the 800-meter run (2:01.39) while Rivera-Silva placed first in the 200-meter dash (22.66) as well as the 400-meter dash (50.35).
Corey Stalters, Jason Dann, Kyle Ackroyd and Michael Neitlich closed out the Bears' individual MASCAC champions with Stalters, Ackroyd and Neitlich all recording personal best marks in their respective events. Stalters won the shot put (15.90m) while Dann placed first in the weight throw (16.34m), Ackroyd was the first to cross the line in the 5,000-meter run (15:54.59), and Neitlich grabbed top accolades in the 600-meter run (1:23.88).
In the men’s 4x200m relay, Charles Dakai, Mason Matias, Michael Young and Rivera-Silva took home the MASCAC title with a time of 1:32.22. Neitlich, Jacob DeAndrade, Dakai and Nicholas Grace claimed the final relay of the day in the 4x400 with a time of 3:32.35.
For runner-up Westfield State, John Nekitopoulous was a dual winner, crossing the line first in the 1,000 meter run (2:44.09) and 3,000 meter run (9:30.45). Joining Nekitopoulous to win the 4x800 meter relay were Rowan Gottshall, Colin Mahoney and Gordon Johnson in a time of 8:49.21.
Fitchburg State and Worcester State both had individual event winners. For the Falcons, Eric Shimiyimana was the top finished in the triple jump with a leap of 13.21m while for the Lancers, Brodie Jacques beat out the competition in the 60 meter dash by one one hundreths of a second in 7.07 to win the title.
The MASCAC teams continue their seasons with various meets next weekend then the DIII New England Championships February 23-24 and NEICAAA Championships March 1-2.