Westfield, Mass.— The Bridgewater State men’s, Westfield State women’s indoor track and field squads have been selected to win their respective 2020 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field titles as voted on by the coaches from around the league.

Bridgewater State received three first place votes in this year’s poll. The Bears won the 2019 MASCAC title with 205 points. Matthew Lighten won the 200m dash while his teammate Lamont Haynes finished first in the 400m. Joshua Higgins, John Lara, and Joseph Keough also won their races, pacing the field in the 600m, 800m, and 1000m, respectively. The Bears 4x400 relay, which consisted of Jacob DeAndrade, Higgins, Lara, and Haynes also earned to honors with a new MASCAC meet record while Joshua Moore finished first in the long jump.

Westfield State sits in the second spot of the poll with a first place vote. At last year’s meet, Brandon Leclair was the 3K champion while Tim Forrest took the 5K title. William Canty’s earned him the hurdles crown. The Owls’ 4x800 relay team of Zac Bentley, Corey Pooler, Conner Grady, and Shea Hiltz earned the top spot.

Worcester State comes in third in the 2020 poll. Scott Page was the MASCAC Champion in the pole vault. Also earning spots at the top of the podium were triple jumper Ryan Connolly, shot putter Eddy Acuna and Marcus Vieira who won the weight throw. The Lancers also had champions on the track as John Ojukwu ran the 60m final and Patrick Carleton competed in the mile. The Worcester 4x200 relay also won gold as Eddy Boamah, Andre Luciano, Abdulrazak Frederick, and Michael Butten.

Fitchburg State rounds out the men’s poll in fourth. Christian McWhinnie-Armstead was Fitchburg’s lone individual champion as he won the high jump.

 

On the women’s side, Westfield State had three first place votes. The Owls are looking for their fourth straight title after getting the threepeat last season. At last season’s meet, the Owls won 10 of 19 of the events. Lexi Popp was a major contributor winning both the 200m and the 400m. Popp was also part of two championship relay teams. In the 4x200, she joined Moira McDonald, Kerri Long, and Erin Giugno to win that race. MacDonald and Long also joined her, along with Maggie DaMotta in the 4x400, which they won. Long was also and individual champion in the long jump with a leap of 5.13m.

Mackenzie Connor and Lauren Gilderdale were two other Owls to earn medals in field events. Connor won the pole vault while Gilderdale won the weight throw. Taylor White won the 600m, Rachael Farley took the 1000m title and Amy O’Sullivan captured the 5000m crown.

Tying for second is Worcester State and Bridgewater State. The Lancers grabbed the final first place vote in this year’s poll. Bernice Mensah took the 60m, finishing with a MASCAC Championship record and the Lancer 4x800 relay team of Elisabeth Olson, Kyra Siano, Courtney Guay, and Olivia Morin also captured gold. 

For the Bears, Jenise Madden led the way, winning both the mile and the 3000m. Also picking up wins on the track were Emily Guyon in the 800m race and Jayci Andrews, who won the 60m hurdles with a finals time of 8.86 title. Bridgewater State’s three other solo wins came in field events. Patricia Healion cleared 1.50m to win the high jump, while Molly McNamara triple jumped 10.72m to victory. Kira Gilbreath won the shot put with a toss of 12.74m.

Closing out the women’s poll in fourth is Fitchburg State. The 4x200 meter relay team of Paige Anderson, Chloe Guzman, Phedelia Boakye and Sylvia Owusu-Agyeiwaa placed third overall while newcomer Denise Yeboah posted a sixth place time in the 200 meters.

Bridgewater State, Fitchburg State and Worcester State begin their season this weekend at the Emmanuel College Invitational while Westfield State competes at the Springfield College Invitational.