GORHAM, Maine -- For the first in school history the Bridgewater State University Bears' captured the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship. BSU also took home the New England Alliance Championship for the first time ever.
The Bears posted a score of 195 points, which was 25 more than six-time defending MASCAC champion Westfield State. In the New England Alliance standings, the men outgained runner-up University of Southern Maine by a final tally of 140-129.50. The Bears' Alliance title win was the first for a MASCAC school in 10 years.
Six Bears captured individual MASCAC crowns on the day for Bridgewater State, including Stephen Wahome (Lowell, Mass.), Andy Sukeforth (Middleboro, Mass.) and Brian Espinosa (Rehoboth, Mass.), who claimed a pair of individual titles for the Bears in the 200 meters (22.78) while breaking a 15-year-old conference record in the long jump (22'4.50"). Wahome was a winner in both the 3,000 meters (8:58.60) and 5,000 meters (15:47.34), while Sukeforth was victorious in both the mile (4:21.39) and 1,000 meters (2:35.25).
Michael McPherson (Mansfield, Mass.) broke his own conference record in taking top honors in the shot put (52'2"). Joshua Danner-Hicks (Haverhill, Mass.) took first place and set a new conference record in the triple jump (46'2"). Josh Goehring (Haverhill, Mass.) added the other individual crown for Bridgewater State in the 600 meters (1:22.79), as he, Wahome, Sukeforth and sophomore Dallas O'Brien (Mansfield, Mass.) teamed up to win the 4 X 800 meter relay in a time of 8:10.87.
The Bears also relied on the team's excellent depth to snag crucial points in the standings. In the 55-meter dash, Espinosa (6.61) placed third, Chinedu Chukwu (Randolph, Mass) placed fifth (6.68), and Danner-Hicks (6.74) was right behind him in sixth. Danner-Hicks also placed fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.43. Timothy Judge (East Bridgewater, Mass) placed fifth in the 400 while running a 52.47.
In the distance races, O'Brien placed in third in the mile behind Sukeforth with a time of 4:26.16. Kevin Sawyer (Woburn, Mass) came in second in the 600 behind Goehring with a 1:25.22, qualifying for the ECAC Championships. Sean Spillane (Middleboro, Mass) gained the only points in the 800 running a 2:07.39, placing sixth. O'Brien, (9:13.87), Daniel Walsh (Sutton, Mass), and Mark Waller (Andover, Mass) placed third, fourth, and sixth, respectively, in the 3,000. Walsh ran a 9:15.85 and Waller snuck in with a 9:24.51. Conor Foley (Foxborough, Mass) placed fourth in the 5,000 with a time a 16:28.07.
Three Bears placed in the 55-meter hurdles as Matt Horan (Billerica, Mass), Daniel Coulter (Norton, Mass), and Justin Riley (Abington, Mass) finished second, fourth, and sixth. Horan ran 7.87 seconds, Coulter ran 8.25 seconds, and Riley rounded out the scoring with an 8.60. Judge also placed sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 40 feet, 7.50 inches. Stephen Cawley (Dedham, Mass) and Christian Lavoie (Marion, Mass) placed second and third in the shot put with marks of 47 feet, 7.25 inches and 46 feet, 3.50 inches, respectively. Cawley also placed fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 49 feet, seven inches.
The Bears also gained points in the other two relays with third place finishes in the 4x200 and the 4x400. In the 4x200 Danner-Hicks, Andrew Couture (Dighton, Mass), Ian Knapton (Mattapoisett, Mass), and Felix Mensah (Lowell, Mass) ran a time of 1:33.89. The 4x400 team of Sawyer, Knapton, Christopher Naughton (Braintree, Mass), and Tommy Coyle (Westwood, Mass) ran a time of 3:33.77.
The BSU men's team will travel up to Bates University for the New England Division III Championships next weekend.