By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The home stretch has arrived for the careers of 13 members of the Bridgewater State University men's outdoor track & field team.

That is how many seniors or graduate students will be winding up successful stays with the Bears in the upcoming weeks.

The list of accomplishments for that group is long during the outdoor and indoor seasons, but there is more to do this spring before they wrap things up.

"We have some seniors, some fifth-years, and they are totally dialed in," said BSU coach Christine Kloiber. "This is the last year. They know what they want to do.

"They've applied the previous years of experience and knowledge and they have the confidence. They totally supported the training, and that's producing (positive results)."

Next up for the Bears is the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference championship meet, which takes place Friday at 10 a.m. at Westfield State University.

BSU will be seeking its sixth consecutive outdoor conference title after five indoor titles in a row.

The seniors and graduate students have played a large role in most of that success, making the Bears a dominant program in the MASCAC in recent years.

"Sometimes you're in a flow and things are going well," said Kloiber. "There's ebbs and flows to every program, and right now, we're still cresting.

"I attribute it to solid upperclassmen who do the work, want to be here, are proud of representing the school, are proud of performing at a high level. Then you have the freshmen who are part of that culture. Ideally, that cycle just continues."

BSU cruised to the MASCAC championship in 2023 with 249 points, outpacing Westfield State (126) with eight first-place finishers.

Returning athletes who were conference champions a year ago include Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) in the 1,500 and 800; Chigozie Adigwe (Lowell, Mass.) in the 110 and 400 hurdles; Corey Stalters (Norton, Mass.) in the javelin; and Thomas Barinelli (Tewksbury, Mass.) in the high jump.

Barnelli, who was second in the long jump and 110 hurdles, led the Bears with 26 points in the meet.

This season, McBirney has qualified for the Division 3 New England championship meet and the open New England meet next month. He ran a personal-best 1:52.83 in the 800, fifth among Division 3 runners, at the Sean Collier Invitational hosted by MIT.

McBirney, named the MASCAC track athlete of the week, is eighth in the East Region with that time.

Jason Dann (Reading, Mass.) broke his own school record in the hammer throw at the Tufts Sunshine Classic with a toss of 174 feet to win. He also was first in the discus with a personal-best 149-11.

Dann is fourth in the East Region in the hammer and fifth in the discus and is headed to the Division 3 New England and open New England meets in both of those events as well as the shot put for DIII New Englands.

Also qualifying for both of those meets are Barinelli in the long jump, Adigwe in the hurdles, Exondus Barnes (East Providence, R.I.) in the high jump, and Stalters in both the javelin and the shot put. Stalters, a two-time NCAA Championships qualifier and 2022 All-American in the javelin, is the lone Bear ranked in the top 22 nationally this season. He is tenth in all of Division III in the javelin.

Other postseason qualifiers include sprinters Stephen Spofford (Chelmsford, Mass.), Jordan Rivera-Silva (Attleboro, Mass.); Michael Young (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Matthew Mooney (Douglas, Mass.) and Jacob DeAndrade (Taunton, Mass.); hurdlers Ryker King (Wareham, Mass.) and Michael Neitlich (Middleboro, Mass.); distance runner Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, R.I.); and throwers Leo Lopez (Haverhill, Mass.), Nathaniel Packer (Tisbury, Mass.) and Jonathan Quigley (Haverhill).

There are two freshmen -- Rivera-Silva and Mooney -- in that group to go with the veterans who have had so much success.

"What's really interesting is the first years have come in and have produced," said Kloiber. "I think that is a tribute to the culture. Everybody knows what they need to do here."

BSU has won or shared the MASCAC title nine times. The five straight outdoor titles ranks third in conference history.

Westfield State won 15 in a row from 1997-2011 and 13 straight from 1983-95.