BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Nick Johnson (Marstons Mills., Mass.) broke a 17-year old school record in the weight throw to lead the Bridgewater State University men's indoor track & field team at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University on Saturday.

Johnson placed seventh in the weight throw with a toss of 55 feet, 1.5 inches (16.80m) as he eclipsed the previous BSU mark of 54 feet, 7.5 inches set by Dave Mackiewicz back in 2002.

Also placing in the top ten for the Bears were freshmen Matthew Lighten (Dalton, Mass.) and Kyle Koehler (Swansea, Mass.). Lighten finished seventh In the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.17 seconds, while Koehler placed ninth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.19 seconds. Lighten also finished 42nd out of 195 sprinters in the 200-meter dash (22.20).

Junior Lamont Haynes (Boston, Mass.) recorded a career-best indoor time of 49.74 seconds to finish 60th out of 195 competitors in the 400-meter dash. The Bears 4x400-meter relay squad featuring Haynes, classmate Olivier Ndikumana (Amherst, Mass.), senior Louis Walusimbi (Woburn, Mass.) and sophomore John Lara (South Boston, Mass.) posted a season-best time of 3:24.56 to place 32nd in the event.

Sophomore Joshua Moore (Cape May, N.J.) placed 12th in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 0.75 inches (6.59m), while freshman Matthew Cronin (Weymouth, Mass.) finished 23rd in the shot put (43'6"/13.26m) and Ndikumana 24th in the triple jump (42'5.5"/12.94m).

Senior Joseph Keough (Walpole, Mass.) placed 65th out of a field of 98 runners in the 1,000-meter run (2:36.72) and qualified for the Division III New England Championships in the event.

Next weekend, the BSU men's indoor track & field team will compete at the MASCAC Championships hosted by Plymouth State University.