MEDFORD, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men's indoor track & field team placed sixth at the Branwen Smith-King Invitational hosted by Tufts University on Saturday afternoon at the Gantcher Center.
The Bears recorded a score of 40 points. MIT took the meet title with 135.5 points followed by host Tufts in second place (72 pts.) and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in third (69 pts.).
Freshman Exondus Barnes (East Providence, R.I.) placed fourth and tied his own school mark in the high jump with a leap of six feet, 4.75 inches (1.95m). Barnes matched the record he set earlier this season at the Emmanuel College Indoor Opener.
Sophomore Matthew Lighten (Dalton, Mass.) ran a season-best time in the 200-meter dash as he placed second at the meet with a time of 22.63 seconds.
Senior Lamont Haynes (Boston, Mass.) ran a season-best time in the 400-meter dash placing third with a time of 51.46 seconds.
Senior Joshua Higgins (Fitchburg, Mass.) ran a season-best time in the 600-meter run as he crossed the line in 1:22.91 to finish third overall.
The foursome of Haynes, Higgins and juniors John Lara (South Boston, Mass.) and Robert Moreau (Franklin, Mass.) placed third in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:30.13.
Sophomore Jadin Bruneau (Taunton, Mass.) placed fifth in the 60-meter dash with a finals time of 7.17 seconds.
In the 5,000-meter run, junior Lukas Moscoso (Whitman, Mass) ran a personal-best of 16:04.63 and freshman Doug Alvarado (East Boston, Mass.) followed with 16:59.59 to place fifth and sixth, respectively.
Senior Olivier Ndikumana (Amherst, Mass.) finished in sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 42 feet, seven inches (12.98m), while junior Joseph Zingarelli (North Kingston, R.I.) placed eighth in the pole vault clearing a height of 13 feet, 7.25 inches (4.15m).
Lighten, Higgins, Haynes, Barnes, Ndikumana, and Zingarelli all posted qualifying times or marks for the Division III New England Championships later on this month.
Next Saturday, the BSU indoor track and field teams will compete at the Panther Invitational hosted by Plymouth State University.