BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- For the third straight week, Bridgewater State University senior Matthew Lighten has been selected as the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week.

Lighten captured top honors in both the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, and ran a leg on the Bears’ second place 4x100-meter relay this past weekend at the Jerry Gravel Classis hosted by Westfield State University. The Dalton, Massachusetts product helped the Bears place second in the team standings at the meet.

Lighten broke his own school record in the 100 with a time of 10.47 seconds as he eclipsed his previous mark of 10.72 seconds set earlier this season at the UMD Corsair Classic. He also posted a time of 21.56 second in the 200, while the foursome of Lighten, classmate Jacob DeAndrade (Taunton, Mass.), sophomore Michael Young (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and freshman Nathan Candido (Taunton, Mass.) recorded a season-best time of 42.22 seconds in the 4x100.

Lighten currently ranks third in all of Division III in the 100 and 14th in the 200. He is also first in the East Region in both the 100 and 200. The Bears 4x100 relay is ranked second in the East Region.

The MASCAC Track Athlete of the Week accolade marks the fifth of Lighten's career and third outdoor distinction.

The outdoor season continues this weekend for the BSU track & field teams. The Bears will compete on Friday afternoon (2:00 PM) at the 13th Annual Eastern Invitational, hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University, and on Saturday (10:30 AM) at the Tufts Sunshine Classic.