By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's outdoor track & field team has dominated the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference since 2018.
The Bears have won five consecutive conference championships (the 2020 MASCAC meet was canceled due to COVID) and compiled 249 points to coast to victory by 123 points last spring.
BSU, fresh off a fifth straight indoor championship, returns a strong veteran cast as it bids to make it six MASCAC titles in a row this year.
The season opens on March 23 when the Bears host the BSU Invitational at 10 a.m. The MASCAC Championships take place in Westfield on April 26.
"If all goes well and we stay healthy, we should continue to produce," said BSU coach Christine Kloiber. "We are well balanced across the board. The indoor season we had was fantastic.
"I know there is pride there to keep it (the championship run) going. The coaches tell them they still need to practice and be ready. There is a target on their back and you don't take it for granted."
BSU won seven individual events during the 2023 MASCAC Championships last spring.
The key returners include graduate student Corey Stalters (Norton, Mass.), who has qualified for the NCAA Division 3 Outdoor Championships twice in the javelin.
In the 2023 conference meet, Stalters won the javelin and was second in the MASCAC in the shot put and placed first in New England Division 3 meet and 12th nationally in the javelin.
This past winter, Stalters received All-East honors in the shot put by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Junior Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) is also back after finishing first in both the 1,500-meter and 800-meter races last spring. He also won the mile and the 800 events at the indoor championships in February.
Senior Thomas Barinelli (Tewksbury, Mass.) led BSU in points at the MASCAC Championships a year ago with 26, winning the high jump while finishing second in the long jump and 110 meter hurdles.
Barinelli made the USTFCCCA All-East Region team in the winter after ranking fourth in the long jump.
Junior Chigozie Adigwe (Lowell, Mass.) won two titles at the MASCAC Championships, placing first in the 110-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles.
He took part in the indoor NCAA Championships in 2022 in the 60-meter hurdles and made the All-New England team last spring.
Senior Exondus Barnes (East Providence, R.I.) is the school record holder in the indoor and outdoor high jump and is a past MASCAC champion in the high jump and long jump.
Sophomore Michael Neitlich (Middleboro, Mass.) contributed 16 points to the MASCAC Championship last spring by finishing second in the 400-meter hurdles and the 400-meter dash.
Sprinter Jacob DeAndrade (Taunton, Mass.), a graduate student, also returns after being a consistent contributor throughout his career.
"We've got about 10 or 12 who are fourth or fifth or sixth-year students, so this is their final season," said Kloiber. "Those guys have done a lot here.
"They all want to keep this going. The fate's in their hands. It's about pride and working together."
The BSU run of five straight outdoor men's MASCAC titles is the third time that's happened. Westfield State won championships from 1983-95 and 1997-2011.
The Bears coasted to their fifth straight MASCAC indoor title in February with 263 points ahead of Westfield State (139).
Barinelli won three events while McBirney and freshman Jordan Rivera-Silva (Attleboro, Mass.) won a pair each and Stalters,
Neitlich, senior Jason Dann (Reading, Mass.) and sophomore Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown,R.I.) had one title each.