KEENE, N.H. – Junior Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) placed 3rd out of a field of 232 runners to lead the Bridgewater State University men's cross country team on Saturday at the Keene State Invitational held on the rain-soaked campus of Keene State College.

The Bears placed eighth overall in the team standings. Plymouth State University captured the team title followed by Assumption University in second place and Brandies University in third.

McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) covered the eight-kilometer course in a time of 25:40.6. Senior Michael Olson (Sutton, Mass.) of Plymouth State checked in with the winning time of 25:04.1.

Sophomore Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, RI) was the next Bear to cross the line with a career-best time of 26:18.7.

Sophomore Alexavier Almeida (North Attleboro, Mass.), senior Ryan Goldman (Franklin, Mass.), and sophomore Ethan Hunt (Duxbury Mass.) capped off Bridgewater's top five runners at the meet. Almeida recorded a personal-best time of 27:39.6 to finish 55th, while Goldman posted a time of 29:13.5 to finish 96th at the meet. Hunt placed 127th overall as he crossed the line with a career-best time of 29:58.6.

The BSU men's cross country team is off until Saturday, October 14th when the Bears compete at the Suffolk Invitational held at Franklin Park in Boston.