By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Kevin McBirney put together a solid freshman cross country season for the Bridgewater State University men's team in 2021.

The East Bridgewater High graduate was one of the Bears' leading runners in his rookie year, placing fourth at the MASCAC Championships and 48th in a field of 234 competitors at the NCAA Division 3 East Regional.

McBirney was looking forward to building on that success as a sophomore in 2022.

Instead, McBirney was reduced to being a spectator throughout the entire season due to a stress fracture in his left leg. He had to miss a year in which BSU, picked to finish third, won the MASCAC title.

"I went to all the meets," said McBirney. "It was fun, but it was also painful sitting on the sidelines."

McBirney was able to return to running in the spring track & field season and was back in form, winning both the 800 and 1,500 races to help BSU earn the MASCAC title for a third year in a row.

That set the stage for this fall with McBirney resuming his cross country career as a junior following that one year interruption due to injury.

McBirney has been one of the leading MASCAC runners this fall, earning conference runner of the week honors three times.

He won the Wheaton & Babson Season Opener race, was 27th out of 299 runners at the all divisions UMass Dartmouth Invitational, placed third out of 232 competitors at the Keene State Invitational and was 10th out of 274 runners at the Suffolk Invitational.

McBirney and the Bears will be defending their MASCAC title on Friday at the conference meet held in Devens, Mass.

"The season has been going pretty well so far," said McBirney. "Still got some work to do. I've got some great coaches, great teammates around me. I think we're looking to cap it off on Friday.

"I want a team championship. That's the thing I want the most."

McBirney was ready to go from the start this season, winning the 5K Wheaton & Babson race in 16:10.8, then following with a personal-best 25:28.89 in the 8K at UMass Dartmouth.

The stress fracture is in the background, and McBirney was looking forward to this season.

"I hated (sitting out) at the time. I was pretty frustrated," said McBirney. "But over time, I was kind of thankful for all the time off because I used that time to get physically better, get mentally better.

"It was a real big help for the spring season because I was coming into the spring season fresh, ready to go. That was a big part of why I thought the spring season went so well.

"I was looking forward to this season a lot. A lot of people had never seen me run an 8K. A lot of people refer to me as a 1,500, 800-meter guy. I was really excited to get back out there and show a lot of people, show myself, that I can cover a five-mile course as well."

McBirney needed patience last year to wait for the stress fracture to heal.

It was the first time he's missed an extended period of time as an athlete, so it was a new experience.

"It was actually a pretty quick process," said McBirney. "I stayed off it for about a month, didn't really do any activities and once I got back into it, I haven't had any problems at all. Knock on wood, no problems at all.

"The biggest thing was just keeping my mindset focused on getting back. I knew the time off was going to go towards me getting better mentally and physically."

He was able to get back to full-time training last winter and the results were there in the spring.

McBirney then did his usual running and gym work this summer and was fully prepared for his second cross country season at BSU. He has been the Bears' top runner in all four meets.

"I am (surprised at the success), but I'm not," said McBirney. "I am because it's my first time doing it in two years, but I'm not just because of the work that I've put in. I knew I put in a lot of work and it's shown throughout the season."

BSU coach Christine Kloiber is pleased to have a healthy McBirney leading the way this season.

"When you can run and don't have to worry about injuries holding you back, you concentrate on training," said Kloiber. "If you have the right training, you know you're at a different fitness level.

"You always want (a successful return). You want them to get their confidence back. When they get to a spot where they feel they're comfortable and can be assertive in their running, you're happy for them."

BSU was the preseason pick to win the MASCAC title for a second year in a row.

The Bears won the conference for the eighth time last October. Leading runners this season include sophomore Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, R.I.), sophomore Alexavier Almeida (North Attleboro, Mass.) and senior Ryan Goldman (Franklin, Mass.).

"It's going to be a tough race," said McBirney. "Nothing's given. We've all got to do our jobs on Friday and if we do that, I think we have a good chance of winning."

Said Kloiber: "It's a different squad. It's an older squad. They're more well versed on how to race 8K. When you have that, that's a good measure of patience because it's a long race. They feel they need to prove they earned it and deserve to win it a second time.

"They're not cocky, but they've got a lot of pride and have put a lot of work in it to stay on top."