BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's cross country team is the preseason favorite to capture the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) title as the 2023 MASCAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll was released today by conference director of media relations, Emily Loux.

The defending MASCAC champion Bears received 34 points in the poll including five first-place votes. Westfield State University is second in the poll with 29 points and one first-place vote, while Fitchburg State University rounds out the top three teams with 26 points.

The 2023 campaign gets underway on Saturday, September 2nd when the BSU harriers, under the guidance of second-year head coach, Christine Kloiber, travel to the Mark Coogan Cross Country Course in Attleboro, Massachusetts for the 9th Annual Wheaton & Babson Season Opener. The team will also compete at the 50th Annual UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday, September 16th, the Keene State Invitational on Saturday, September 30th and the Suffolk Invitational at Franklin Park on Saturday, October 14th.

The MASCAC Championships will take place on Saturday, October 28th at the Fort Devens Course with Worcester State University serving as the host institution, while Franklin Park will be the site of the NCAA Division III East Region Championships on Saturday, November 11th.

Returning veterans Kyle Ackroyd (So., Charlestown, R.I.), Alexavier Almeida (So., North Attleboro, Mass.), Braden Boucher (So., Lowell, Mass.), Ryan Goldman (Sr., Franklin, Mass.), Kenny Goodwin (Jr., Chelmsford, Mass.), Ethan Hunt (So., Duxbury, Mass.), Kevin McBirney (Jr., East Bridgewater, Mass.), Jack Owen (Gr., Weymouth, Mass.) and Mitchell Parent (So., Cumberland, Maine) will help lead the Bears in 2023. Boucher garnered All-MASCAC and MASCAC Rookie of the Years honors a year ago. McBirney earned a spot on the All-MASCAC Team in 2021 but missed last season due to injury.