ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men's cross country team opened the 2024 season at the 10th Annual Wheaton & Babson Season Opener held on Saturday morning at the Mark Coogan Cross Country Course in Attleboro.

Senior Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) paced the Bears as he placed fourth out of a field of 98 runners. McBirney completed the five-kilometer course in a time of 15:56.79.

Junior Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, R.I.) was the next BSU harrier to cross the finish line as he checked in with a time of 16:26.27 to place 15th overall, while classmate Mitchell Parent (Cumberland, Maine) finished 23rd with a time of 16:43.52. Sophomore Aydan Fournier (Assonet, Mass.) posted a time of 16:47.50 to place 29th.

Senior Kenny Goodwin (Chelmsford, Mass.) and junior Alexavier Almeida (North Attleboro, Mass.) rounded out the Bears' runners at the meet as they finished 39th and 55th, respectively. Goodwin recorded a time of 16:56.42, while Almeida checked in at 17:38.32.

McBirney, Ackroyd, Parent, Fournier and Goodwin all set cross country 5K personal bests.

Sophomore Joseph Mahon (Woburn, Mass.) of Division I Holy Cross won the meet with a time of 15:39.7.

The Bears placed fourth in the team standings with a score of 107 points. Holy Cross cruised to the meet title with a low score of 32 points. Suffolk University (94 pts.) placed second while Brandeis University (94 pts.) finished in third place.

Following a two-week hiatus, the BSU men's cross country team will compete at the 51st Annual UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday, September 21st.