By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's cross country team returns eight runners after finishing second in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference a year ago.

The Bears have just two seniors and eight underclassmen on a roster that includes a pair of newcomers.

"We have a couple of freshmen, a couple of seniors and a big chunk of juniors and sophomores," said BSU coach Christine Kloiber. "We have a very well balanced team."

The Bears start the 2024 season Saturday morning in Attleboro, taking part in the 10th annual Wheaton and Babson Season Opener.

BSU, which won the MASCAC title in 2022, placed behind Westfield State last fall.

The Bears have been together training since Aug. 20, and Kloiber is encouraged by what she has seen from the team.

"The guys came in after doing the summer training the way they should," she said. "A lot of them are really fit. Compared to a year ago, every single athlete is much faster already.

"If you do the work over the course of three months in the summer, you come in in a better place. You maintain what you did in the spring. They did what they needed to do. They believe in themselves."

Senior Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) is the top returner after earning MASCAC runner of the week honors four times last season.

McBirney was 43rd out of 229 competitors at the Division 3 East Region race.

"It was not a surprise what he did at all," said Kloiber. "Freshman year, he had some success but got hurt with a stress fracture. He has a lot of talent and a lot of drive. He has come together in the last year. He gets it.

"He ran 25:20 last year and we look for him to improve on that, if everything stays according to plan."

Junior Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, R.I.) finished second at the MASCAC race to earn all-conference honors a year ago.

"Kyle has been strong since his first year," said Kloiber. "He dropped a big chunk of time from freshman to sophomore year. Last year was just PR after PR. He's come back as good as he was at peak fitness last year in outdoor track."

Junior Alexavier Almeida (North Attleboro, Mass.) was a key contributor a year ago.

"He was 3-4-5 for us, always consistent,'' said Kloiber. "He's done a lot of training.''

Junior Mitchell Parent (Cumberland, Maine) was ninth at the MASCAC Championships. He is joined by senior Kenny Goodwin (Chelmsford, Mass.) and sophomore Aydan Fournier (Assonet, Mass.), giving BSU depth.

"All three of those guys are going to pop really good times," said Kloiber.

The remainder of the roster includes sophomores Owen Mackenzie (Plainville, Mass.) and Nicholas Rodden (Plymouth, Mass.) plus freshmen Jaycob Carpenter (Plymouth, Mass.) and Alex Flores Chavarria (Chelsea, Mass.).

"It's a credit to the guys that they've done the work and are ready," said Kloiber. "They own it together. They did their summer training. That's put us in a pretty good position and made us, right now, on paper better than we were a year ago."