BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Five Bridgewater State University student-athletes competed at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships held on Friday at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.

On the men's side, the Bears' relay squad featuring sophomore Joshua Higgins (Fitchburg, Mass.), freshman John Lara (South Boston, Mass.), senior Michael Kotleski (Great Barrington, Mass.) and sophomore Lamont Haynes (Boston, Mass.) placed ninth in the preliminaries of the 4x400 with a school record time of 3:18.55. The foursome eclipsed their own program mark of 3:18.76 set two weeks ago at the BU Last Chance Meet.

Higgins also placed 12th in the preliminaries of the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.96.

One the women's side, junior Jayci Andrews (Plymouth, Mas.) finished 17th in the preliminaries of the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.04 seconds.

Higgins, Lara, Kotleski and Haynes were all making their debuts at an NCAA track & field national championship meet, while Andrews was making her third appearance (two indoor, one outdoor).

The men's 4x400-meter relay squad was the closest to advancing to Saturday's finals as the top eight in each event move on to the finals.