BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's cross country team has been picked to finish in second place at the 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Championships as the MASCAC Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll was released today by conference director of media relations, Emily Loux.

The Bears received 28 points in the poll with one first-place vote. Three-time defending champion Westfield State University topped the poll with 36 points including six first place votes. Fitchburg State University rounded out the top three teams with 27 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 Kate Brown (Jr., Acushnet, Mass.), Naomi Cass (So., Westport, Mass.), Ana Imrie (Jr., Arlington, Mass.), Nicole Major (Sr., Andover, Mass.), Elliana Martel (Sr., Rochester, N.H.), Janelle Murphy (So., Brockton, Mass.), Emma Rand (Sr., Salem, Mass.), Elisabeth Sweeney (Sr., Marshfield, Mass.) and Lily Valcovic (Jr., East Taunton, Mass.) will help lead the Bears in 2023.