ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men's cross country team opened the 2021 season at a quad meet hosted by Wheaton College at the Mark Coogan Cross Country Course in Attleboro.

Freshman Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) paced the Bears in his collegiate debut as he placed eighth out of a field of 38 runners. McBirney completed the five-kilometer course in a time of 17:16.

Junior Cameron Riley (Shrewsbury, Mass.) was the next BSU harrier to cross the finish line as he checked in with a time of 17:57 to place 12th overall, while classmate Ryan Goldman (Franklin, Mass.) finished 14th with a time of 18:01. Freshman Ryan Vautrinot (Kingston, Mass.) and sophomore Sam Steere (West Kingston, R.I.), who were also making their debuts, rounded out the Bears' top five finishers as they placed 20th (18:25) and 22nd (18:37), respectively.

Sophomore Anthony Rodriquez (Prairie View, Ill.) of Babson College won the meet with a time of 16:07 as he edged out Wheaton's Dominic Sciafini (Sr., Harrison, Maine) by one second.

The Bears placed third in the team standings with a score of 72. Babson cruised to the meet title with a low score of 23.

Following a weekend off, the BSU men's cross country team will compete at the 48th Annual UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday, September 18th.