Men's Indoor Track & Field Places Fifth at DIII New Englands

LEWISTON, Maine -- Seven student-athletes earned All-New England honors and four school records fell as the Bridgewater State University men's track and field team placed fifth at the New England Division III Championships hosted by Bates College on Saturday.

Bridgewater recorded a team score of 52 points as the Bears finished behind meet champion MIT (118.5 pts.) as well as host Bates (94 pts.), Tufts University (92 pts.) and Williams College (59 pts.) in the standings.

Sophomore Brian Espinosa (Rehoboth, Mass.) paced the Bears as he captured the individual title in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.63 seconds.  Espinosa also garnered All-New England status with a second place showing in the long jump as he recorded a leap of 22 feet, nine inches (6.93 meters).  He eclipsed his previous school mark of 22 feet, 4.5 inches set earlier this season.

Juniors Joshua Danner-Hicks (Haverhill, Mass.) and Matt Horan (Billerica, Mass.) and sophomore Josh Goehring (Haverhill, Mass.) also broke their own school records and earned All-New England honors.  Danner-Hicks finished second in the triple jump with a leap of 47 feet, 0.75 inches (14.34 meters) as he broke his own mark of 46 feet, two inches set earlier this season.  Horan placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.43 seconds breaking his 2012 record of 8.54 seconds.  Goehring posted a fifth place finish in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:21.79 as he bettered his previous mark of 1:22.79 set earlier this season.

Rounding out the Bears All-New England performers were senior Michael McPherson (Mansfield, Mass.) and junior Stephan Cawley (Dedham, Mass.) in the shot put and junior Andy Sukeforth (Middleboro, Mass.) in the mile.  McPherson grabbed second in the shot with a toss of 54 feet, 6.75 inches (16.63 meters), while Cawley placed fourth with a distance of 50 feet, 9.50 inches (15.48 meters).  Sukeforth finished fifth in the mile with a time of 4:16.43.

The fifth place finish in the team standings tied for the best showing by a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) team at the New England Division III Championships since Fitchburg State placed third in 1989.

Next weekend, the Bears will compete at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Championships hosted by Boston University.