By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- His final piece of business as a Bridgewater State University runner will be taking place just the way Kevin McBirney had envisioned.

The graduate student from East Bridgewater, Mass. entered the 2025-26 indoor men's track & field season knowing his athletics career would be ending at some point this month, and he had one specific scenario in mind.

McBirney was determined that the final time he ran for BSU would be at the NCAA Division III Championships in Birmingham, Ala., March 13-14.

"Before the season started, I was telling myself and my coach (Christine Kloiber) that this (the nationals) will be the last meet," said McBirney. "(The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference meet) wasn't going to be the last meet, the New Englands weren't going to be the last meet.

"March 13th (at the NCAAs) is going to be the last meet."

And McBirney made that happen, putting together a sensational final season at BSU to cap off a tremendous career as a cross country and indoor and outdoor runner.

McBirney has qualified for the national 800-meter event in Alabama and will run in the preliminary race on Friday at 5 p.m., looking to advance to the finals on Saturday at 6:15 p.m.

He made the NCAAs by tying for the fifth-fastest time in the country this winter. McBirney ran the 800 in 1:50.41 (adjusted for track size) at the Tufts Final Qualifier last Saturday in Medford, Mass.

One of 20 runners in the 800 at the NCAAs, he is the lone New Englander in the field, and McBirney will be at the nationals for a second indoor season in a row.

McBirney, who graduated last spring and is working on a Master's degree in management, had one winter season of eligibility remaining because the Bears' 2022-23 indoor season was canceled.

So he went to work in the offseason, doing all that could be done to make the last one the best one.

McBirney finished first in the 800 four times and second once, setting the BSU indoor record with a time of 1:51.79.

He also won races in the 600 and the 1,000 and owns the school records of 1:21.49 and 2:29.42 in those events.

"It's been pretty good so far," said McBirney of the season. "There's been no meet I look at and say, 'I want that one back.' It's gone exactly how me and my coach drew it up before the season started.

"I feel like all the work we've been doing in the summer and the fall has translated to this winter. It's been awesome."

McBirney opened the season by winning the 800 at the Suffolk Relays and was second at the Boston University Mini Meet.

The offseason training and working on the mental aspect of racing paid off right away.

"I felt a lot more in control," said McBirney of the early meets. "It was the fastest I ever opened up in the first meet. You could tell the first two meets before the (semester) break, we were doing something right.

"We did a lot of speed stuff over the summer. We did a lot of strength exercises. We did a lot of mental work, too, a lot of mental preparation. To me, it's kind of one of the biggest parts. If you're not mentally there, you're not going to succeed. It was a lot of little stuff, nothing major. It was sharpening a lot of little things."

McBirney, also a standout during his cross country and outdoor track career, will leave BSU having won 13 MASCAC championships in track and one in cross country.

At the NCAAs in Rochester, N.Y., a year ago, McBirney placed 16th in the 800 with a time of 1:56.02.

There was an adjustment that needed to be done in McBirney's first trip to the nationals and he's hoping that will allow him to adapt better to the NCAA setting this time around.

"It was tough,'' he admits. "It was pretty overwhelming to be at a place you've never been before with athletes you've never been with before.

"The stakes are obviously at an all-time high. It was pretty nerve wracking. I'm going to control my emotions and hopefully it goes a lot better. I won't put as much pressure on myself this time around and it'll be a different result."

The final scene of a memorable BSU running career for Kevin McBirney is nearing with one last trip to the national meet.

"You wouldn't want to finish it any other way," he said. "It's pretty sweet. I feel like I do a lot of my best work when my back's against the wall. It's pretty awesome.

"You always strive for more, but I didn't think it would go the way it's gone whatsoever in my career. I didn't have any expectations for myself coming in. It's been quite a surprise the past 4 1/2 years.

"I'm sad (it's ending). Am I going to miss it? Yeah, I'm definitely going to miss it, but it feels a lot better knowing you kind of did everything you told yourself you wanted to do, leaving no stone unturned. Just leaving everything out there, that's what I feel I've done this year."