BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Ten members of the Bridgewater State University track & field and cross country programs have been selected to the 2023-2024 Academic All-District® One Division III Track & Field/Cross Country Team by the College Sports Communicators (CSC).
Earning the honor from Bridgewater State on the women's side are are graduate student Alison McDonough; seniors Charlie Katz and Juliana Patrone; junior Tristen Gomes; and sophomore Naomi Cass. Seniors Thomas Barinelli, Jason Dann and Jonathan Quigley as well as junior Stephen Spofford and sophomore Kyle Ackroyd picked up the accolade for the BSU men's track & field/cross country teams.
McDonough, Patrone, Gomes, Barinelli and Quigley are making their second straight appearance on the Academic All-District® One Division III Track & Field/Cross Country Team.
The ten Bears are the only student-athletes from the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) to garner the honor.
The 2024 Academic All-District® Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in the athletics realm and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes track & field/cross country honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
To be eligible for all-academic honors, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
McDonough sports an impressive 3.93 undergraduate grade point average as well as a 3.91 grad school GPA. She graduated summa cum laude in May of 2023 with an undergraduate degree in elementary education and psychology. McDonough just earned her Masters in Special Education earlier this month.
The Halifax, Massachusetts product, ranked third in the East Region in the 100-meter hurdles and tenth in all of Division III during the 2024 outdoor season with a time of 14.06 seconds. She earned USTFCCCA Second Team All-America honors with a tenth place finish in the 100 hurdles at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships last month in Myrtle Beach.
McDonough also ranked third in the East Region in the long jump (18'0.25"/5.49m) during the outdoor campaign as well as 16th in the 100-meter dash (12.55) and fourth in the 4x100-meter relay (48.56).
During the 2023-2024 indoor season, McDonough was first in the East Region and 16th in all of Division III in the 60-meter hurdles (8.77) as well as second in the East Region and 33rd in all of Division III in the 60-meter dash (7.75), and fourth in the East Region in the long jump (17' 9.75"/5.43m). She qualified in the 60 hurdles for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships held at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
A native of West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, Katz graduated magna cum laude last month with a degree in exercise physiology. She checks in with a terrific 3.74 career grade point average.
Katz ranked 23rd in the East Region in the hammer throw (130'9"/39.86m) for the 2024 outdoor season.
Patrone, who resides in Wilmington, Massachusetts, boasts an outstanding 3.97 GPA as she graduated summa cum laude last month with a degree in mathematics.
Patrone finished the 2024 outdoor season fifth in the East Region in the high jump (5'3.75"/1.62m). She was also seventh in the East Region in the high jump (5'3.25"/1.61m) during the 2023-2024 indoor campaign.
Gomes, who calls Middleboro, Massachusetts home, checks in with a superb 3.95 GPA over her first six semesters and is majoring in health science.
Gomes ranked sixth in the East Region in the triple jump (36'7"/11.15m) in the 2023-2024 indoor season as well as 19th in the long jump (16'7.75"/5.07m). She was also eighth in the East Region (36'8.25"/11.18m) in the triple jump, 20th in the long Jump (16'7.75"/5.07m) and 21st in the high jump (4'11.75"/1.52m) during the spring outdoor campaign.
A Westport, Massachusetts product, Cass is a elementary education & psychology major with a 3.55 GPA.
Cass placed tenth and earned all-region honors at the 2023 NCAA Division III East Region Cross Country Championships as she posted a six-kilometer time of 22:23.42. Cass qualified for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in Newville, Pennsylvania.
During the 2024 outdoor track & field season, Cass ranked 14th in the East Region in the 5,000-meter run (17:8.54), 24th in the 1,500-meter run (4:48.96) and 40th in the 800-meter run (2:28.14). She was also sixth in the East Region in the 5,000-meter run (17:47.59) in the winter indoor season as well as 15th in the 3,000-meter run (10:18.46) and 27th in the mile (5:15.58).
McDonough, Katz, Patrone, Gomes and Cass helped the BSU women's track & field team place second at both the MASCAC indoor and outdoor championships. McDonough garnered All-MASCAC honors in the 60-meter hurdles, long jump (indoor), 4x200-meter relay and 100-meter hurdles; Cass in the 1,000-meter run, mile (indoor), 1,500-meter run and 5,000-meter run (outdoor); Gomes in the triple jump (indoor); and Katz in the hammer throw.
Barinelli, who resides in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, boasts an outstanding 3.87 GPA as he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in chemistry.
Barinelli ranked fourth in the East Region in the long jump (22'11.75"/7.00m) and 48th in all of Division III during the 2023-2024 indoor season. He was also ninth in the East Region in the high jump (6'4.75"/1.95m), 14th in the 60-meter hurdles (8.46) and 46th in the 60-meter dash (7.21).
For the 2024 outdoor campaign, Barinelli checked in at eighth in the East Region in the long jump (22'10.5"/6.97m), 12th in the high jump (6'3.5"/1.92m) and 13th in the 110-meter hurdles (15.28).
A native of Reading, Massachusetts, Dann graduated cum laude with a degree in marketing as he recorded a cumulative 3.54 GPA
Dann ranked ranked fourth in the East Region in the hammer throw this past spring with a school record toss of 177 feet, three inches (54.02m). He was also fourth in the East Region in the discus throw (154'7"/47.11m) and 26th in the shot put (42'9"/13.03m) during the outdoor season as well as sixth in the weight throw (54'9.25"/16.69m) and 18th in the shot put (44'6"/13.56m) for the indoor campaign.
Quigley graduated summa cum laude in May with a degree in computer science. The Haverhill, Massachusetts product posted a terrific 3.82 GPA.
During the 2024 outdoor season, Quigley ranked eighth in the East Region in the hammer throw (164'10"/50.24m), 17th in the shot put (44'7"/13.59m) and 43rd in the discus throw (113'8"/34.64m). He was also 11th in the weight throw (51'6.25"/15.70m) and 15th in the shot put (44'11.75"/13.71m) in the winter indoor campaign.
Spofford, who calls Chelmsford, Massachusetts home, checks in with a 3.58 GPA through his junior year and is majoring in elementary education.
Spofford finished 11th in the East Region in the 200-meter dash (22.32) during the 2023-2024 indoor season as well as 15th in the 400-meter dash (49.72) and eighth in the 4x400-meter relay (3:23.05). He was also 12th in the 400-meter dash (49.54), 19th in the 200-meter dash (22.22), 41st in the 100-meter dash and eighth in the 4x100-meter relay (42.30) over the course of the 2024 outdoor campaign.
Ackroyd, who hails from Charlestown, Rhode Island, sports a splendid 3.77 GPA while majoring in biology and secondary education. He ranked 16th in the 10,000-meter run (32:43.06) during the outdoor spring season as well as 35th in the 5,000-meter run (15:44.48) this past winter.
Ackroyd was the Bears' top harrier at the 2023 MASCAC Cross Country championships as he covered the eight-kilometer course in a time of 27:16.84 to place second overall.
Barinelli, Dann, Quigley, Spofford and Ackroyd helped the BSU men's track & field team capture its sixth straight MASCAC outdoor title (ninth overall) and fifth straight conference indoor crown (seventh overall). Barinelli garnered All-MASCAC honors in the 60-meter hurdles, high jump (indoor) and long jump (indoor/outdoor); Dann in the weight throw, discus throw and hammer throw; Spofford in the 4x400-meter relay (indoor), 400-meter dash (outdoor) and 4x100-meter relay; and Ackroyd in the 5,000-meter run (indoor) and 10,000-meter run.
2023-2024 CSC Academic All-District® Division III Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams (PDF) | 2023-2024 CSC Academic All-District® Division III Men's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams (PDF)