By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- His sophomore year at Bridgewater State University included three All-Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference performances.

Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, R.I.) finished second at the conference's cross country meet, won the 5,000-meter race during the indoor season and the 10,000-meter outdoor championship.

The 2023-24 season was full of improvement for Ackroyd, who was a contributor on a pair of MASCAC track & field title teams and a second-place cross country squad.

Now a junior, Ackroyd is looking to continue to move forward with plenty of experience under his belt.

"I just want to build on what I started," said Ackroyd. "I've come very far here. I'm running times now I would have only dreamed of in high school. Last year, winning at the MASCAC (track & field), that just meant the world to me. I had never had the opportunity to win a race like that.

"It's gone so much better than I ever could have imagined."

Ackroyd began his third year by being the second BSU finisher at the Wheaton & Babson Season Opener, placing 15th overall in a time of 16:26.27 on the 5-kilometer course.

Last weekend, Ackroyd was again the second Bears' runner to cross the finish line at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational with a time of 26:59.74 on the 8-kilometer course.

Ackyrod's times dropped significantly in those meets over what he did in the opening two races a year ago.

"Kyle has been great," said BSU coach Christine Kloiber. "He loves the sport. He does all the details. He  works really hard. He's a guy who is incredibly reliable and very intelligent in terms of how to approach racing and training.

"He has gotten better every single season. He started off freshman year running 28 minutes and change and he's gotten better by over two minutes. He's the living example of what happens when you work hard and take care of all the right details."

Ackroyd was going through the process of finding a college when a former teammate at Chariho Regional High in Rhode Island, Sam Steere, let him know about BSU. Steere was a member of the Bears' cross country and track & field teams until graduating last spring.

Ackroyd began running in sixth grade and turned to that activity after being a soccer player.

"I liked soccer, but didn't love it," he said. "My first cross country race, I just fell in love with it."

Ackroyd was running shorter distances for the high school track team, but it became apparent he could handle longer courses.

"My high school coach and I found out pretty quickly that I'm a lot better at 5K and 10K events because I have a ton of endurance and I don't slow down," said Ackroyd. "In turn, I have trouble speeding up for the shorter races.

"I've increased miles per week. In high school, the max we could go was 50 miles if I was training for a two-mile race. Now I'm doing about 85 miles a week. I start in the summer and it builds up pretty slowly in the summer, to mid-August.

"Coach gives a really thorough training plan and I just follow it exactly as she said."

That plan has worked out for Ackroyd, starting with his sophomore season.

Ackroyd was the second BSU finisher in five cross country meets last season and was their first finisher at the MASCAC Championships, placing behind only Westfield State's Nathan Sylven.

During the indoor season, he had a personal-best time of 15:54.59 to win the 5,000 at the MASCAC meet and a personal-best 32.49.28 to win the 10,000. He also took part in the New England Open last spring, competing against athletes from all divisions, and placed 11th in the 10,000.

"There's no ceiling because of how he approaches it,'' said Kloiber. "He's invested in it. He understands why we do what we do.

"He is just going to continue to get better. In distance running, the longer you're in it, if you do the right stuff, you will get better. I see a continuous self progression for him."

Ackroyd switched majors this semester, going from biology to health science and is hoping to become an athletic trainer when he finishes college.

He made the Academic All-District 1 Division 3 Track & Field/Cross Country team with a 3.77 grade-point average.

Ackroyd and the Bears are idle until Oct. 5 when they are in New Hampshire for the Keene State Invitational. There is one other meet before the MASCAC Championships on Nov. 2 in Leominster and the indoor track & field season begins Dec. 8.

The second half of his BSU career is just underway, and Ackroyd is looking forward to more success.

"I had a really good year last year," he said. "Breaking 16 minutes in the 5K was a huge thing for me. I didn't break 17 in high school, so to come out and do that at the start of the year was a huge shock to me."