By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's cross country team will be seeking a third Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in five seasons this weekend.

The Bears travel to the Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster for the race, hosted by Fitchburg State University, on Saturday at noon.

BSU won the title in 2019 and 2022 and finished second to Westfield State University last year. The Bears had 47 points while the Owls finished with 26 for their first championship since 2016.

A year ago, BSU's top runner, senior Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) did not finish the race. He enters the MASCAC Championships this season after being the conference runner of the week four times.

The Bears also return five runners who placed in the top 36 a year ago plus senior Kenny Goodwin (Chelmsford, Mass.).

"We're in a good spot, but you never know until the day of," said coach Christine Kloiber. "But I feel good about the guys.

"With all our guys firing, we can be in an awesome position. All of them have set personal bests. They've had sizable improvements in terms of fitness and performance."

McBirney has been the leading runner for BSU this fall.

He was fourth out of 98 competitors at the Wheaton/Babson Season Opener, then was 51st out of 342 at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational.

McBirney was 11th at the Keene State Invitational and 74th out of 269 at the Connecticut College Invitational.

"This is the fittest for cross country he's ever been and also the healthiest," said Kloiber. "His overall performances this year have been higher in consistency. His workouts have been amazing.

"He is poised to run very well. Kevin's always motivated. He is a competitive guy."

Junior Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, R.I.) was the Bears' top finisher at the MASCAC Championships a year ago.

He ran in 27:16.84 to finish second behind Westfield State's Nathan Sylven (26:19.91). Ackroyd has continued his improvement this season.

"Kyle is a consistent guy," said Kloiber. "When it comes to running, he's a hungry guy."

Junior Mitchell Parent (Cumberland, Maine) was ninth overall at the MASCAC Championships a year ago.

"He has had a great year and broke 27 minutes for the first time," said Kloiber. "He had a rough first two years. He was having injury issues first year and last year, he didn't have an opportunity to train over the summer the way he would like. He had the training this summer and it's made a difference."

Junior Alexavier Almeida (North Attleboro, Mass.) was 11th at the conference meet.

Goodwin and sophomores Aydan Fournier (Assonet, Mass.), who was 27th a year ago, and Nicholas Rodden (Plymouth, Mass.), who was 36th give the Bears depth along with freshmen Jaycob Carpenter (Plymouth, Mass.) and Alex Flores Chavarria (Chelsea, Mass.).

"The team came in really hungry this year," said Kloiber. "They wanted to make sure they came back and were poised to win. They wanted to be in the best position possible."

BSU has won the MASCAC title eight times -- 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2010, 2012, 2019 and 2022.