Ackroyd, McBirney Lead Men's Cross Country at Keene State Invitational

By Jim Fenton

KEENE, N.H. -- The Bridgewater State University men's cross country team finished 10th out of 26 teams at the Keene State Invitational on Saturday morning.

The Bears had 301 points and were the first Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference team in the standings, ahead of Westfield State University, which was 13th.

Williams College won the meet with 31 points followed by Tufts University with 32.

Leading the way for BSU was senior Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, R.I.), who was 30th in a field of 277 runners. Ackroyd's time on the 8-kilometer course was 25:35.20.

The next BSU runner to finish was graduate student Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.), who was 37th in 25:45.90.

Senior Mitchell Parent (Cumberland, Maine) was 55th for the Bears in 26:24.50 while freshman Tyler Amaral (Dartmouth, Mass.) placed 113th in a career-best time of 27:31.20.

Also competing for BSU were junior Owen Mackenzie (Plainville, Mass.), who was 189th, freshman Jacob Anuszczyk (Dartmouth, Mass.), who placed 199th, and junior Nicholas Rodden (Plymouth, Mass.), who was 242nd.

The individual winner was junior Jonah Reisner (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in a time of 24:12.20 with teammate Cullen McCaleb (Dallas, Texas) placing second in 24:26.40.

The Bears' next meet is on Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Connecticut College Invitational in Waterford, Conn. That is the last competition before the MASCAC Championships on Nov. 1 in Westfield.