BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's outdoor track & field team has been picked to finish in second place at the 2026 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Championships as the MASCAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches Poll was released today by conference director of media relations, Emily Loux.

The Bears received 20 points in the poll with one first-place vote. Westfield State University topped the poll with 25 points including five first place votes. Worcester State University rounded out the top three teams with 15 points.

Westfield has claimed each of the last two MASCAC outdoor titles and 16 overall. Bridgewater has captured ten conference outdoor crowns including three straight from 2021 to 2023.

During the 2025 MASCAC Outdoor Championships, the Bears won eight individual events and two relays. Second-year head coach Christine Kloiber will look to senior Naomi Cass (Westport, Mass.) and sophomores Olivia Downin (Hudson, Mass.), Bella Grover (Warren, Mass.), Grace Inacio (Taunton, Mass.), Jordan Kosakowski (Shirley, Mass.) and Emerson Ricciardi (East Freetown, Mass.) to lead the team in 2026.

Cass captured a pair of MASCAC individual titles a year ago in the 1,500-meter run and 5,000-meter run while Downin won the 800-meter run. Inacio and Ricciardi were part of the MASCAC champion 4x100-meter relay team last spring while Cass, Grover and Kosakowski competed on the Bears' conference champion 4x400-meter relay squad.

Cass qualified and competed last fall at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships for the second straight season.

Inacio placed 14th in the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships earlier this month and was part of the Bears' First Team All-American 4x100-meter relay team last spring at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Bridgewater State will open the 2026 outdoor season on Friday (March 27) as the Bears will compete at the Jonathan Tymann Invitational hosted by Gordon College. Several members of the team will head to Atlanta, Georgia this weekend for the Emory Thrills in the Hills.