Bridgewater State Captures First-Ever MASCAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Championship, Bears Also Cop New England Alliance Crown
Bridgewater State captured its first-ever Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field title on Sunday evening, as the Bears posted a 25-point victory over runner-up and six-time defending champion Westfield State at the 2013 Championships that took place at Southern Maine’s Costello Athletic Fieldhouse Complex as part of the New England Alliance Championships in Gorham, Maine
Click here for 2013 MASCAC results
Click here for 2013 Alliance results
2013 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference
Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championships
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Hosted By The University of Southern Maine
Costello Athletic Fieldhouse Complex, Gorham, Maine
FINAL TEAM SCORES
Bridgewater State 195
Westfield State 170
Worcester State 164
Fitchburg State 51
GORHAM, Maine -- Bridgewater State captured its first-ever Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field title on Sunday evening, as the Bears posted a 25-point victory over runner-up and six-time defending champion Westfield State at the 2013 Championships that took place at Southern Maine’s Costello Athletic Fieldhouse Complex as part of the New England Alliance Championships.
Bridgewater State posted a team score of 195 points on the day to outdistance Westfield State’s total of 170 points, while Worcester State (164 points) and Fitchburg State (51 points) rounded out the team competition in third and fourth place, respectively. The Bears also captured the 2013 New England Alliance crown with a 13 ½ point triumph over host Southern Maine (140-129.50), as Westfield’s Owls had won all six previous MASCAC indoor championships, which have been contested since 2007, and the host Huskies had claimed three of the past four Alliance titles dating back to 2009. The New England Alliance Championships feature combined competition from institutions representing both the MASCAC and Little East Conference.
Six different individuals captured conference crowns on the day for Bridgewater State, including senior Stephen Wahome (Lowell, Mass.), junior Andy Sukeforth (Middleboro, Mass.) and sophomore Brian Espinosa (Rehoboth, Mass.), who claimed a pair of individual titles for the Bears in the 200 meters (22.78) while breaking a 15-year-old conference record in the long jump (6.82 meters/22-04.50). Wahome was a winner in both the 3,000 meters (8:58.60) and 5,000 meters (15:47.34), while Sukeforth was victorious in both the mile (4:21.39) and 1,000 meters (2:35.25). Senior Michael McPherson (Mansfield, Mass.) broke his own conference record in taking top honors in the shot put (15.90 meters/52-02.00) for Bridgewater State, which also received a first place and conference record performance from junior Joshua Danner-Hicks (Haverhill, Mass.) in the triple jump (14.07 meters/46-02.00). Sophomore Josh Goehring (Haverhill, Mass.) added the other individual crown for Bridgewater State in the 600 meters (1:22.79), as he, Wahome, Sukeforth and sophomore Dallas O’Brien (Mansfield, Mass.) teamed up to win the 4 X 800 meter relay in a time of 8:10.87.
Westfield State senior Brendan Corcoran (Walpole, Mass.) was a double-winner once again the competition, as he took top honors in the 400 meters (50.99) and broke his own conference mark in the 800 meters (1:57.52), while fellow senior Tom Gauger (Billerica, Mass.) repeated as the champion in the pole vault (4.60 meters/15-01.00) for the Owls. Worcester State sophomore Terrence Gibson (Rockland, Mass.) was the final double-winner in the championships, as he copped crowns in the 55 meters (6.46) and tied the league mark in taking the 55 meter hurdles (7.78), while Lancer junior Andrew Johnson (Thompson, Conn.) claimed the title in the high jump (1.99 meters/6-06.25).
Worcester State also took top honors in both the 4 X 200 and 4 X 400 meter relays, as the tandem of Gibson, junior Ramses Rafael (Lawrence, Mass.), sophomore Stephen Gannon (Mansfield, Mass.) and freshman Jerome Drane (Uxbridge, Mass.) posted a time of 1:33.40 in the 4 X 200 while Rafael, Gannon and seniors Tim Mazeika (Millbury, Mass.) and Jon Parrella (Wilmington, Mass.) teamed up for the title in the 4 X 400 with a time of 3:27.70.
Fitchburg State senior Zach Desrochers (Dracut, Mass.) captured the Falcons’ lone conference individual title of the competition in the weight throw with a mark of 17.90 meters/58-08.75.
Bridgewater State’s victory in the New England Alliance Championships marked the first for a MASCAC squad in 10 years, as Westfield State took the Alliance crown in 2003 after winning the first three titles in the event’s history from 1998-2000.
