By BRENDEN SOARES Cranston East product Joshua Hernandez had a meet to remember on December 4, as the ex-Thunderbolt won three individual events while also taking part in a victorious relay for Bridgewater State as the Bears won the BSU Invitational.

The Bridgewater State swimmers finished the team competition with a score of 868 points, helped along in large part by the Bears finishing all 19 events on top of the podium.

Hernandez started his day off on the right foot by swimming the freestyle leg in the 200-yard medley relay, recording a split of 21.22 seconds to help the BSU quartet finish in one minute, 40.41 seconds, nearly 16 seconds ahead of the group from Plymouth State.

His attentions then turned to the 50-yard butterfly, which he took top spot in with a time of 24.18 seconds, as teammates Jacob Rice and Derek Platteel locked out the remaining podium places for the Bears.

After that triumph, the 50-yard freestyle was next on Hernandez's docket, which he swam in 22.09 seconds, nearly a second slower than his earlier relay split, but good enough to keep the competition at bay by more than a second-and-a-half.

Not long after, the senior finished the 50/100 freestyle double, leading out the field in 23.15 seconds before eventually stopping the clock at 48.95 seconds to score his final 16 points of the day.

Hernandez was at least partially responsible for 80 of the points that Bridgewater State scored throughout the meet, while also managing to record new personal bests in all three individual events that he competed in.

Two days after his superlative performance, the Little East Conference tabbed Hernandez as its men's swimmer of the week, making him the second Bear to earn the honor in the team's first season of associate membership in the conference.

Bridgewater State hasn't been able to compete since the calendar turned over to 2022, with previously-scheduled meets with Brandeis, Keene State and Trinity all canceled due to coronavirus-related concerns.

As it stands, Hernandez and the Bears are currently slated to return to competition this Saturday afternoon with a dual meet versus Babson before diving in once again three days later against Bentley.

A pair of Cranston East graduates laced up their spikes for Rhode Island College at the Massasoit Classic in Springfield last Saturday, as former Thunderbolts Shayna Cousineau and Samantha Sainristil represented the Anchorwomen.

Cousineau took part in three events, picking up a pair of third-place results in the 4x400 meter relay and the mile, finishing the latter in a time of five minutes, 35.23 seconds, while coming in fourth in the 800 meters in two minutes, 38.51 seconds.

While Cousineau was busy on the track, Sanristil took part in the shot put, placing the highest of the three RIC competitors in the event with a throw of 9.81 meters to claim fifth place.