Ken Bakstran graduated from Westfield State College as one of the most decorated athletes in men’s track and field history, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 400 meters on four occasions. 
 
Bakstran competed in the 400 meters indoors in 1993 and 1994, and outdoors in 1994 and in 1995, when his Owls 4x400 relay team also competed at the NCAA Championships. Bakstran’s best outdoor 400-meter time was 48.3 seconds, just 5/100^th’s of a second off of the long-standing school record.
 
Bakstran won five Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference individual title and was a part of four MASCAC-winning relay teams. He won the league’s 400-meter crown on four occasions and claimed the 200-meter title in 1995.  He was a part of a winning 4x100 relay team in 1995 as well.
 
A big-meet performer, Bakstran won the New England Division III title in the 400 meters, three times, at the outdoor meet in 1994 and 1995, and at the indoor meet in 1995. He was also a part of the Owls 1995 4x400 relay that set a ECAC Division III indoor record with a time of 3:18.56 (pairing with Paul Marquez, Erik Whynot, and Mike Whittier).
 
In total he was a six-time All-New England All-Divisions performer, and a 12-time All-New England Division III competitor.  He was named as Westfield State’s Outstanding Contributor in both 1993 and 1994.
 
Before attending Westfield State, Ken earned all-star recognition in the Tri Valley League where he was the 300 meter champion and competed in soccer and indoor and outdoor track and field.
 
Bakstran has followed a number of pursuits following his graduation from Westfield State, having backpacked across 13 countries in Europe, driven across the lower 48 states, worked on a fishing boat in Homer, Alaska, and honeymooned in Hawaii to complete his tour of all 50 states.  In 1999 he ran the Boston Marathon in 3:39.
 
A native of Ashland, Mass., Bakstran married fellow Westfield State graduate Shauna (Roche) Bakstran in 2003, and the couple has two sons, Connor and William.  
 
Ken is employed as a superintendent by the Lagasse Group, a fine home builder, and is an active Westfield State alumnus, having been a participant in the Dan Doyle Memorial Scholarship tournament, and is active with his sons’ activities as both a soccer coach and Cub Scout den leader.