This past weekend the University of Rhode Island men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams took part in the John Thomas Terrier Classic, hosted by Boston University, Friday and Saturday, respectively.
On the men’s side, sophomore Marlon Montague grabbed third in the 500-meter dash with fellow Ram and senior, Kebba Nasso, finishing just behind him in fourth. Montague was also part of a relay team that along with him consisted of four sophomores in Nigel Hill, Adam Franklin and Jaleel Felton, and was able to take home seventh place.
“I thought the 400-meter guys really put on a pretty good show in the 400-meter and 500-meter,†head coach John Copeland said. “We have a good quality meet here on Saturday, and then Atlantic 10 Championships coming up soon so everyone is starting to get focused.â€
Other notable performances occurred particularly in the field side of things with senior Samuel Snyder placing fourth in the shot put, sophomore Nigel Riley earning sixth in the triple jump and junior Ondrej Honka finishing in seventh in the pole vault.
The women’s team enjoyed plenty of success and even some milestone achievements for their part, with six finishers inside the top 10, including the stellar performance by super senior Mariah Claudio, who finished second overall in the 500-meter race, as well as breaking the school record by over a full second. The historic display earned her qualifications for the Eastern College Athletic Conference, or ECAC.
In addition, Claudio also took part in the four by 400-meter relay team along with senior Keiko Hector, junior Dyshelle Pemberton, and freshman Mikaila Amerantes. They finished ninth and qualified for the ECAC with Rhody’s seventh best mark of all-time.
Hector added to her day by also qualifying for the ECAC by finishing third in the high jump and tying for the eighth best jump in school history, as well as coming up with the sixth best time in school history for the 60-meter hurdles.
“It was an excellent meet and we had a great night up at Boston University,†assistant head coach John Melnick said. “The team really took advantage of the opportunity so we were really pleased.â€
Other top performances included senior Janel Conley finishing fifth in the 60-meter hurdles, senior Karleigh Manfredi earning sixth in the pole vault and senior Katja Neves placing seventh in the shot put.
Both teams will look to maintain their form when they compete next weekend at the Coaches Tribute Meet on Saturday.