Track and Field athletes qualify for New England Championships, look ahead to A-10’s

The University of Rhode Island track and field teams both competed this past Friday, with the men’s team competing at the Fastrack National Invite in New York and the women’s team taking part in the David Hemery Valentine Invitational held at Boston University. For both teams this was an opportunity to get some extra work in, but also to rest key members before the Atlantic 10 Championships this coming weekend.

On the men’s side, there were no winners in their respective heats, but there were a number of strong performances. In the 60-meter dash, the Rams placed two athletes in the top six, with sophomore Nigel Hill and senior Mike DiMambro finishing fifth and sixth respectively.

In addition to the 60-meter dash, Rhody also placed two athletes inside the top 10 finishers of the shot put. Senior Sam Snyder just missed out on the top three, finishing in fourth place, while sophomore Darrik Muroski ended up just inside the top 10, placing ninth.

The top finisher for the men of the day, however, was sophomore Jaleel Felton. Felton narrowly missed winning the 200-meter and earned second place.

“I think some of the guys learned some things they had to in order to be better competitors,” head coach John Copeland said. “I think this upcoming weekend we are looking for guys to compete at the level they are capable of.”

On the women’s side, the Rams were able to place three people inside the top 10, but none inside the top three. The performance of the day belonged to sophomore Karlee Fowler, who finished fourth in the pole vault, which qualified her for the ECACs at season’s end. Fowler’s mark also tied the fourth best mark in URI’s history.

Finishing just behind Fowler was junior Amber Sekoll, who finished fifth in the pole vault and also qualified for the New England Championships. Sekoll was not the only Ram to qualify for the New England Championships though, as she was joined by Alysha Moreino, who punched her ticket with a seventh-place finish in the weight throw.

Moreover, freshman Nichole Barger and junior Dyshelle Pemberton also qualified for the New England Championships in the 800-meter and 200-meter races, respectively.

“We sat some key people out this past weekend,” head coach Laurie Feit-Melnick said. “We are definitely excited for this upcoming weekend, we are excited about the senior leadership we have and the captains.”

Both teams will have lofty expectations for when they compete in the Atlantic 10 indoor championships this weekend.