This past weekend saw the University of Rhode Island’s men’s and women’s track teams compete in the IC4A’s and the ECAC’s respectively, and was their last meet in the indoor season. These events gave the select athletes that competed a chance to focus on individual goals, rather than focusing on a team track meet.
On the men’s side there was reason for enthusiasm, as Rhody placed three athletes inside the top 10 in their respective events. Â
In the 1000-meter run, junior Alexander McGrainer had a personal best on Saturday, which he topped with another personal best on Sunday, giving him seventh place in the process. The time places McGrainer second all time in URI history.
“Alex McGrainer has learned a lot this year†head coach John Copeland said. “His preliminary race was maybe the best race he has run all year.â€
Another notable performance came from freshman Ryan Wilkes, who competed in the pole vault and was good enough to take home third place. The finish was his best since grabbing second in the Atlantic 10 Championships.
The last of the three top 10 finishers was sophomore Marlon Montague, who crossed the finish line in eighth place in the 400-meter run.
On the women’s side there were a number of entries, but just one was able to finish inside the top 10 in their event. Senior Janel Conley continued her hot streak by coming in second place in the 60-meter hurdles. The finish was just one one-hundredth of a second behind the first place runner, senior Iris Chijioke from Columbia University.
Conley also was able to salvage a point in the long jump, coming in eighth place.
“She is one of our most valuable and improved performers†assistant coach John Melnick said. “She has worked very hard for what she has done and is extremely consistent.â€
One other notable finish was senior Karleigh Manfredi, who came up strong in the pole vault with a sixth-place finish, garnering three of their 12 total points on the day.