Coming off impressive indoor seasons where the URI men’s team grabbed a championship and the women’s team earned second place, both teams picked up where they left off.
Most notably, junior Ondrej Honka setting a personal best at the Florida Relays in the pole vault that earned him Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week honors and third-best mark in URI’s history.
In addition to Honka, a small portion of the men’s team took part in the Florida Relays on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while others competed just Saturday in the Bryant Invitational where the women’s team was also competing.
“We went down to the Florida Relays and we had some pretty good results,†head coach John Copeland said. “In the pole vault Ondrej Honka tied what he did indoors, so we are pleased with that. We are on the right track.â€
For the men there were some great performances in their second meet of the weekend, but one took the cake. Junior DeAngelo Berry was able to win both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash, and was also a part of the 4×100-meter relay team who also took home the gold. The other members of the 4×100-meter relay team were sophomores Nigel Hill and Nigel Riley as well as junior John Stallworth.
The other star for Rhody on the day was sophomore Darrik Muroski who dominated competition and won both the shot put and discus throw.
On the flip side, the women’s team also had a remarkable meet at Bryant with eight winners in their respective events. The top athlete on the day for the Rhode Island women was junior Hannah Madison who was able to finish at the top in high jump, while also getting second in the javelin throw.
“It was nice to see,†assistant head coach John Melnick said. “There was a couple of personal bests in the throws. It was nice to be outside to get a feel for it. We hope for better weather going forward though.â€
Some of the other top performers were also key from the indoor season as they continued momentum into the spring, as seniors Mariah Claudio and Karleigh Manfredi won the 400-meter and pole vault respectively.
There was also a solid race turned in by freshman Breann Burns who showed some serious speed and poise by swiping first place in the 100-meter dash.
Both teams compete this Saturday with the men looking to contend at the Yale Open and the women hoping to build off their successful meet when they run in the Mark Young Invitational.