A great weekend by the men’s and women’s track teams was highlighted by the men’s team having 10 individual winners in their respective events, while the women’s team had senior Janel Conley place third out of 16 competitors in the Jim Click Heptathlon in Arizona.
Going more in-depth on the men’s team’s performance while at the Yale Invitational, the event was a rousing success as the team had a lot of solid performances. This performance was critical, as the team only has about a month before it needs to be ready for the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships.
The top athlete for the men in a strong day of performances was sophomore Nigel Riley, who won both the long jump and triple jump, continuing his trend upward from his fifth-place finish in the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships.
Rhody’s strongest events of the day were the triple jump, long jump, 110-meter hurdles and the 5000-meter run, where they captured at least two of the top three spots. And in the case of the triple jump and long jump, the Rams took the top four spots and three spots, respectively.
Also throwing his hat into the ring for the best performance was senior Sam Snyder, who grabbed first in the discus, second in shot and ninth in the hammer throw.
On the women’s side there were just two performers, both of whom competed in Arizona for the Jim Click Heptathlon.
The event was fantastic for Conley, as she finished with the second-highest score ever recorded in the program’s history for a heptathlon. She also now sits in the top 15 in the NCAA’s East Region, as well as in the top 30 overall in NCAA Division I competition.
Senior Keiko Hector also participated and had a solid meet, as well finishing 13th of the 16 competitors. By competing and grabbing 13th, she was able to qualify for the ECACs. The performance was her fourth-best at URI and eighth-best in the program’s history.
Both teams next compete on Saturday, with the men going to the UConn Northeast Invitational and the women going to the Ocean State Invitational.