Hannah O’Connor leads young Cross Country group to new heights
O’Connor quickly became the Rams’ second highest contributor in her second Cross Country season PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com
University of Rhode Island Women’s Track and Field team captain Hanna O’Connor has quickly made her mark in not only the A10 Track and Field scene but also, most recently, cross country as well.
Being primarily a middle-distance runner in track competing in events ranging from 600-1000 meters, O’Connor has upped her mileage drastically to compete in cross country, and done so quite successfully and gracefully, becoming a key contributor to the cross country team.
Growing up in Johnston, RI and attending Bay View Academy, O’Connor competed in multiple sports such as soccer and lacrosse, but found herself excelling in and having an intense passion for running. This led her to the task of competing in multiple sports in the same season in both the fall and spring her junior and senior years of high school, with soccer and cross country taking up her time in the fall and lacrosse and outdoor track in the spring.
The discipline and drive paid off, as O’Connor became a highly decorated runner for her high school earning numerous honors such as All-Class, All-Division, All-State, being named a captain for both soccer and track, and even receiving an invite to the New Balance National Championships to compete in the Distance Medley Relay with her teammates.
After her storied high school career, O’Connor had plenty of options for schools to attend, and she decided to attend URI due to her positive relationship with the coaches and respect for the program.
“I loved the coaching staff, and really being able to see myself succeed in the program,” O’Connor said.
Since her arrival at URI, O’Connor has been able to make a tremendous impact on the track team, and with her newfound success in her first full season of cross country here at URI, her contributions grow even greater.
Women’s cross country head coach Laurie Feit-Melnick spoke on O’Connor’s value to the team, stating that it goes beyond her results.
“Hanna provides so much for our team, great leadership, positive energy, a great work ethic,” Feit-Melnick said. “She really is an essential part of our team and its success.”
Expectations are high from Coach Feit-Melnick when it comes to her goals for O’Connor, stating that anything is possible for someone with such tremendous versatility.
“The sky’s the limit for her, she just needs to keep taking strides one season at a time and steadily improving,” Feit-Melnick said. “She just has such high potential and great versatility as a runner, really anything is possible for her.”
With O’Connor being almost halfway through her senior year, she has decided to come back for a 5th year next year to continue pursuing both her academic and athletic goals at URI. O’Connor’s goal for her final year is simple as she hopes to continue her progress.
“My number one goal is stay healthy so that I can keep improving at a steady rate, but I also really want to both make it to the conference finals in a solo event, and get on the podium for one of our relays this year,” O’Connor said.
While O’Connor clearly showcases extreme self-discipline, she also showcases a commendable ‘team-first’ mentality, sharing that her favorite moments are those competing with her teammates.
“Although I do enjoy doing my own solo events, I prefer the relays so me and my teammates can compete together and push each other,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor has been an invaluable member of both the women’s cross country and track and field teams over the past few years, and looks to continue making strides and achieve both team and individual success as she heads into the second half of her senior year.