The 2023 Paul Short Invitational, hosted on Saturday afternoon by Lehigh University, saw the University of Rhode Island’s women’s cross country team finish 40th out of 44 teams.
With a score of 1015 points, URI fell 65 points short of the 39th placed George Mason University. Utah Valley University took the top spot by a score of 77.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst, one of the teams URI faced in their previous race, the Nassaney Invitational, placed 25th with 652 points.
The Nassaney Invitational on Sept. 9 hosted by Bryant University saw UMass Amherst place second while URI came in fourth place, only an 18-point difference between the two schools.
Placing highest for URI was fourth-year Molly Sabia, running a 22:19.0 to take the 174th spot in the 6000 meter race.
Sabia also led URI in the Nassaney Invitational, earning 12th place in the 5k run.
Right behind her came third-year Erin Hurley, finishing 198th with a time of 22:30.4. Fellow third-year Sofia Piccone followed up with 22:34.2, receiving 207th place.
URI head coach Laurie Feit-Melnik weighed in on Hurley, a Wakefield, Rhode Island native.
“[She’s made] huge improvements,” Feit-Melnik said. “[She’s] such a great kid.”
Feit-Melnik included Hurley in the group of upperclassmen she credits to having done a “phenomenal job” so far this season.
The collection of upperclassmen is composed of Sabia, Hurley, Piccone, and fifth-years Hanna O’Connor and Daniella Napoli.
O’Connor finished behind Piccone at the Paul Short Invitational with a time of 22:55.1 for 248th place while Napoli secured 310th place, running 23:25.1.
“[The upperclassmen] work together really well,” Feit-Melnik said. “We have a great group from the older ones to my sophomores and freshmen.”
The only underclassmen to compete in the 6000 meter race was second-year Leyla Kvaternik, earning 286th place at 23:12.4.
This team chemistry has led to better performances in races, according to Feit-Melnick.
“We need to continue to run as a pack, which we did a nice job of this past weekend,” Feit-Melnik said. “I feel we have a great culture and we have a really amazing group of women. We look forward to improvements, but we don’t always focus on our times, it’s also about the whole process.”
Praise from the head coach comes with responsibility and knowing the roles to be filled on the team, according to Hurley.
“I try to lead by example, but I think there’s a lot of people on the team who do a really good job [of that too],” Hurley said. “I think it helps a lot to have good leadership and stay positive.”
Hurley, who captained the cross country team at South Kingstown High School, has goals for herself and the team throughout the rest of their season.
“We’re hoping to improve on our A-10s from our place last year, which was tenth,” Hurley said. “We’re looking to have a tight group in the front, have a small 1-5 split, and work together as a team in the championship meets.”
The Rams will look to showcase their togetherness this Saturday afternoon in Boston, Massachusetts at the New England Championship meet.