The University of Rhode Island women’s track and field team trekked south to the Virginia Beach Sports Center for the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field Championship on Saturday afternoon.
In the first Atlantic 10 championship hosted at a neutral location, Rhody finished in sixth place with 56 total team points ahead of the La Salle University Explorers with 48 and behind the University of Dayton Flyers who had 66.
“We really had a very solid weekend,” URI Head Coach said.
“It was the first time that we were traveling to a neutral site which was pretty awesome and it was a beautiful facility.”
One of the highlights of their championship weekend came from second-year Lily Saul, who defended her 2023 title in the 800-meter.
“It was a goal of mine,” Saul said. “Last year was my first indoor track season so this season I feel like I have more experience and it helped me a lot to be more confident.”
Saul finished with a time of 2:08.15, which is her second-best ever indoor time and the squad’s best all-time in the A-10 Championship meet. The old mark was held by Lotte Black with a time of 2:08.22 from 2020.
“The last 200 meters of the race I kind of thought I had it in me,” Saul said. “When I crossed the line I was so happy because I finally did it again. My teammates and coaches helped me a lot.”
The Rams also saw more individual success with numerous personal bests from the rest of the squad, including fourth-year Hanna O’Connor who finished second in the 1000-meter, capturing her first podium finish with a time of 2:52.20. It was also a new personal mark for her and the team’s third-best ever in the A-10 Championship meet.
O’Connor also saw success with her teammates, third-year Elise LePage, Saul and fourth-year Corina Vidala. The group finished third in the 4×800 Relay with a time of 9:00.93. This was the best-ever time for the women at the A-10 Championship and their sixth overall best all-time.
Fourth-year Megan Wood finished fifth in the shot put, throwing her indoor personal best of 45′ 9 1/2″, the team’s second-best mark all-time in the indoor championship meet. First-year Alyssa Yankee finished ninth in the shot put, recording a personal best throw of 42′ 3 1/4″.
“I think everyone did really well,” Saul said. “A lot of personal bests, it was a good weekend and it was really exciting to see everyone do so well.”
The Rams are hoping to continue their strong performances at the New England Championship and the Eastern College Athletic conference.
“We have a big weekend coming up,” Head Coach Felt-Melnick said.
The Rams will send a few of their women to the TRACK at New Balance in Boston for the ECAC championship and at Boston University for the New England Championships March 1-3.