Lily Saul, a second-year on the University of Rhode Island women’s track and field team, took home gold as she defended her Atlantic 10 title in the 800 meter event at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships on Feb. 24.
Saul went on to secure silver at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship just over a week later, falling just 0.04 seconds short of gold.
“It felt good winning the 800 meter again, the goal of mine was to win again,” Saul said. “ECAC was so close, I actually fell at the end of that race. It was a super close race, and I think it was one of the most fun races I have ever been a part of, even though I got second.”
URI Women’s track and field Head Coach Laurie Feit-Melnick was impressed with Saul’s past two performances, even joking that Saul should’ve ran through the line rather than leaning.
“She leaned and she went down and was leaning to get every second of that win, it was like [ 0.04] of a second, but she ran really well and made some nice moves,” Feit-Melnick said. “She was on two relays as well, so we definitely kept her busy. She was on our 4×800 meter [team] and then only 20 minutes later she had to come back and run our 4×400 meter, so that was a tight relay turnaround.”
Feit-Melnick has now coached Saul for two full indoor seasons, and is quite pleased with the growth and drive Saul is radiating.
“I try not to put pressure on our student athletes, we are really trying to focus on the process rather than the outcome, but we are really proud of her accomplishments and it was a really competitive ECAC 800 meter final,” Feit-Melnick said.
Success of this kind is not too uncommon for the second year runner. A successful four year track and field career at Montoursville Area High School in Pennsylvania saw Saul named the Athlete of the Year by the Sun Gazette in her senior year. Her high school resume caught the eye of many programs around the country, but in the end, it was URI that caught Saul’s attention.
“The coaches here are really good…they’ve been super supportive and help me a lot, mentally and physically,” Saul said. “I also didn’t want to be too close to home, I wanted to branch out…and there’s no beaches in Pennsylvania.”
Reminiscing on the earlier years of her track career, Saul gave a lot of credit to her father, whom she regarded as one of her biggest supporters. Her father was always a big help, driving her to all her track practices and meets when she was younger.
“My mom passed away when I was younger, so my dad kind of stepped in and had to raise four kids by himself, so he’s probably my biggest inspiration,” Saul said.
The future is certainly bright for sophomore Lily Saul, according to Feit-Malnick. As she looks towards future goals, Saul said she aspires to make and compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships, and would love to win the conference again. Above all, it is Saul’s dedication to continue to get better each year that will set her up for continued success, something that her coaches have taken note of.
“Lily is an overall great student athlete and team member,” Coach Feit-Melnick said. “I would say her greatest attribute is that she loves to compete, [she] doesn’t put any limitations [on herself], so she is trying to be the best she could possibly be.”