The University of Rhode Island men’s track and field split their team on Friday and Saturday, placing third at the University of Connecticut Northeast Challenge and reaching the podium multiple times at the Friar Invitational.
On Friday, the Rams sent 16 of their 45 athletes to Providence, Rhode Island for the Friar invitational, most of whom specialize in long distance running. The meet provided those long distance runners with a better chance to compete and allowed for some of the runners to compete in both meets. Of the 16 who competed, two made the podium and fifth-year Ben Fleischer set a new school record in the 5,000 meter with a time of 14:06.90 minutes.
“We had a slew of guys both in the mile and then in the 5k later in the night who had really nice [personal records],” Head Coach Trent Baltzell said. “So that whole crew is heating up right now, Ben’s 5k was like the night cap, so that was a school record for Ben once again.”
Fleischer now holds the school record in the 3,000 meter and 5,000 meter, and Baltzell said he knows that Fleischer has it in him to break the 14-minute mark in that 5,000 meter run. The rest of that crew that is heating up includes first-year Cooper Mitchell, who placed second in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 57.64 seconds. The lone first-place finisher for the Rams at the Friar Invitational was fifth-year Collin Ochs, who had a time of 1:50.75 minutes in the 800 meters.
That same Friday in Storrs, Connecticut, the Rams long jump group had a strong performance with three athletes finishing in the top 10. The effort was led by fourth-year Derek Chalmers, who placed third with a leap of 23’ 11.75” – the best jump of anyone in the Atlantic 10 this season. In sixth place was Rams’ third-year Israel Henriques-Setho, who jumped 23’ 3.25”, which was the second best jump of any A-10 long jumper. Rounding out the top ten for the Rams was fourth-year Isaiah Webster with a long jump of 22’ 10.5”, recording the ninth-best jump from an A-10 athlete this season. Overall, the Rams had four long jumpers in the top 10 for A-10 jumps this season.
“We had a really good long jump session at UConn, we had four guys jump pretty well and we ended up taking the top seed in the A-10,” Baltzell said. “Dereck Chamlers is really coming around and I’m expecting his post season to be stellar as it was last year.”
In last year’s outdoor A-10 championship, Chalmers not only won the event, but set the all time school record with a jump of 25’ 2.5” feet.
The long jump group racked up nine of the Rams’ 69 total points. The Rams fell just four points shy of second place University of Albany, and host school UConn won the meet with a score of 129.
The Rams won two events at the UConn Northeast Challenge: the javelin and the 3,000 meter steeplechase. After earning All-American honors last season and finishing 18th in the National Championship, fourth-year Lucas Frost was back in action for the Rams. On Friday, he won the javelin with a throw of 220’1”, which was a season best for him. In the steeplechase, it was first-year Jesse Principe who ran it in 9:55.33 minutes, which was not only a personal best for him, but also his first collegiate win.
Other notable performances for the Rams include third-year Jarrett Young, who set a new personal best in the 200 meter. Young’s time of 21.07 seconds was good enough for third place, and he was followed by fellow Ram second-year Steven Doss. Doss finished in fifth place with a time of 21.44 seconds; this was Doss’ first time running for the Rams as he was previously at Division III Rhode Island College. In sixth place was fifth-year Jolon O’Connor, who ran the 200 meters in 21.45 seconds. The three of them scored 13 points for the Rams. Those three times from Doss, Young and O’Connor rank as the best three 200 meter times from any sprinter in the A-10 this season.
The last Ram to reach the podium was third-year Mason Brubaker. In the pole vault, Brubaker placed second, reaching 16’ 1.25”. In both of Brubaker’s vaults this season, he’s had top five performances in the A-10.
The Rams now have the best performances in eight different events in the A-10. Even with top performances across the board, Baltzell expects high-end performances from his team.
“We’re holding top marks in a number of events but it’s almost the expectation,” Baltzell said. “Based on our personnel and depth I wouldn’t say we’re showing out in anything right now but things are coming together pretty well.”
With 16 days until the A-10 championships, the Rams are in good standing within the conference and will have multiple meets leading up to the big one. The one wish Baltzell said he has over the next three meets leading up to championships is some better weather.
The Rams will be back in action on Saturday up in Worcester, Massachusetts for the Holy Cross Invitational.