The University of Rhode Island women’s track and field team fielded 16 athletes across five events at the Brown Invitational on Saturday, hosted at Brown University’s Olney-Margolies Athletic Center in Providence.
While the rest continue to prepare for the A-10 Championship next week, this meet was the team’s final opportunity to post qualifying marks for the upcoming championship meets.
“It’s not a bad idea just to rest,” URI Women’s Track and Field Head Coach Laurie Feit-Melnick said. “We had hard workouts on Friday, so we had a small group go, and it was super beneficial. This meet was for some of the technical event people that needed to vault, throw or hurdle.”
Rhode Island jumped high and far; third-year pole vaulter Olivia Priest finished third and was first among Rhode Island athletes in the pole vault after clearing 12’ 1.5”. First-year pole vaulter Sarah Shipton finished seventh at 11’ 1.75”, and third-year pole vaulter Charlotte Moscovici finished closely behind her in eighth at 10’ 8”.
“Olivia Priest vaulted well with a season-best jump,” Feit-Melnick said. “That’s her second-best mark all-time.”
Good performances continued throughout the day; fifth-year sprinter Kayla Clark finished second in the 60-meter dash in 8.78 seconds. Fourth-year jumper Alexis Zarr finished sixth in the high jump at 4’ 11.5”.
“This meet was super beneficial for someone like Kayla Clark,” Feit-Melnick said. “That was her season-best mark, and that just helps her get ready for A-10s.”
Second-year Emma Halsey showcased her jumping talent in two events, placing ninth in the high jump with a jump of 4’ 7.5” and finishing sixth in the 60-meter hurdles in 9.60 seconds.
Three of the top 14 shot put performances in the 26-person event were secured by Rhode Island. Third-year Alyssa Yankee placed 11th with 40’ 3.25”, third-year Rachel Federico finished 12th with 37’ 8” and first-year Elizabeth Dankwa finished 13th with 37’ 6.5”.
The good throwing performances continued as third-year Madison Boucher finished eighth in the weight throw with 51’ 0.75”. Behind her finished Dankwa in 12th with 44’ 4” and Federico in 13th with 43’0.25.
This in-state meet served as one final tune-up before the team heads to the Atlantic 10 Championship on Friday and Saturday at the Virginia Beach Sports Center, where Rhode Island will send 32 athletes.
“We would love to be in the top four, maybe even in the top three,” Feit-Melnick said. “We’ve got a lot of young women on the team that can make a final, and it’s exciting. We’re looking forward to having a great team championship, where everyone works together and everyone scores points together in each individual event.”
Rhode Island has steadily improved its performance at the Atlantic 10 Championship in recent years. The Rams placed seventh with 62 points in 2023, followed by a sixth-place finish with 56 points in 2024. Last year, the team finished fifth with 75.5 points and fourth-year runner Lily Saul was named track performer of the meet.
