The University of Rhode Island women’s track and field team competed in the New England Indoor Track and Field Championship on Friday and Saturday, placing first to win the title for the second consecutive year.
Second-year Macy Daigle started Rhode Island strong on Friday, getting the Rams on the board in the high jump with a personal-best mark of 5’ 7” to take first place.
The team of fourth-year Olivia Skapczynski, third-year Joyce London, third-year Lilly Pittakas and second-year Alison Pankowicz would finish with a time of 12:04.21 in the 4,000-meter distance medley relay, taking first place.
Going into Saturday, URI was fourth in the team standings and would need strong performances to be crowned champion again.
Fourth-year Lily Saul continued her indoor championship dominance in the 1,000-meter with a meet record time of 2:44.12 to win the race, making it her second consecutive win in the race after last week’s Atlantic 10 Championship.
First-year Keira Cleary took the top spot in the 500-meter with a time of 1:14.97, and first-year Anna-Rose Merchant was right behind her in second with a mark of 1:15.19. URI athletes made up five of the top eight spots in the event, combining for 28 points to boost the Rams up the leaderboard.
The Rams also dominated the 800-meter event, with fourth-year Zoe Catrambone leading the way with a time of 2:10.56 to win the event. Fifth-year Madeline Till finished with a time of 2:12.77 for second and second-year Kelsey Wolff finished in 2:13.30 for third place, as URI swept the top three spots in the race.
Second-year Lily MacDonald improved her sophomore record in the triple jump, gathering a personal-best of 39’ 10.75”, good for second place in the event. She holds the team’s fourth-best mark in program history.
URI ended the meet with five champions, numerous personal bests and a school record from Saul in the 1,000-meter, a record that had stood since 2020, set by URI alumna Lotte Black ’21. With four wins in indoor championship races this year, the three-time Atlantic 10 Indoor Track Performer of the Week has been key to Rhody’s success.
“She’s made a huge impact in our program,” Rhode Island Head Coach Laurie Feit-Melnick said. “I wasn’t sure how she would feel this weekend, but the goal was to break the meet record, which is from 2020, and she accomplished that. I’m just thrilled to see Lily accomplish her goal and get the school record, set by one of our best athletes in the history of this program.”
Coming off of last weekend’s second-place finish in the Atlantic 10 Championship, Feit-Melnick is pleased with her team’s performance.
“This was so exciting,” Feit-Melnick said. “It’s our second consecutive championship indoor title, and we had so many amazing performances this past weekend. We had a great day one, and day two was a great team effort to win.”
The Rams have this weekend off before starting their outdoor slate down in Orlando, Fla., competing in the University of Central Florida’s Black & Gold Invitation on March 20.
