The University of Rhode Island women’s track and field team competed at the Jaylin Rainford Invitational at Bryant University on Friday, its second outing of the outdoor season.
Despite having only 10 participants due to weather concerns, URI placed seventh out of 14 teams.
“We look at what is in the best interest for our team to keep everyone healthy and get us ready for championships,” URI Head Coach Laurie Feit-Melnick said. “We felt the majority of the team needed hard workouts and not to compete.”
The competition featured URI athletes in the hammer throw, discus, javelin and shot put, along with one runner in the 10,000-meter.
Second-year Gwen McCloughan was the sole track competitor for URI. She placed sixth in the 10,000-meter with a New England and Eastern College Athletic Conference qualifying time of 37:31.86. This marked McCloughan’s debut in the event.
“You can’t really find meets that have that many 10,000s, so it was important for her to go,” Feit-Melnick said. “The weather was cold, but it was alright for a 10K.”
One of URI’s top performers was third-year Alyssa Yankee, placing second in discus with a throw of 147’ 1”, and also recorded a distance of 42’ 5.25” in the shot put. The mark moves her to 10th on URI’s all-time discus list.
“It is very hard to make our top-10 list,” Feit-Melnick said. “She is currently ranked fourth in the [Atlantic 10 Conference] in shot put and second in the A-10 in discus. Alyssa had a really good weekend for us.”
The Rams also had three additional top-10 finishes in the discus. Second-year Mae Gall placed fourth with a throw of 13’ 10”, first-year Elizabeth Dankwa placed sixth, totalling 125’ 2” and third-year Rachel Federico came in ninth at 114’ 1”.
Federico placed within the top 10 in the shot put as well, finishing eighth place with an outdoor-best throw of 36’ 9.75”.
Second-year Norah Kobaly represented URI in the javelin, placing ninth with a throw of 115 feet.
“As a whole, it was a pretty solid day on the throws,” Feit-Melnick said.
Another high placement came from third-year Madison Boucher, finishing second in the hammer throw with a toss of 165’ 3”. Boucher now ranks in the top five in the A-10 in the hammer throw.
“She was second in the hammer with a [personal best] New England mark and ECAC mark, and that was awesome,” Feit-Melnick said.
Next, the Rams will return to Bryant University for the annual Ocean State Cup beginning Friday and concluding on Saturday.
“The only event going on Friday is the hammer throw; On Saturday, we will take a bus up and everyone will compete,” Feit-Melnick said. “This is the only meet where the men’s and women’s points are combined, and the team is really excited.”
Rhode Island won the Ocean State Cup in 2025 and is looking to repeat last season’s success.
