The University of Rhode Island men’s and women’s track and field programs teamed up in the Ocean State Cup, coming out on top as the first of five teams.
Hosted by Bryant University in Smithfield, the Rams competed against the Bulldogs, Brown University, Rhode Island College and Roger Williams University.
URI finished with 509.5 team points, with 257 points from the men’s program and 251 points from the women’s program. The second-place finisher, Brown University, earned 381.5 team points.
“I think that just shows that kind of dominance that we have in the state,” second-year Elias Sposato said. “Track-wise, I just think we’re doing a great job, both programs. Yeah, super cool to compete with them and just be one big force to be reckoned with.”
Under head coach Laurie Feit-Melnick, the women’s program had seven outright winners in the meet.
“We love this meet,” URI head coach Trent Baltzell said. “It’s very unique in that way. I’m not sure if there are any other meets across the country that combine scoring between men’s and women’s track and field. To have a State Cup like this, it’s a ton of fun. We practice alongside the women’s program every day, so it’s cool to actually get the chance to compete with them.”
Third-year Nick Martin, one of 11 men’s team winners, picked up a victory in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:06.92.
Second-year Cam Rose contributed to two different wins, as part of the 4×100-meter relay team and individually in the 200-meter. He also had a third-place finish in the 100-meter.
Rose was joined by his teammates, third-year Alex Arbogast, second-year Nathan Sims and second-year Samuel Gott in the relay victory in a time of 40.68 seconds.
Fourth-year Antonio Capalbo led the way with a meet-best 3:44.84 in the 1,500-meter, followed by three Rams in the second, third and fourth place positions.
Second-year Winslow Sightler earned victories in both shot put at 16.67 meters and discus with a 48.26 meter throw. Second-year Owen Vieira won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.94 seconds.
Third-years Rowan McConkey and Nate Schultz closed out the first-place finishes for the Rams in the high jump and long jump, respectively.
One week following his Atlantic 10 Conference second-best 400-meter run at the Raleigh Relays, which earned him A-10 Rookie of the Week, Sposato took first place in the 400-meter with a time of 47.73 seconds.
“I was super stoked to win that,” Sposato said. “Ever since last year, I was a redshirt freshman because I tore my ACL and meniscus, and I saw my friends and my roommate get that award. I was like, I need this award. Kind of showed my hard work paying off.”
Alongside the Raleigh Relays, URI competed at Bryant in the Jaylin Rainford Invitational the prior week.
“We love representing the state at the highest level,” Baltzell said. “It’s a nice, great way to kind of start the season. And we’re, of course, friendly with all of these programs and their coaching staff and things like that. So, yeah, it’s cool to get together and compete against them.”
Rhody is less than a month away from the A-10 Championship in Fairfax, Va., where they will look to earn their fifth title in six seasons, coming off last year’s second-place finish.
“These meets coming up are kind of bridge meets for us, kind of getting us to even the bigger stuff,” Baltzell said. “A-10s is looming, so really all these meets are just preparation meets for the A-10 Championship. I’m just trying to kind of polish off some areas, sharpen up and get guys into events that maybe they haven’t done yet to get some seed marks on paper for the A-10.”
URI will compete in the Friar Invitational, hosted by Providence College, as well as the Wilton Wright Invitational in New Haven, Conn., on Friday.
