The University of Rhode Island women’s cross country team traveled to take part in the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Invitational over the weekend, in which there were nine Rams who placed in the top 100 of the six-kilometer race.
On Saturday morning, second-year Alison Pankowicz finished the six-kilometer course in 22:42.75 to place 41st, and first-year Keaney Bayha placed 42nd just two seconds behind Pankowicz with a time of 22:43.96.
Along with Pankowicz and Bayha, first-year Jordan Hadfield placed 61st overall with a time of 23:03.95, fifth-year Sofia Piccone placed 62nd right behind her with a run in 23:06.12 and fifth-year student Madeline Till ran a 23:16.33 six-kilometer to place 70th.
The highlight of the day for the Rams was fourth-year Lily Saul finishing with a time of 21:47.90 to place ninth out of 275 runners, the highest out of any URI runner in the race.
“I feel it was a very positive day,” URI Head Coach Laurie Feit-Melnick said. “Saul led the way for the team, but we have a solid pack, so in the future, we need to continue to keep moving that pack up.”
Aside from Saul, third-year Hailey LaRosa ran a new personal best with a time of 22:53.55 to place 51st overall in the competition.
“It was nice to see how she ran,” Feit-Melnick said. “Hailey had a very good race, and she was our fourth-[best] runner as a third-year, so it was nice to see her get a personal best in our first 6K of the season.”
With only one more invitation and just a few weeks before the New England Championship on Oct. 10, Feit-Melnick and the rest of the team have their sights on getting everyone on the same page.
“Trying to get everyone to have a great race on the same day doesn’t always happen in cross country,” Feit-Melnick said. “Some people feel good on some days, and some it’s just not their day. We need to get out quicker in the mile, which would then help our pack to be up further, which is something that is very doable.”
The Rams will continue to prepare for the championship when they travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Oct. 3 for the Paul Short Invitational.
