KINGSTON, R.I. - Rhode Island Women's Track & Field finished the first day of the Atlantic 10 Championship in a tie for ninth place with 11 points. The Rams were knotted up with Saint Louis upon completion of Friday's action at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
Lily MacDonald highlighted the opening day of competition, placing fourth in the Pentathlon with a score of 3,453 points. She added five points to URI's total in her first collegiate championship meet and was just 22 points off of a podium finish.
Olivia Priest also scored for the Rams, picking up three points with her sixth-place finish in the pole vault. She cleared 11' 10 1/2", the sixth-highest mark in program history. Competing in her final Indoor Atlantic 10 Championship,
Megan Wood was sixth in the weight throw with a 55' 11 1/4" toss for three points.
Though not a finals performance,
Odette van Wyk also stood out for URI on day one with her record-breaking performance in the 200m prelim. She ran a 24.45 to set a new all-time best for the Rams while securing her spot in Saturday's final.
Highlights
- Lily Saul had the second-fastest time in the 1000m Prelim at 2:51.17. George Mason's Ellie Desmond set a meet record in 2:48.52.
- Sydney Federico's time of 56.54 in the 400m prelim was good enough for fourth place and punched her ticket to Saturday's final.
- Kayla Clark qualified for the 60m Hurdles finals, coming fifth in the prelim with a time of 8.77 seconds. She was .02 seconds off of a top-three pace.
- Carollin Mellin ran a 2:16.01 in the 800m for seventh place and a spot in Saturday's final.
- van Wyk claimed the last spot in the 60m Final with a prelim time of 7.67 (eighth).
- Abigail Colella finished 10th in the 500m prelims (1:17.15), less than a second off of a qualifying pace.
- Alyvia Caruso's mark of 17' 6 1/4" in the long jump earned her 12th place.
- The team of Elise LePage, Joyce London, Kelsey Wolff and Linsey Arends placed 12th in the distance medley relay with a time fo 12:12.12. The group bested Saint Joseph's by about seven seconds.
Women's Team Rankings
(through six scored events)
1. UMass - 38
2. George Mason - 35.5
3. VCU - 30
4. Richmond - 23
5. Fordham - 19
6. La Sale - 16
7. Dayton - 15
8. Duquesne - 13
T-9. Rhode Island - 11
T-9. Saint Louis - 11
11. Davidson - 8.5
12. George Washington - 8
13. Loyola Chicago - 6
