Fifth-year sprinter Sydney Federico has accumulated many accolades at the University of Rhode Island, including becoming an Atlantic 10 Conference champion in 2023 in the 4×400-meter relay.

Now in her second year as captain of the squad led by URI Head Coach Laurie Fiet-Melnick, Federico has stood out both on and off the track as she pursues her doctorate of pharmacy.

“I knew that it wasn’t just any other major; I was going to have to devote more time to it and really prioritize academics at points, so time management’s been huge,” Federico said. “When I like to do something, I want to make sure I’m giving my full effort and energy into it to make sure it’s done to the best of my ability.”

Knowing she wanted to go into something science-based in healthcare, as her father works for Pfizer, Federico began looking into programs at URI. Federico’s great grandfather coached baseball, basketball and football at URI, her great uncle ran track at URI and both of her parents attended the school.

Federico attended Westerly High School and was a member of the track and field team in all four years, captaining her senior year. Federico became a New Balance Nationals Relay Champion in the 4×400-meter in 2018.

“I had an amazing experience, not even just the competing part, but sometimes I don’t even think about the races we ran; I just think about the times we had together at the meets,” Federico said. “Track’s a little scary sometimes with relationships because it is an individual sport, so the fact that I was still able to have such close friends and great relationships from that really changed my mindset.”

Now leading Rhody’s 53-person roster, Federico’s growth over her five years at URI came in part due to the injury she suffered in her first year.

“There’s been so much growth in her maturity,” Fiet-Melnick said. “She was injured her freshman year, so she really had to overcome a lot with that injury. She’s a team-oriented person and a great role model.”

Having suffered from COVID-19 and then a stress fracture in her ankle, Federico wondered if she would be able to get back to peak performance after redshirting.

“I had never really been injured for that long of a time before, so I had to just sit the whole year, and I was devastated,” Federico said. “I was a freshman, and my mind was just set on what was happening at the time. Obviously now it’s working out very well. I think everything happens for a reason.”

Federico’s A-10 Championship 4×400 win came in her third year, as she competed on a team with Trinity Smith, Sanaiya Watts and Xiana Twombly, all of whom were fourth-years at the time. The team was the sixth seed before running their heat, which meant they wouldn’t compete in the faster heat. However, winning by a hundredth of a second, all they could do was sit and watch to see where they would finish.

“That day was so surreal; it was the last time ever [that] A-10s were going to be held at URI, and we were the last event of the whole meet,” Federico said. “The place erupted when they found out that we won, and we were jumping all over the place too, because we were the underdogs in our own track. Being able to share my first A-10 medal with girls that I looked up to was really special.”

After earning her first individual gold medal at the indoor A-10 Championship in the 400-meter last month, Federico is prepared to defend her title in the final track meet of her career on May 3-4 at the outdoor championship.

“It’s a little harder outdoors because it’s more of a saturated event; more girls run it than they do indoors,” Federico said. “I really just want to make the most of it. I’ve still been training hard, and I have times I want to hit. At the end of the day, track is an individual sport, and nothing beats being able to share moments with your teammates.”

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