The University of Rhode Island women’s cross country team competed in the Paul Short Invitational on Friday at Lehigh University and finished 10th overall out of the 39 teams in competition.
The Rams competed in the Women’s College Brown six-kilometer at the event, where the Atlantic 10 Conference had a strong showing, with all four A-10 schools participating finishing inside the top 20.
“The pack was nice and tight,” URI Head Coach Laurie Feit-Melnick said. “We need to just keep moving it up.”
George Washington University finished first overall, Rhode Island came in 10th, right behind the Rams was Saint Joseph’s University at 11th and Duquesne University finished in 20th.
The top performer for the Rams was fourth-year Lily Saul. Saul came in 10th out of the 328 runners. Saul also had the second-best time among A-10 competitors, only behind second-year Hadley Mahoney from George Washington, who placed fifth overall. Saul finished with a time of 21:15, which was a personal best.
“I knew I wanted to [set a personal record],” Saul said. “I knew I was in better shape than last year, so I wanted to put myself in the top group, and I found a group and stayed with them.”
Saul is no newcomer to running at a high level, as she is a five-time A-10 champion in track and field. As a first-year, she was an A-10 indoor 800-meter champion and repeated as 800 champion the following year. She was also an A-10 indoor champion in the mile and the 1,000-meter. She then went on to be an A-10 champion in the outdoor 800 that year as well. Although she just recently joined the cross country team, she’s found success almost immediately.
“I didn’t do cross country in high school, and last year was my first year doing cross country,” Saul said. “I PR’d in track in the 800 by two seconds, I PR’d in the 400 [and] I PR’d in the mile by almost 15 seconds, so I think it made a big difference.”
As a team, URI placed 10th overall with a total of 334 points. Other Rams who scored points were first-year Keaney Bayha (22:28.3), who placed 73rd and scored 70 points, followed by second-year Alison Pankowicz (22:31.2), who came in 79th with 76 points; just behind her was second-year Hailey LaRosa (22:31.4), who finished in 81st scoring 78 points, and fifth-year Sofia Piccone (22:41.8) rounded things out, finishing 105th and scoring 100 points.
“It’s all good prep for down the road for the A-10 Championship and then obviously for the New England Championship,” Feit-Melnick said.
The women’s cross country team will travel to Hopkinton, New Hampshire, on Friday for the New England Championship. The Rams will then have three weeks off from racing before they are back in action for the Atlantic 10 Championship on Nov. 1 in Cedarville, Ohio.
The post Saul helps lead women’s cross country to top-10 finish first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
Latest Rhody Cigar
- This Week In Sports – 10/9Football FINAL (10/3): Brown University 28-21 University of Rhode Island Rhode Island suffered its second consecutive loss this season on Saturday, losing to in-state rival Brown. Rhode Island never led in the game, and four turnovers gave Brown a multitude of opportunities that the Bears were able to capitalize on. On the first drive of... The post This Week In Sports – 10/9 first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
- CAA Power Rankings – Week 6Nearly no more nonconference matchups remain for the 14 members of the Coastal Athletic Association, meaning the remaining schedule is crucial from here on out. Each week, The Good Five Cent Cigar Sports Staff comes up with its cumulative ranking of CAA football teams. Here is how the CAA has shifted after week six: 14th... The post CAA Power Rankings – Week 6 first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
- First-year middle blocker finds ‘family’ with volleyball teamFirst-year middle blocker Hannah Jonick has taken on the challenge of traveling from coast to coast and has found a home with the University of Rhode Island women’s volleyball team. Growing up in San Diego, Jonick said she knew that going from living in one of the biggest states to now residing in the smallest... The post First-year middle blocker finds ‘family’ with volleyball team first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
- Rhode Island native becomes breakout defensive star for footballThird-year linebacker Moses Meus managed something that the University of Rhode Island football team hasn’t seen in over a decade when he collected 19 tackles on Sept. 27, building on his breakout season. On a night the Rams suffered a 47-14 loss to Western Michigan University, Meus recorded his career high in tackles. It was... The post Rhode Island native becomes breakout defensive star for football first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
- Men’s club hockey splits with Villanova in first home seriesThe University of Rhode Island men’s club hockey team split a pair of matches against Villanova University this weekend in its home opening series at Boss Ice Arena. In Friday’s match, Villanova got the scoring going early with a goal from fourth-year forward Christiano Rapattoni to put the Wildcats up 1-0. Later on... The post Men’s club hockey splits with Villanova in first home series first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
- Rowing kicks off fall season with medal finishes in OklahomaRacing on the water for the first time this fall season, the University of Rhode Island women’s rowing team traveled to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to participate in the Head of the Oklahoma on Saturday. In the Rams’ first event of the year, the team sent one boat and participated in two events. The first, the... The post Rowing kicks off fall season with medal finishes in Oklahoma first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.