Men's, women's track just miss top finishes at Atlantic 10 championship

02/24/09 -The University of Rhode Island men and women's track teams competed at the Atlantic 10 championships this past weekend, finishing second and third, respectively.Every team in the conference participated in the meet, filling up Mackal Field House Friday and Saturday afternoons.

The men's team finished with 152 points, earning second place behind Charlotte University, who finished with 218.

"It was a great meet," men's assistant coach Kyle Poland said. "We scored higher than we expected."

Junior James Whalen gave the Rams a strong performance in the field, winning the heptathlon. With his performance, Whalen earned 2009 Field Performer of the Year honors.

Sophomore David Kennedy defended his crown in the 500-meter run, winning with a time of 1:04.10 in a very close race. Kennedy also competed in the 200-meter dash and was a member of the 4x400 team, finishing eighth and fifth respectively.

"It was a slow start to the season," Poland said. "We planned to peak at A-10s and New Englands and that's what we are doing."

Finishing right behind Kennedy in the 500-meter run was sophomore Nick Sanborn with a time of 1:04.27 to finish second.

"We came together as a team at the perfect time," Poland said.

In the shot put, junior Tyler Adams finished first with his toss of 52 feet 5.5 inches. The throw qualified Adams for IC4A championships, and was also a season-best. Sophomore Jacob Keeling also helped out with his third-place throw of 51 feet 9 inches.

Junior Michael Elliot took first place in the high jump with a season-best jump of 6 feet 10.25 inches, qualifying him for IC4A championships. Behind him was senior Shawn Leonard who finished third with a leap of 6 feet 6.25 inches.

"We competed well in every event," Poland said. "From top to bottom, we were up there for each event."

The team's second place finish served as the second consecutive season that URI has finished runner-up. Since 2001, the Rams have finished as one of the top two teams every year.

The women's team finished with 106 points, finishing third behind Charlotte's 175 and Dayton's 139.

"We had a fabulous meet," women's head coach Laurie Feit-Melnick said. "A number of personal and season bests were reached."

Sophomore Brittany Pelsue won a thrilling 1,000-meter race with a time of 2:58.63. Coming around the last lap, Pelsue was a few seconds off first place. She pushed for the rest of the way, blasting by the competition en route to the first place finish.

Sophomore Najila Singleton-McKinnon ran in the 400-meter run with a second place time of 56.90 seconds. Singleton-McKinnon's time is the fastest by a URI athlete in Mackal Field House history, and also set a sophomore class record.

Freshman Kalyn Sheehan finished second in a close 500-meter race with a school-record time of 1:14.48, finishing one second ahead of her qualifying time.

"We were excited to see Sheehan break the school record," Feit-Melnick said. "She's had a very impressive season."

In her last race at home, senior Ashley Robinson concluded her career with her third-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.63.

"The senior leadership was great," Feit-Melnick said. "Our freshmen also really stepped up."

With a crowded Mackal Field House cheering them on, the URI 4x400 team finished in third place in a race with competitive times.

"We gave it one hundred percent during the meet," Feit-Melnick said. "And we plan on doing the same this weekend."

Qualified members of both teams will compete in the New England Championships this upcoming weekend in Boston, Mass.

"It will be a competitive meet," Poland said. "We plan on finishing as high as we did last year, everybody needs to be on top of their games.