Women's track claims victory at Stonehill Invitational

04/08/09 - The University of Rhode Island women's track and field team, led by six individual winners, compiled 190 points Saturday en route to capturing the team title at the Stonehill College Invitational."It was a great meet under difficult weather conditions," head coach Laurie Feit-Melnick said. "It was cold, windy and it rained a bit, but we had good team performances considering the weather. We used the meet as a good work out."

URI finished 9.5 points ahead of its next closest competitor Boston College.

"In all the years of the Atlantic 10 meet, even in Richmond and in Charlotte, we've had all kinds of weather," assistant coach John Melnick said. "It's not always sunny and 75 degrees that's for sure, but we made the most of what was available."

A number of Rams recorded season and personal bests Saturday, as sophomore Tanya Sawtelle finished second in the hammer throw, while senior Jackie Chiodo placed fourth at the high jump and sophomore Caitrin Demchko placed fourth in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Sawtelle threw a 160-4, while Chiodo cleared a bar at 5'-2" and Demchko finished her race in 12:18:59.

"We were really pleased with the performances," Melnick said. "It wasn't a stellar day by far. It was a long day but people just kept competing and we're really pleased with that."

With her first place finish in the high jump, and a mark of 5-6, junior Shayna Daugherty set a Stonehill Invitational facility record. Daugherty also captured a fourth and fifth place finish in the 100-meter hurdle and in the long jump, respectively. Sophomore Lara-Jane Que also set a Stonehill facility record, as she finished in 14.76, the fastest time from a Rhody sprinter this season.

"[Versatility] is important and it certainly becomes just as important at the A-10 Conference meet," Melnick said. "We're relying on a great team effort to finish as high as possible. Some individuals will focus on one event and some are capable of doing two, three or even more."

Junior Stephanie Gregory entered her name into the record book, tying a URI outdoor mark as she cleared a height of 10-11 in the pole vault. TyLynn Graham finished off Rhody's record day. Her leap of 18-2 in the long jump ranks fourth of all-time in URI track and field history. Graham also added a second place finish in the 100-meter hurdle.

"This is the kind of direction we'd like to be going in," Melnick said. "People kind of feed off of this success, and it just goes to that if you keep an open mind, you can overcome a lot of adversity."

Senior Ashley Robinson joined Graham as one of the only two athletes to compile both a first and a second place finish, as Robinson won the 200-meter dash, with a time of 26.25, while picking up two second place finishes in the 100-meter and the 4x100-meter relay.

Rhody looks to stay hot when they travel to Temple, Ariz. this Friday in the Sun Angel Classic.

"Ten women will compete in Arizona," the head coach said. "The rest of the team will be at Brown University and we are excited about both meets in preparing for championship time.