Spring Break
Lady Rams take 3rd place in invitational
Ryan Sullivan
Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: Sports
09/11/08 - The University of Rhode Island women's cross-country team started its season with a third place finish last Saturday at the Central Connecticut State University Invitational.
The lady Rams scored 76 points on the way to their third place finish.
"It was a great way to begin the season tonight at CCSU," said head coach Laurie Feit-Melnick.
Leading the charge for the lady rams was sophomore Brittany Pelsue, who finished fourth in the 3.1-mile race with a time of 18:50.
Following Pelsue's performance was freshman Emily Zaccardi, who finished seventh with a time of 19:04. Zaccardi was recognized for her outstanding performance in her first collegiate race, named Atlantic 10 women's cross-country "Rookie of the Week."
The next runner for URI was fellow freshman Alyssa Namey who finished 20th with a time of 19:52. Rounding out the scoring for the lady rams was sophomore Caitrin Demchko finishing in 26th (20:17) and junior Kathryn Allard in 28th (20:21).
"Our lead runner from 2007, [sophomore] Mary Najarian rested tonight in preparation for future meets," Feit-Melnick said. "Two freshmen Emily Zaccardi and Alyssa Namey also had good debuts and showed and set the competitiveness for early season competition."
URI will travel to Fairfield Saturday for the Fairfield University Invitational.
Meanwhile, the URI men's cross-country team competed in the Trinity College Invitational in Hartford, Conn. last Saturday. The Rams started their season with a sixth place finish out of the 11 teams with a total of 208 points.
"The guys performed well, and will only get better with more time and proper training," said assistant coach Kyle Poland.
This was the first season the men's cross-country team went without its usual training camp and went into the race with only a few organized practices.
URI freshman Michael Pezzullo finished 39th with a time of 17:33 - the best recorded time for the Rams in the event. Followed close behind him was junior Ryan Karwiel in 42nd place with a time of 17:38. Junior Nathan Ruchames finished with a time of 17:53, which gave him 49th place.
Junior Daniel Hawkins (61st, 18:17) and freshman Joseph Ferro (83rd, 18:55) rounded out the Rams scorers.
"We are a young team with potential," Poland said. "Our team is 90 percent freshmen who where up for the challenge, along with our veteran runners notably Ryan Karwiel and Nathan Ruchames."
The Rhody runners will also travel to Fairfield for the Fairfield University Invitational on Saturday.
"This will be the first five-mile race of the year and the guys are ready and expect to be competitive," said an excited Poland.
The lady Rams scored 76 points on the way to their third place finish.
"It was a great way to begin the season tonight at CCSU," said head coach Laurie Feit-Melnick.
Leading the charge for the lady rams was sophomore Brittany Pelsue, who finished fourth in the 3.1-mile race with a time of 18:50.
Following Pelsue's performance was freshman Emily Zaccardi, who finished seventh with a time of 19:04. Zaccardi was recognized for her outstanding performance in her first collegiate race, named Atlantic 10 women's cross-country "Rookie of the Week."
The next runner for URI was fellow freshman Alyssa Namey who finished 20th with a time of 19:52. Rounding out the scoring for the lady rams was sophomore Caitrin Demchko finishing in 26th (20:17) and junior Kathryn Allard in 28th (20:21).
"Our lead runner from 2007, [sophomore] Mary Najarian rested tonight in preparation for future meets," Feit-Melnick said. "Two freshmen Emily Zaccardi and Alyssa Namey also had good debuts and showed and set the competitiveness for early season competition."
URI will travel to Fairfield Saturday for the Fairfield University Invitational.
Meanwhile, the URI men's cross-country team competed in the Trinity College Invitational in Hartford, Conn. last Saturday. The Rams started their season with a sixth place finish out of the 11 teams with a total of 208 points.
"The guys performed well, and will only get better with more time and proper training," said assistant coach Kyle Poland.
This was the first season the men's cross-country team went without its usual training camp and went into the race with only a few organized practices.
URI freshman Michael Pezzullo finished 39th with a time of 17:33 - the best recorded time for the Rams in the event. Followed close behind him was junior Ryan Karwiel in 42nd place with a time of 17:38. Junior Nathan Ruchames finished with a time of 17:53, which gave him 49th place.
Junior Daniel Hawkins (61st, 18:17) and freshman Joseph Ferro (83rd, 18:55) rounded out the Rams scorers.
"We are a young team with potential," Poland said. "Our team is 90 percent freshmen who where up for the challenge, along with our veteran runners notably Ryan Karwiel and Nathan Ruchames."
The Rhody runners will also travel to Fairfield for the Fairfield University Invitational on Saturday.
"This will be the first five-mile race of the year and the guys are ready and expect to be competitive," said an excited Poland.
