Conway, Demeo, Jenkins, Smith tabbed to lead women’s track and field team
Women’s track and field head coach Matt Hird has announced his captains for the 2018 squad: Olivia Conway ’18, Alex Demeo ’19, Megan Jenkins ’18 and Devin Smith ’18.
Specializing in the shot put and the javelin, Conway captured second place in both events in the 2016 conference championship. For her senior year, she has transformed herself into a sprinter. “Even though recurring knee injuries have restricted her training and competition, Olivia keeps striving to produce her best performances and is a constant source of encouragement and humor,” Hird said.
Demeo shattered the program record for 10,000 meters twice during the 2017 outdoor season. She is an all-conference honoree in cross country and shares the program record for aggregate time at 6,000 meters. “Alex approaches her training with enthusiasm and dedication, and her attitude and work ethic set the tone for our distance group,” said Rob McGuinness, assistant track and field coach. “She embraces challenges and settles for nothing less than her best, and she encourages her teammates to do the same.”
Jenkins finished her junior year by running the third leg on the New England championship 4x400m relay, which recorded a school-record time of 4:11.00. “Megan was similarly chosen for her ability to lead by example,” Hird said. “Her constant improvement in the 400m inspires her fellow sprinters who see in Meg how doing everything the right way and always maintaining a positive and supportive attitude can produce significant performance gains.”
Smith owns three of the top 10 fastest 400m times in Salve Regina history. As a junior, she also took on the high jump and the triple jump, and this season she will undertake the heptathlon and learn three new events in the process. “Devin is excited about her new challenge,” Hird said. “Her approach to the multi-event is the same as her approach to any competition, any practice, all her teammates – fun, laughter, respect and determination.”
