Kingston, RI (U-WIRE) -- The University of Rhode Island men's indoor and outdoor track and field team has high expectations this season since starting off with an undefeated record.

They hope to finish strong as the level of competition rises with the Atlantic 10 championship coming up, a reason for the high expectations this team continues to have for itself.

"We've won seven out of the last eight A-10 championships and we want to continue that," URI head coach John Copeland said.

The indoor New England championship is also a meet the team is focusing on. "Even though we've had some very tough competition I don't think we've got anything yet at the level of the New England," Copeland said.

The vital IC4A's championship and the NCAA championships occur at the end of the indoor and outdoor seasons.

In the 55-meter hurdles, sophomore LaeJon Brooks is the top competitor for the Rams with a personal best time of 7.67 seconds. Sophomore Christopher Adams isn't far behind Brooks with a personal record time of 7.81. The 60-meter hurdles features junior Patrick Mills, whose best time in the event is 8.94.

Perhaps the most prominent athlete on the team is sophomore Ashhad Agyapong. Agyapong's personal record in the 55-meter dash is a time of 6.5 seconds. Junior Eric Groce is not far behind, with a personal record of 6.54 seconds. Agyapong and Groce will hopefully be a deadly combination in future competitions. In the 60-meter dash senior Karsten Stammen and Mills share a team best time of 7.54.

In the 200- and 400-meter dashes, the talented Agyapong has already qualified for both the New England and IC4A's championships.

"Ashhad Agyapong is probably our best runner in the 55, 200, 400 and very effective for us in the 500 also," Copeland said. "When he gets to the New England championships though he's going to definitely get tested there."

The 200 also features Groce, sophomore Darnell Douglas and freshman David Delude, who have all qualified for New England's. Besides Agyapong, the athletes featured in the 400 are Douglas and junior Robert Johnson. Douglas qualified for both the New England's and the IC4A championship with a personal record of 49.4.

In February, Johnson ran a time of 50.06 seconds qualifying him for the N.E. championship.

In the 500-meter run, Agyapong and Douglas are also featured, where they both qualified for the New England's.

In the longer distance races, the 800-meter run features sophomore Dennis Sheppard, junior's Leandro Bonvehi and Kyle Poland who will compete strongly for the Rams this season. The Rams top competitors for the 1,000-meter run are Sheppard and freshman John Cuoco.

The mile runs top participants feature sophomore Thomas Stepan and Poland. Stepan and Poland are also the top competitors for the 3000-meter run. Junior Andrew Poland and brother Kyle are also the feature participants in the 5,000-meter run.

The relays feature the 4x400-meter run and the 4x800-meter run.

URI has qualified for the N.E. Championships in the 4x400 with a time of 3:22.87.

As for the field events, junior Adam Zucconi leads the Rams in the pole vault. Zucconi has qualified for the N.E. Championships with a height of 14'9". Freshmen Sean Strizzi and Sutton Underwood are both strong competitors as well. The high jump's top athletes feature senior Evan Lima and Delude.

The long jump features Ram's sophomores Christopher Adams and Denis Street. Both have qualified for the N.E. Championships. The triple jump also features Street as well as Lima.

In the shot put, senior Andre Reid owns the URI school record with a toss of 58-4 that he accomplished earlier in the year. Reid qualifies for both the New England's and the IC4A's championships. The closest Ram competitor to Reid in the shot is senior Sean Bramley. Bramley has qualified for the N.E. championships with a personal record of a 50-4 toss.

The weight throw's most prolific athlete is sophomore Daniel Godin. Godin achieved a personal record of a 57-8 1/4 hurl last Saturday at the Rhody Mega Meet. Reid is also a powerful force in the weight throw, as he achieved a personal record at the meet with a toss of 55-2 3/4. Both Godin and Reid qualify for the N.E. championships and the IC4A championships.

"Andre Reid has done a very good job, he's already set a school record in the shot put, and Godin is ranked fourth entering the championships," Copeland said. "We've got a pretty solid group, and we have a few weaknesses that I'm sure the other teams will focus on, but we've got some strengths that we can use as well."

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