JOE GREENE & JESSICA ORTMAN NAMED OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD MVPs

     Albany, N.Y. - UAlbany head track and field coach Roberto Vives has announced that freshmen Joe Greene and Jessica Ortman are the men's and women's team MVPs, respectively, for the 2006 outdoor season.

     Greene, a hurdler from Rochester, N.Y., became the first UAlbany track athlete to earn outdoor All-America honors by finishing 11th overall in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Championships in May. The freshman shattered UAlbany Hall of Famer Wilfredo Rodriguez's 16-year old school record by nearly one second several times, establishing the new mark of 50.52 seconds in the NCAA semifinals. He became UAlbany's second IC4A champion at the Division I level, plus captured the America East Conference 400m dash and 400m hurdles titles en route to being named Most Outstanding Track Performer and Rookie of the Year. Greene placed second in the 400m hurdles at the USAT&F Junior Nationals and will compete at the IAAF Junior World Championships in Beijing, China on August 15-20.

     Ortman, a middle distance runner from South Williamsville, N.Y., set school records in both the 800-meter run and 3,000-meter steeplechase. A three-time America East Conference outdoor track athlete of the week honoree, Ortman won the 1,500-meter run at the conference championship. She also crossed the line second in the 3,000m steeple, third in the 800m and anchored the winning 4x800 relay to help her team to its first-ever conference title. After taking third in the 800m at the ECAC Championships, she placed 10th at NCAA East Regionals and fourth at Junior Nationals in a school-record 2:06.94. Ortman shared team MVP honors with Adanna Andrews for the indoor season.