Four Named Indoor Track All-Academic
America East Release
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Four University at Albany indoor track & field student-athletes have been named to the 2015 America East All-Academic team, the conference offices announced Friday. John DeLallo was named among a contingent of 10 men's selections, while Solène Bastien, Min Pacella, and Valentina Talevi comprised three selections of the 11 women. For DeLallo, it was his latest in a long line of All-Academic awards, and the three women each earned their first ever All-Academic selections.
DeLallo, a senior from Marietta, New York, earned his third consecutive All-Academic selection for indoor track, having previously been selected in 2013 and 2014. Additionally, DeLallo earned All-Academic selections for outdoor track in 2013 and 2014, and earned his first cross country All-Academic selection in 2014. He was named America East Scholar-Athlete for Spring 2013 and Winter 2014. DeLallo has a 3.77 GPA while majoring in Physics with a minor in Mathematics, and was one of three men and four total unanimously selected. At the America East Indoor Championships, DeLallo earned his second conference title in the 1,000, and was runner-up as a member of UAlbany's distance medley relay team. DeLallo ranks third all-time in school history in the 1,000, fifth all-time in the indoor mile, and 10th all-time in the indoor 800.
Bastien, a junior from Saverne, France, has a 3.57 GPA majoring in Nanoscale Engineering with a minor in Chemistry. She scored in three events at the America East Indoor Championships, placing second in the triple jump, fifth in the long jump, and eighth in the high jump. She recorded a personal best in the long jump and just missed her then-personal best in the triple jump, which she later extended at ECAC Championships two weeks later. Bastien ranks fourth all-time in school history in the indoor triple jump.
Pacella, a sophomore from, Keene, New Hampshire, has a 3.62 GPA pursuing a double-major in Criminal Justice and Psychology. She placed second in the high jump at the America East Indoor Championships, clearing a then-personal best height of 5'-7”, before improving her personal best yet again two weeks later at ECAC Indoor Championships to 5'-7.75”. Pacella ranks second all-time in school history in the indoor high jump.
Talevi, a senior from Ancona, Italy, has a 3.94 GPA majoring in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. She placed ninth in both the 3,000 and the 5,000 respectively at the America East Indoor Championships. She ranks fifth all-time in school history indoors in the 5,000 and eighth all-time in the indoor 3,000.
The All-Academic team was selected using CoSIDA's Academic All-America program as a model. Student-athletes worthy of consideration were nominated by member sports information directors and voted on by a committee of SIDs, academic advisors and faculty representatives from all nine-member institutions.
All-Academic squads for team sports are based on the number of athletes that participate in a contest at one time or are typically made up of 10 student-athletes for individual sports, with the exception being in the event of ties. To be nominated for the distinction, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve for their team and participate in at least 50 percent of their team's games or competitions. In the classroom, student-athletes must have a 3.30 GPA and have completed at least one calendar year at their institution. Freshmen are not eligible for consideration.
The outdoor season is currently underway, and a small contingent of sprinters, hurdlers, and throwers are competing this weekend at the Raleigh Relays, hosted by North Carolina State. The next event for the Great Danes will be the Connecticut Quad Meet on April 11.
