ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany track & field team returns to Boston this weekend, splitting up to tackle two meets in the city, one at Harvard and one at Boston University, the latter of which will host the America East Indoor Championships next month.
 
Meet Info
Crimson Elite Invitational (January 31)
Live Results | ESPN+
 
Bruce Lehane Scarlet & White Invitational (February 1)
Live Results | FloTrack ($)
 
Crimson Elite Entries (W/M)
 
60m: Ayandeji, Coleman, Lacey, Lowe, Magassouba, Matthew, Osei-Boateng, Wiles / Dixon, Gutierrez Almedina, Hermance, Jack, D. Williams
400m: Robinson, Wiles / Duffield
60m HH: Jinks, Mercado, Robinson, Rowe / Duffield, Jack, D. Williams
HJ: Bailey, Mercado, Muamba / D. Gordon, L. Gordon
PV: Martinez / Heatley
LJ: X / Jack
SP: Bigsby, Cooke, Scott / Blatche
WT: Bigsby, Campos, Gbadamosi / X
Multi: Hyde, Payne, Reid / X
 
Scarlet & White Entries (W/M)
 
60m: Brundige, Foster, Onah / Casab, Edwards, McFadden
200m: Matthew / Casab, Gutierrez Almedina, Napier, G. Williams
400m: Brown, Jinks / Banfield, Cruz III, Velasquez
500m: Archibald, Grady / Reagan, Rosenthal
1,000m: Butterfield, Keown, Nolan, Quarshie, Rutt / Athanailos, F. Beltran, JeanPierre, Somerville
Mile: Chambers, Coddington, Zitomer / X
3,000m: Leonard, Planavsky / Garcia, Menis, Ramdani
5,000m: Brogan, Guilfoyle, Iocca / Perillo, Ragone
LJ: Foster / Blue, Edwards, McFadden
TJ: Brundige / Sturdivant
SP: Bigsby, Cooke, Harris, Scott / Reid
WT: Bigsby, Campos, Cooper, Galette-Rowe, Gbadamosi / Nicholson, Reid
 
Leading the Pack

• The women lead the America East in eight events
• The men lead the America East in six events
• EJ Onah ranks 12th nationally in the long jump
• Hannah Reinhardt ranks 16th nationally in the 5,000m

 
Last Time at Crimson Elite
The Crimson Elite Invitational is a relatively new addition to the UAlbany indoor track & field schedule, one that provides the short sprinters and hurdlers a chance to compete in a field that features higher-quality competitors.  Last season, three Great Danes earned event victories at Harvard's meet, including Shelby Bigsby in the women's shot put, Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina in the men's 400m, and Sidney Gibbons in the men's 60m hurdles.
 
Last Time at Scarlet & White
UAlbany has paired the Crimson Elite Invitational with the Scarlet & White Invitational for the last few years, setting up a split weekend for the team in Boston that allows for a higher number of the student-athletes to compete.  In last year's long jump, EJ Onah placed second for the women and Victor Cotto placed first for the men, while Kelly Iocca nabbed a third-place finish in the women's 5,000m as the Danes' highest-placing performers.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes paid a visit to the Armory Track & Field Center in New York for the first and only time this season for the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge.  The Challenge featured 17 teams from around the country, including power programs such as Ohio State and South Carolina.  In the first scoring meet of the New Year, the men placed ninth, scoring 27 points, and the women placed 12th, scoring 19 points.  Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina won the men's 200m in 21.36.  On the women's side, Asia Jinks placed fourth in the 60m hurdles in a personal-best 8.45, and also placed fourth in the 400m in 55.32, just one-hundredth off her personal-best.  Additionally, Shelby Bigsby set a new personal best of 58-09.25 in the women's weight throw, placing fourth overall.
 
ECAC Qualifiers (13)
Bigsby, Coleman, Galette-Rowe, Gbadamosi, Jinks, Matthew, Onah, Owens, Reinhardt, Rowe, Scott, 4x400m, DMR
 
IC4A Qualifiers (14)
Banfield, Blue, Casab, Cruz III, Duffield, Gutierrez Almedina, Hermance, Napier, Ragone, Somerville, Sturdivant, G. Williams, 4x400m, DMR
 
Reverse Jinks
Through two meets in 2020, junior hurdler Asia Jinks has improved her time in the 60m hurdles to 8.45 through the early part of the season, now ranking third in program history.  Jinks has raced in the hurdles four times in January, in trials and finals at each meet, and has set a new personal-best in three of the four races.  At the Great Dane Classic, with an existing personal-best of 8.60, Jinks hit 8.52 in the trials and 8.51 in the finals.  At the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge, Jinks ran 8.53 in the trials before unleashing her current best, 8.45, in the finals.
 
XC Recap
Senior Hannah Reinhardt dominated the headlines during the 2019 UAlbany cross country season, setting program records in both the 5K and the 6K, as well as establishing a new UAlbany current at overall 5K course record with her second-straight America East individual title.  Reinhardt became the second Great Dane in the Division I era to qualify for NCAA XC Championships, following her victory at the NCAA Northeast Regional XC Championships, a program-first.  Reinhardt led the women to a fourth-place team finish.  Charlie Ragone and Christopher Perillo paced the men's team in 2019, following a 1-2 sweep of the UAlbany XC Invitational with a 21st-and 24th-place finish, respectively, at the America East XC Championships.  The men as a team placed seventh overall
 
Team Captains
After six individuals served as interim captains through the cross country season, the track & field program elected its eight full-time captains on December 5, coming away with a captain class of eight, including one returning captain, Hannah Reinhardt, and one elevated interim captain, Adrian Mitchell.  The other captains elected were Shelby Bigsby, Lynn Gbadamosi, Asia Jinks, Myles Banfield, Bryan Nicholson, and Charlie Ragone.
 
Triple Crown
After winning the 2019 America East XC team title, the UAlbany women went on to claim team victories in the America East Indoor and Outdoor Championship meets, becoming the first women's program in conference history to win all three titles in the same academic year.  Previously, the 2011-12 UAlbany men and 1988-89 Northeastern men had claimed the Triple Crown.
 
Next
UAlbany hosts its second and final home meet of the indoor season with the inaugural UAlbany Winter Classic on Friday, February 7.