ALBANY, N.Y. – Following their week off, the University at Albany track & field program makes a return to UConn for the Northeast Challenge.
 
Northeast Challenge
April 15-16 | Storrs, Conn.
Meet Info | Live Results
 
Teams Competing
UAlbany | American International | Boston University | Brown | Central Connecticut St. | Colby | Columbia | UConn | Dartmouth | Iona | Maine | UMass | MIT | New Hampshire | Northeastern | Rhode Island | Sacred Heart | Southern New Hampshire | Southern Connecticut St. | Southern Maine | St. Francis (N.Y.) | Stony Brook | Yale
 
Entries
 

Event	Women	Men
100m	Clarke, Foster, Hunt, McDermott	Edwards, Hames, Hatzmann, Munro, Umuhuza, S. Williams
200m	Baker, Gray, Hollis, Kaoma, McDermott	Casab, Hames, Munro, S. Williams
400m	Brown, Grady, Gray, Howard, Kaoma, Lowe	Blake, Casab, Tapande-Ngombe, T. Williams
800m	Butterfield, Chambers, Coddington, Hayes, Rutt	Athanailos, Danaher, Diaz, Venson
1,500m	Chambers, Coddington, Hrelja, Rutt, Zitomer	Athanailos, Rogalski, Venson
5,000m		Garcia, Ragone
10,000m	Fitzmaurice, Guilfoyle	Ragone
100m/110m HH	Denis, Hollis, Nelson Chevry	Messado, Reagan
400m IH	Denis	Guialdo, Messado, Reagan
3,000m SC	Hrelja, Iocca, Planavsky	Rogalski
4x100m	Gray, Clarke, Lowe, McDermott	Munro, S. Williams, Umuhuza, Hames
4x400m	Brown, Grady, Howard, Hayes	Tapande-Ngombe, Guialdo, Readan, Blake
High Jump	Bailey	Harris
Pole Vault	Solomon-Hollander	Baker, Hatzmann, McDonough
Long Jump	Bailey, Barrientos Alpha, Foster, Nicholas, Omokeni, Pepanio	Allen, Blue, Casab, Cephus, Charles, Edwards, Gordon, McFadden, Quinn
Triple Jump	Barrientos Alpha, Nicholas	Allen, Charles
Shot Put	Bigsby, Scott	Robinson
Discus	Bigsby, Collins, Scott	Mitchell, Nicholson, Robinson
Hammer	Bigsby, Cooper, Galette-Rowe, Gbadamosi	Nicholson
Javelin	Collins, Tillman	Heintzelman, Mitchell
Multi	Hyde, Payne, Thier	Mancabelli, Meehan

Leading the Pack

• UAlbany leads the America East in 14 events
• Six Great Danes are currently in qualifying positions for the NCAA East Preliminary Championships in seven individual events
• Starting Saturday, the Great Danes compete each weekend through the 2022 IC4A & ECAC Outdoor Championships on May 13-15
• Three other America East schools will compete at the Northeast Challenge

Last Time at the Northeast Challenge
UAlbany last competed in UConn's Northeast Challenge during the 2019 season, with the women taking second in the team competition with 121.33 points and the men placing fourth with 64 points.  Garfield Napier and Tara Belinsky set school records in the men's 100m and women's shot put, respectively, leading UAlbany to six total event victories. 
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany brought forth its full roster for the first time during the 2022 outdoor season at UConn's Dogfight two weeks ago.  It was the first scoring meet of the young season for the Great Danes.  The men placed second and the women placed third in the team competition that featured an expanded field this year.  The Dogfight began as a dual meet between UConn and UAlbany's men's programs, but this season the meet grew to include a handful of regional powers in the Northeast, including Yale, Boston University, and Northeastern.  The Great Danes won seven total events and saw 14 personal-best performances.
 
America East Outdoor Leaders (W/M)
200m: Dominique Clarke (24.25) / Yourry Tapande-Ngombe (21.62)
400m: X / Nicardo Blake (47.44)
100m/110m HH: X / Antwone Messado (14.33)
400m IH: Dee Denis (1:00.74) / Easton Reagan (53.13)
4x100m: 46.46 / 40.75
Long Jump: X / Robert Blue (24-05.00w)
Triple Jump: Leann Nicholas (41-00.50w) / Robert Blue (50-11.00)
Shot Put: Shelby Bigsby (45-06.50) / X
Discus: Shania Scott (150-07.00) | Travis Robinson (178-06.00)
 
Presidential
On April 9, the University at Albany bestowed its Presidential Awards for Leadership for the 2021-22 academic year.  Noreen Guilfoyle was presented with the Athletes and Recreation Leadership award, recognizing student-athletes who participate in Division I, intramural, or club sports whose leadership has transcended their sport, and who have made valuable contributions to their team, achieved academic distinction, or have made significant contributions to the University and its surrounding community.  Additionally, Lynn Gbadamosi was honored with two awards, the Women's Outstanding Leadership Award, given to a student who has demonstrated significant leadership and commitment to improving the quality of life for women at the University, and the Diversity and Inclusion Award, recognizing an individual who has demonstrated leadership in increasing the University's commitment to diversity and inclusion, including, but not limited to, promoting appreciation of individual differences, and working with others to find common ground.
 
Outdoor Performers of the Week

Week 3
The Great Danes swept the women's America East Week 3 awards.  Dee Denis was named Performer of the Week for women's track and Leann Nicholas was named for women's field.  Denis won the 100m hurdles and placed second in the 400m hurdles at the UConn Dogfight.  Her recorded times of 14.30 and 1:00.74 were both personal-bests.  Nicholas, making her season debut, won the triple jump with a wind-aided mark of 41-00.50, the longest all-conditions jump of her career.

Week 1
The Great Danes swept the opening weekly awards of the 2022 outdoor season after recording league-leading performance across their three meets.  Nicardo Blake won the men's 400m at the Carolina Spring Break Classic in Puerto Rico in a personal-best 47.44.  Robert Blue won the triple jump and UCF's Black & Gold Invite in 50-11.00.  Dominique Clarke competed in three events, the women's 100m, 200m, and 4x100m at Black & Gold, and Shiana Galette-Rowe set a personal-best of 170-10.00 in the women's hammer throw at Army West Point's Spring Open.
 
USTFCCCA Outdoor Regional Rankings
Following their third weekend of competition of the season, and first featuring the full men's and women's roster, the Great Danes men and women improved their positions in their respective Northeast Region polls with both teams landing fourth.  An off weekend saw both teams slip, the men to nine and the women to 10, ahead of their return to competition this weekend.  The men's poll saw Harvard overtake the top spot, followed by Army West Point, UConn, Brown, and Cornell.  The women's poll also saw Harvard move into the top position, followed by Army West Point, Cornell, UConn, and Yale.  The only other America East school ranked in either poll was UMass Lowell, landing 14th in the men's poll.  The Binghamton men just missed the top-15, landing 16th this week.
 
Week 3: Men (9) | Women (10)
Week 2: Men (4) | Women (4)
Week 1: Men (5) | Women (9)
 
Northeast Region Top-8
Nicardo Blake: 400m (4, 47.44); 4x400m (8, 3:17.37)
Robert Blue: Long Jump (3, 24-05.00w); Triple Jump (1, 50-11.00)
Lucas Casab: 4x100m (6, 40.75)
Dominique Clarke: 100m (6, 11.85); 200m (7, 24.25); 4x100m (5, 46.46)
Dee Denis: 400m IH (8, 1:00.74)
Raiden Guialdo: 4x400m (8, 3:17.37)
Adaliz Hunt: 4x100m (5, 46.46)
Rori Lowe: 4x100m (5, 46.46)
Brynley McDermott: 4x100m (5, 46.46)
Antwone Messado: 110m HH (3, 14.33)
Adrian Mitchell: Javelin (8, 209-09.00)
Leann Nicholas: Triple Jump (1, 41-00.50w)
Bryan Nicholson: Discus (6, 170-10.00)
Easton Reagan: 400m IH (3, 53.13); 4x400m (8, 3:17.37)
Travis Robinson: Discus (4, 178-06.00)
Yourry Tapande-Ngombe: 4x100m (6, 40.75)
Keveroy Venson: 4x400m (8, 3:17.37)
Shak Williams: 100m (8, 10.59); 4x100m (6, 40.75)
Travis Williams: 4x100m (6, 40.75)
 
NCAA East Top-48
Robert Blue: Long Jump (33, 24-05.00w); Triple Jump (15, 50-11.00)
Dee Denis: 400m IH (45, 1:00.74)
Adrian Mitchell: Javelin (47, 209-09.00)
Leann Nicholas: Triple Jump (27, 41-00.50w)
Easton Reagan: 400m IH (39, 53.13)
Travis Robinson: Discus (35, 178-06.00)
 
America East Outdoor History
UAlbany has won 16-straight men's outdoor America East titles, and 17 overall, and 12-straight women's outdoor titles, and 14 overall.  The men have had the most success in the triple jump, winning 14 event titles.  The women have had the most success in the hurdles events, winning 11 100m and 400m hurdles titles each.  The Great Danes also hold five men's and four women's active America East Outdoor Championship meet records.  Overall, the Great Danes have won 231 event titles at America East Outdoor Championships.  The men have won 134, including 81 track events and 53 field events, and the women have won 97, including 63 track events and 34 field events.
 
Sustained Success
Since reclassifying to Division I for the 1999-00 season, the University at Albany track & field program has won a total of 58 America East indoor and outdoor titles.  Thirty-one of those titles have come during the outdoor season.  The men's current streak of 16-straight outdoor conference titles is the longest in Division I, while the women's streak of 12 ranks second behind North Dakota State's 13-straight Summit League outdoor championships.
 
Since reclassifying the men's 17 outdoor titles rank second behind Liberty's 19, and the women's 14 rank tied for third with Bucknell, behind Monmouth's 17 and Alabama State's 15.  Finally, since winning their first Division I conference titles, the men's in 2003 and the women's in 2006, the Great Dane men and women each lead the country in outdoor conference titles.
 
The women's current streak of nine-straight indoor championships ranks second behind Arkansas' 10 SEC indoor titles.  Additionally, the women's 11 total indoor titles in UAlbany's Division I era rank tied for ninth among D-I programs overall, and tied for second since the team won its first indoor title in 2010 (North Dakota State, 12; Alabama State, 11).  The men's 16 total indoor titles are tied for second-most among D-I schools since 1999-00 with Houston, behind Liberty's 22, and outright second-most since their first indoor title in 2003 (Liberty, 19).

Championship Pedigree
The UAlbany track & field and cross country program won its first America East title in 2003 when the men broke through to claim the indoor track team championship.  Since then, each of the six programs has won at least one America East crown, with women's cross country winning its first in 2018 as the final team to join the group of title-winners.  Overall, the program's six teams have collectively won 60 of UAlbany's 121 conference titles in the Division I era, through the end of the winter 2021-22 season.  The men have won 17 outdoor and 16 indoor titles, followed by women's outdoor with 14, women's indoor with 11, and men's and women's cross country with one each.

Indoor Performers of the Week
 
Week 8
For the third time this season, UAlbany won both America East weekly field awards.  Shannon Bailey was named women's field performer following her runner-up performance in her signature event, the high jump, at the Fastrack National Invitational, in which she cleared a personal-best 5-06.00.  The men's field performer was Marcus McFadden, who won the men's long jump at Fastrack by matching his indoor season personal best of 22-11.00.
 
Week 6
UAlbany swept the field event awards in Week 6 with standout performances from Robert Blue and Ludith Campos, who each won their second-consecutive weekly award.  Blue won the triple jump at UAlbany's Great Dane Classic, recording a mark of 50-02.75.  Campos competed in two meets last week.  First, at the Millrose Games, Campos placed third in the weight throw with a mark of 59-06.75.  The following day, at the Great Dane Classic, she claimed victory in the same event in a personal-best 63-01.25.
 
Week 5
Following UAlbany's second week of competition of the 2021-22 indoor season, Boston University's Battle in Beantown, three Great Danes earned America East weekly awards.  Victories from Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina in the 400m and Robert Blue in the triple jump earned a sweep of the men's track and men's field honors, and Ludith Campos' fourth-place finish in the weight throw garnered women's field honors.
 
Week 1
UAlbany kicked off the 2021-22 indoor season by winning two of the four Week 1 America East Performer of the Week awards.  After their performances at Army West Point's Carlton Crowell Open, Yourry Tapande-Ngombe and Leann Nicholas were named men's track and women's field performer of the week, respectively.  Tapande-Ngombe won the men's 400m with a meet-record 48.49.  Nicholas set a new program freshman class record and meet record of 40-11.00 with her victory in the triple jump.
  
Great Danes Around the World
Continuing a long tradition of international participation, senior thrower Ludith Campos will competed for the Dominican Republic in her signature event, the hammer throw, at the U23 Pan American Games held in Cali, Colombia.  She placed ninth overall, recording a mark of 188-05.00, her second-best performance of her career.
 
On the first weekend of the outdoor season, UAlbany alumna Grace Claxton and volunteer assistant coach Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina each competed at the Carolina Spring Break Classic.  Claxton won the women's 400m hurdles in 57.52 and placed second in the women's 400m in 53.94.  Gutierrez Almedina placed third in the men's 300m in 33.89 and third in the men's 600m in 1:17.87.
 
Grace Claxton ran her first 400m hurdles race of her outdoor season at the 2022 Florida Relays to kick off the month of April.  She won her head and placed third overall, finishing in 56.04.  It was her best season-opening time in the event ever.
 
America East Indoor Leaders (W/M)
60m: Dominique Clarke (7.48) / Shak Williams (6.78)
200m: X / Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina (21.23)
400m: X / Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina (46.98)
60m HH: X / Antwone Messado (8.07)
4x400m: X / 3:13.94
LJ: X / Louie Gordon (23-10.75)
TJ: X / Robert Blue (51-08.50)
SP: Shelby Bigsby (46-09.50) / Travis Robinson (55-03.00)
WT: Ludith Campos (67-11.50) / X
 
Indoor School Records
12/4/21: Travis Robinson (SP, 54-11.25, school & freshman)
12/4/21: Brynley McDermott (60m, 7.64, freshman)
12/4/21: Leann Nicholas (TJ, 40-11.00, freshman)
1/28/22: Dominique Clarke (60m, 7.59, freshman)
1/28/22: Dominique Clarke (200m, 24.50, freshman)
1/29/22: Dee Denis, Rori Lowe, Brynley McDermott, Imani Gray (4x200m, 1:39.05)
2/4/22: Dominique Clarke (60m, 7.55, freshman)
2/4/22: Shak Williams (60m, 6.80, freshman)
2/4/22: Shak Williams (60m, 6.78, freshman)
2/25/22: Ludith Campos (WT, 67-11.50)
2/25/22: Dominique Clarke (60m, 7.48, freshman)
2/26/22: Dominique Clarke (200m, 24.15, freshman)
2/26/22: Travis Robinson (SP, 55-03.00, school & freshman)
 
USTFCCCA Indoor Regional Rankings
With conference championship weekend completed, the UAlbany men's team jumped five places to eight in the latest Northeast regional rankings, while the women held steady for the third-straight week at 11.  Connecticut took over the top spot from Harvard since last week, followed by Army West Point and Cornell, unchanged, with Brown jumping into the top five.  Binghamton slotted in just behind UAlbany at nine.  In the women's poll, the top five went unchanged from last week: Harvard, Connecticut, Cornell, Army West Point, and St. John's.  Binghamton was the highest-ranked America East team at six, with UMass Lowell just missing the top-15 by one spot.

Week 6: Men (8) | Women (11)
Week 5: Men (13) | Women (11)
Week 4: Men (12) | Women (11) 
Week 3: Men (11) | Women (8)
Week 2: Men (13) | Women (12)
Week 1: Men (10) | Women (14)
 
Northeast Region Indoor Top-8
Shelby Bigsby: Weight Throw (8, 61-08.25)
Nicardo Blake: 4x400m (6, 3:13.94)
Robert Blue: Triple Jump: (1, 51-08.50)
Ludith Campos: Weight Throw (2, 67-11.50)
Dominique Clarke: 60m (4, 7.48); 200m (6, 24.15)
Shiana Galette-Rowe: Weight Throw (6, 61-01.50)
Louie Gordon: Long Jump (5, 23-10.75)
Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina: 200m (3, 21.23); 400m (2, 46.98); 4x400m (6, 3:13.94)
Brynley McDermott: 60m (8, 7.58)
Leann Nicholas: Triple Jump (3, 40-11.00)
Easton Reagan: 4x400m (6, 3:13.94)
Yourry Tapande-Ngombe: 4x400m (6, 3:13.94)
Shak Williams: 60m (8, 6.78)
 
Millrose 2022
Three women's weight throwers competed early at Millrose on Thursday, with Shiana Galette-Rowe and Ludith Campos placing second and third, respectively, with Galette-Rowe recording a new personal-best.  Saturday, the main day at Millrose, featured UAlbany's men's and women's 4x200m relays, the latter of which set a new program record.
 
47
With his winning time of 46.98 in the 400m at Boston University's Battle in Beantown, Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina became the fifth Great Dane in program history to break 47 seconds in the event, and just the third to do so during the indoor season.  He follows former Great Danes Taariq Jones, Myles Banfield, Joe Greene, and Jason Tomlinson.  Only Jones and Banfield broke 47 seconds both indoors and outdoors.
 
Millrose Bound
When the field for the 114th Millrose Games was announced, included five entries for UAlbany, which was making its first appearance at the indoor season's most prestigious meet since the 2015 season.  Three women's throwers, Shelby Bigsby, Ludith Campos, and Shiana Galette-Rowe, will compete in the weight throw on Thursday, while the Great Danes qualified both the men's and women's 4x200m relay teams into Saturday's competition.  The women's team consists of Dee Denis, Imani Gray, Chidinma Matthew, and Rori Lowe, and the men will bring Nicardo Blake, Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina, Yourry Tapande-Ngombe, and Shakur Williams.
 
Layover
The 2021-22 season opener was UAlbany's first indoor track & field competition since the 2020 IC4A & ECAC Indoor Championships, marking a span of 637 days between indoor meets.  The 2020 indoor season concluded just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the spring season, which ultimately stretched to the fall and extended to indoor track & field in the winter.  Great Danes track & field and cross country athletes saw three seasons completely or partially eliminated due to the pandemic: 2020 outdoor, 2020 cross country (made up on a modified schedule in spring 2021), and 2021 indoor.
 
Hall of Fame
On October 23, 2021, and after a long delay due to COVID-19, University at Albany Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Roberto Vives was inducted into the Greater Capital Region Track, Field, and Cross Country Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020, the Hall's third-ever class.  He was enshrined alongside two other Great Danes in Jeoffrey York ('96) and Frank Myers ('68).  The trio joins in the Hall of Fame Bobbi Palma, UAlbany's first women's track & field coach, who was enshrined as part of the Hall's inaugural class in 2018.
 
21
When he won the 2020 America East Indoor 200m championship, Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina crossed the line in 20.98, becoming the first Great Dane in history to break the 21.00 barrier outright.  Gutierrez Almedina previously ran a wind-aided 20.95 during the 2019 outdoor season.  In his career, he has won 10 America East event titles.
 
50
Only two women have hit the 50' mark in the shot put in program history.  Tara Belinsky hit it first, and remains the only woman to throw that far in both the indoor and outdoor events.  During the indoor 2020 season, Shelby Bigsby surpassed Belinsky's indoor record of 50-00.00 by nearly five inches, becoming the second woman to hit or exceed a 50' shot put mark.  Bigsby did not get a chance to carry her momentum to the outdoor season, which was cancelled due to COVID-19.
 
Continued Excellence
The UAlbany men have a stellar recent history in the high jump, featuring three overlapping student-athletes, Alex Bowen, Matthew Campbell, and Kingsley Ogbonna, who each cleared 7-00.00 in the event.  After they had all exhausted their eligibility, a new jumper joined the program.  Louis Gordon became the fourth Great Dane in history to clear 7-00.00 in the high jump, recording a season-best 7-02.25 to win the 2020 America East Indoor Championships as a freshman.
 
Triple Crown
After winning the 2018-19 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: The Great Danes host the Bobbi Palma Spring Classic on April 23.  A portion of the team will also compete at the Virginia Challenge the same weekend.