ALBANY, N.Y. – A dozen remaining track & field qualifiers visit Indiana University for a chance to qualify for the 2022 NCAA Championships.
 
NCAA East Preliminary Championships
Bloomington, Ind. | Billy Hayes Track & Field Complex
Meet Central | Live Results | Live Stream

Wednesday, May 25
 

Event	Time	Heat/Flight	Competitor	Seed
Men's Javelin	2:00 PM	2-10	Mitchell	18
Men's Long Jump	6:00 PM	1-4	Blue	43
		3-6	Gordon	23
Men's 100m	7:00 PM	2-8	Williams	30
Men's 400m IH	8:20 PM	3-4	Reagan	33

Thursday, May 26
 

Event	Time	Heat/Flight	Competitor	Seed
Women's Hammer	10:00 AM	2-3	Campos	26
Women's Javelin	2:00 PM	1-14	Collins	42
Women's 100m	7:00 PM	3-9	Clarke	30
Women's 400m IH	8:20 PM	6-9	Denis	36
Women's 200m	8:45 PM	1-7	Clarke	36

Friday, May 27
 

Event	Time	Heat/Flight	Competitor	Seed
Men's Discus	1:00 PM	2-1	Robinson	26
Men's Triple Jump	6:00 PM	2-2	Blue	34

Saturday, May 28
 

Event	Time	Heat/Flight	Competitor	Seed
Women's Discus	1:00 PM	1-15	Bigsby	45
Women's Triple Jump	6:00 PM	3-2	Nicholas	22

 
Leading the Pack

• Twelve Great Danes will compete in 14 events at East Prelims
• Eight Great Danes are making their East Prelims debut
• Robert Blue and Dominique Clarke are the only two Great Danes qualified in multiple events
• Competitors must place in the top-12 of their event at East Prelims to advance to NCAA Outdoor Championships
• Indiana University is hosting East Prelims for the first time since 2011
• It is the third time since 2014 that East Prelims have not been held in Jacksonville, Fla.
• Adrian Mitchell is competing for his second trip to NCAA Outdoor Championships
• The men compete Wednesday and Friday, and the women compete Thursday and Saturday

Last Time at East Prelims
UAlbany brought eight competitors, six men and two women, to the 2021 NCAA East Preliminary Championships.  Adrian Mitchell, in the men's javelin, and Cara Sherman, in the women's 10,000m, recorded the best performances for the Great Danes, each finishing 18th in their respective events.
 
Last Time Out
Long-time host of IC4A & ECAC Outdoor Championships Princeton did not assume their usual role this season, and instead the meet was hosted by William & Mary, marking a second-straight season away from Princeton.  UAlbany won four total events and placed second in the men's team standings, while the women finished 11th.  Jewel Collins set a new school record in the women's javelin throw, exceeding the previous mark by nearly three feet.  Additionally, both men's relays, the 4x100m and 4x400m, recorded their best marks of the season.
 
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.
 
Grace Claxton competed in the 2022 Ibero-American Championships in Spain. In the preliminary round of the 400m hurdles, she qualified first overall with a time of 55.91, her third-best time ever.  In the finals, she placed third, setting a new personal-best of 55.66, surpassing her 55.85 from the 2016 Olympic Games.
 
Championship Records
In the course of claiming their 18th America East outdoor title, the UAlbany men set three conference championship meet records.  Travis Robinson set a new meet record of 186-08.00 in the discus, Garry Munro set a new record in the 200m of 21.10, and the men's 4x100m set a new record of 40.64, the first team to finish under 41 seconds in conference championship history.  Additionally, Shak Williams ran a wind-aided 10.17, exceeding the wind-legal meet record of 10.37.
 
Junior World's
Leann Nicholas recorded her first wind-legal mark of the season in the triple jump at Penn Relays, setting a new personal-best and freshman class record of 42-02.75.  The mark qualifies Nicholas for the 2022 U20 World Championship meet to be held in August in Cali, Colombia.
 
200
With her first legal throw at Penn Relays in the College Division, Ludith Campos became the first woman in Great Danes history to record a mark in the hammer throw of 200' or more.  She finished the event with a final mark of 201-03.00, breaking her own school record of 189-03.00 twice in the process, and setting a new event record.
 
100 II
Just one week after sophomore Shak Williams set a new school record in the men's 100m, sophomore Dominique Clarke repeated the feat in the women's 100m.  Clarke clocked a time of 11.56, surpassing the previous record of 11.60 set in 2018 by Stephanie Osuji.  This season, the Great Danes have seen the sport's most prestigious record fall to members of their sophomore class.
 
25
Louis Gordon became the first Great Dane in history to exceed the 25' barrier in the men's long jump, recording a mark of 25-04.75 in victory at UAlbany's 2022 Bobbi Palma Spring Classic.  Gordon surpassed the previous program record of 24-10.00 set last season by teammate Robert Blue.  Blue broke Gordon's previous school record in the long jump of 24-07.75 just one week after Gordon set the mark last season.
 
Long Layoff
The UAlbany track & field program is used to competing away from home, and hosts only two meets on campus each academic year: the R.K. Munsey UAlbany XC Invitational during the cross country season, and the Bobbi Palma UAlbany Spring Classic during the outdoor season.  The Great Dane Classic, UAlbany's 'home' indoor meet, is hosted at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island.  The 2022 Spring Classic, however, was UAlbany's first true home track & field meet since the 2019 America East Outdoor Championships, a span of 1,085 days, due to the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 meets due to COVID-19.
 
America East Outdoor History
UAlbany has won 17-straight men's outdoor America East titles, and 18 overall, and 13-straight women's outdoor titles, and 15 overall.  The men have had the most success in the triple jump, winning 15 event titles.  The women have had the most success in the hurdles events, winning 12 100m and 400m hurdles titles each.  The Great Danes also hold seven men's and four women's active America East Outdoor Championship meet records.  Overall, the Great Danes have won 254 event titles at America East Outdoor Championships.  The men have won 146, including 88 track events and 58 field events, and the women have won 108, including 67 track events and 41 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 61 America East indoor and outdoor titles.  Thirty-three of those titles have come during the outdoor season.  The men's current streak of 17-straight outdoor conference titles is the longest in Division I, while the women's streak of 13 is currently tied North Dakota State's 13-straight Summit League outdoor championships.
 
Since reclassifying the men's 18 outdoor titles rank second behind Liberty's 19, and the women's 15 rank tied for second with Alabama State, 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 is the longest in the country.  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 62 of UAlbany's 124 conference titles in the Division I era, through the end of the winter 2021-22 season.  The men have won 18 outdoor and 16 indoor titles, followed by women's outdoor with 15, women's indoor with 11, and men's and women's cross country with one each.
 
America East Outdoor Champions (W/M)
100m: Dominique Clarke (11.42) / Shak Williams (10.17w)
200m: X / Garry Munro (21.10)
400m: X / Nicardo Blake (47.41)
800m: X / Keveroy Venson (1:51.35)
100m/110m HH: Dee Denis (13.82) / X
400m IH: Dee Denis (58.96) / Easton Reagan (51.58)
4x100m: 45.29 / 40.64
4x400m: X / 3:14.90
High Jump: Shannon Bailey (5-07.25) / X
Long Jump: Jade Foster (19-00.75) / Robert Blue (24-07.25)
Triple Jump: Leann Nicholas (42-06.75w) / Robert Blue (51-00.25)
Shot Put: Shelby Bigsby (48-10.25) / Travis Robinson (54-02.75)
Discus: Shania Scott (155-07.00) / Travis Robinson (186-08.00)
Hammer: Ludith Campos (197-04.00) / X
Javelin: Jewel Collins (140-07.00) / Adrian Mitchell (226-03.00)
 
America East Outdoor Leaders (W/M)
100m: Dominique Clarke (11.42) / Shak Williams (10.17w)
200m: X / Garry Munro (21.10)
400m: X / Nicardo Blake (47.04)
100m/110m HH: Dee Denis (13.82) / Antwone Messado (14.33)
400m IH: Dee Denis (58.96) / Easton Reagan (51.58)
4x100m: 45.29 / 40.55
4x400m: X / 3:10.88
High Jump: Shannon Bailey (5-07.25) / X
Long Jump: Jade Foster (19-06.75) / Louis Gordon (25-04.75)
Triple Jump: Leann Nicholas (42-06.25w) / Robert Blue (51-08.50)
Shot Put: Shelby Bigsby (48-10.25) / Travis Robinson (55-03.00)
Discus: Shelby Bigsby (166-09.00) / Travis Robinson (186-08.00)
Hammer: Ludith Campos (201-03.00) / X
Javelin: Jewel Collins (149-04.00) / X
 
Outdoor School Records
4/16/22: Shak Williams (100m, 10.37)
4/23/22: Louis Gordon (Long Jump, 25-04.75)
4/23/22: Dominique Clarke (100m, 11.56)
4/28/22: Ludith Campos (Hammer, 201-03.00)
4/29/22: Leann Nicholas (Triple Jump, 42-00.75, freshman)
5/8/22: Dominique Clarke (100m, 11.42)
5/8/22: Garry Munro (200m, 21.10, freshman and varsity)
5/8/22: Dominique Clarke (200m, 23.59)
5/8/22: Travis Robinson (Discus, 186-08.00)
5/14/22: Jewel Collins (Javelin, 149-04.00)
 
USTFCCCA Outdoor Regional Rankings

Both the UAlbany men and women landed fourth in the latest USTFCCCA Northeast regional rankings, the high-water mark for both programs this season.  The men were fourth for the third time this season and second week in a row, and the women jumped one spot to hit fourth for the third time.  UConn and Harvard switched spots atop the men's poll, while the remainder of the top-five, Army West Point, UAlbany, and Cornell, went unchanged.  Harvard held steady at one in the women's poll, followed by UConn, Army West Point, UAlbany, and Cornell.  The Binghamton men and women were each 15th in their respective polls, while the UMass Lowell men climbed one spot to 13th.

Week 8: Men (4) | Women (4)
Week 7: Men (4) | Women (5)
Week 6: Men (7) | Women (4) 
Week 5: Men (7) | Women (6)
Week 4: Men (8) | Women (5)
Week 3: Men (9) | Women (10)
Week 2: Men (4) | Women (4)
Week 1: Men (5) | Women (9)
 
Northeast Region Top-8
Shannon Bailey: High Jump (5, 5-07.25)
Shelby Bigsby: Shot Put (8, 48-10.25); Discus (3, 166-09.00)
Nicardo Blake: 400m (4, 47.04); 4x400m (3, 3:10.88)
Robert Blue: Long Jump (4, 24-10.50); Triple Jump (2, 51-08.50)
Emily Brown: 4x400m (3, 3:40.75)
Ludith Campos: Hammer (4, 201-03.00)
Lucas Casab: 4x100m (6, 40.55)
Jewel Collins: Javelin (6, 149-04.00)
Dominique Clarke: 100m (1, 11.42); 200m (3, 23.45); 4x100m (2, 45.29)
Dee Denis: 100m HH (4, 58.96); 400m IH (4, 58.96); 4x400m (3, 3:40.75)
Jade Foster: Long Jump (6, 19-06.75)
Louis Gordon: Long Jump (1, 25-04.75)
Imani Gray: 4x100m (2, 45.29); 4x400m (3, 3:40.75)
Rori Lowe: 4x100m (2, 45.29); 4x400m (3, 3:40.75)
Brynley McDermott: 4x100m (2, 45.29)
Adrian Mitchell: Javelin (4, 226-03.00)
Garry Munro: 200m (8, 21.10); 4x100m (6, 40.55)
Leann Nicholas: Triple Jump (1, 42-06.25w)
Bryan Nicholson: Discus (7, 172-07.00)
Easton Reagan: 400m IH (2, 51.58); 4x400m (3, 3:10.88)
Travis Robinson: Discus (4, 186-08.00)
Shania Scott: Discus (4, 165-05.00)
Yourry Tapande-Ngombe: 400m (6, 47.14); 4x400m (3, 3:10.88)
Keveroy Venson: 4x400m (3, 3:10.88)
Shak Williams: 100m (2, 10.17w); 4x100m (6, 40.55)
Travis Williams: 4x100m (6, 40.55)
 
NCAA Top-48
Shelby Bigsby: Discus (46, 166-09.00)
Robert Blue: Triple Jump (36, 51-00.25)
Ludith Campos: Hammer (27, 201-03.00)
Dominique Clarke: 100m (41, 11.42)
Jewel Collins: Javelin (48, 149-04.00)
Dee Denis: 400m IH (39, 58.96)
Louis Gordon: Long Jump (27, 25-04.75)
Adrian Mitchell: Javelin (21, 226-03.00)
Leann Nicholas: Triple Jump (23, 42-06.25w)
Easton Reagan: 400m IH (34, 51.58)
Travis Robinson: Discus (27, 186-08.00)
Shak Williams: 100m (29, 10.17w)
 
IC4A & ECAC Outdoor Qualifiers

• Women (21)

Bailey, Bigsby, Campos, Clarke, Collins, Denis, Fitzmaurice, Foster, Galette-Rowe, Gbadamosi, Gray, Guilfoyle, Lowe, McDermott, Nelson Chevry, Nicholas, Rowe, Rutt, Scott, 4x100m, 4x400m

• Men (24)

Blake, Blue, Casab, Cehpus, Charles, Edwards, Farquharson, Gordon, Hames, McFadden, Messado, Mitchell, Munro, Nicholson, Ragone, Reagan, Robinson, Tapande-Ngombe, Umuhuza, Venson, S. Williams, T. Williams, 4x100m, 4x400m, 4x800m
 
Seniors
Before track events began at the Bobbi Palma UAlbany Spring Classic, the UAlbany track & field program honored a group of 19 seniors making up the 2022 class.  The 19 individuals have contributed to a total 17 America East men's and women's team championships since the first of them arrived on campus.
 
100
The sport's most prestigious record fell for the Great Danes at the Northeast Challenge, when Shak Williams broke his own school record in the 100m dash, winning the event in a time of 10.37.  Williams owned the previous record, 10.52, set last season when he was a freshman.  Additionally, Williams' time from the Challenge surpassed the program's previous all-conditions record, a wind-aided 10.39 set in 2017 by Robert Harris III.
 
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 7
In the final week of the 2022 America East weekly awards, the UAlbany track & field team landed three of four selections.  Sam Rutt was named for women's track after winning the 800m at RPI's Capital District Classic in an outdoor lifetime best of 2:11.69.  Ludith Campos, the women's field winner, set a new program record and College Division event record at Penn Relays with her mark of 201-03.00 in the hammer throw, winning the Penn Relays College Division.  And Travis Robinson, named for men's field, set a new personal best of 183-06.00 in the discus to place third at Penn Relays in the College Division.

Week 6
Jade Foster's win in the long jump at the 2022 Bobbi Palma Spring Classic earned the Week 6 Women's Field Performer of the Week award.  Foster tied her all-time best of 19-06.75 and set a new meet record, surpassing the previous mark of 18-01.75 set first in 2007 by UAlbany's Jillian Sherman, and matched in 2016 by UAlbany's Niamani Morrison.  Additionally, Foster's mark surpassed the all-conditions marks of 18-09.25nwi set in 1995 by UAlbany's Kimberly Toone, and 19-00.00w set in 2015 by Vermont's Mallory Horan.

Week 5
Shelby Bigsby won the discus and placed second in the shot put at the UConn Northeast Challenge, earning America East Women's Field Performer of the Week honors.  One of just two women in program history to exceed 50' in the shot put, Bigsby recorded a throw of 47-05.25 in her signature event.  This season, Bigsby has steadily improved her performance in the discus, but recorded a breakthrough effort at the Northeast Challenge with a mark of 166-08.00, an improvement of more than 21' over her previous personal-best.
 
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.
 
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.
 
America East Indoor Champions (W/M)
60m: Dominique Clarke (7.55) / Shak Williams (6.87)
200m: X / Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina (21.23)
400m: X / Jan Michael Gutierrez Almedina (47.58)
60m HH: X / Antwone Messado (8.15)
4x400m: X / 3:13.94
TJ: X / Robert Blue (51-08.50)
SP: Shelby Bigsby (46-09.50) / Travis Robinson (55-03.00)
WT: Ludith Campos (67-11.50)
 
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 / Louis 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)
Louis 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: Qualifiers will advance to NCAA Championships at the University of Oregon June 8-11.