BOSTON – Shak Williams has been named the first-ever America East Men's Indoor Track & Field Performer of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday.  Additionally, four Great Danes, Rebeca Valerie Barrientos Alpha, Leann Nicholas, Marcus McFadden, and Ja'Lil Reynolds, earned All-Academic honors for the 2023-24 indoor season.
 
The Performer of the Year Award was created this year to recognize the most outstanding male or female track or field performer over the course of the season.  The award considers the athletes' cumulative effort and entire overall body of work throughout the entire indoor track & field season.  The Track & Field Performer of the Year award winners were determined in a vote by the league's head coaches, who could not vote for their own athletes.
 
Williams, a sprinter from St. Andrew, Jamaica, swept the men's 60m and 200m at the 2024 America East Indoor Championships, earning Outstanding Track Performer honors.  Over the course of the season, Williams never placed lower than sixth in the 60m.  He won the 60m in each of his first three meets, and then placed fourth at the Harvard Crimson Elite Invitational.  His lone sixth-place finish came at the 116th Millrose Games in a field that featured world record-holder Christian Coleman and other top professionals.  There, Williams set a new personal-best of 6.61, the second-fastest time in UAlbany history.  Williams ended the season ranked first in the America East and Northeast region, second among IC4A competitors, and 24th nationally in the 60m.
 
Barrientos Alpha, a jumper from San Salvador, El Salvador, earned a 3.75 GPA studying Business Administration with a minor in Art.  Barrientos Alpha placed second in both the women's long jump and triple jump at the 2024 America East Indoor Championships, ranking sixth in the conference in the former and second in the latter with her best marks of the year.
 
Nicholas, a jumper from Farmingdale, N.Y., earned a 3.92 GPA studying Biochemistry & Molecular Biology with a minor in Spanish, specializing in linguistics and teaching.  Nicholas won her fourth-straight individual title in the women's triple jump at the 2024 America East Indoor Championships, and previously set a new indoor program record in the event of 42-11.00.  Her mark led the America East, Northeast region, and ECAC, and ranked 26th nationally.
 
McFadden, a jumper from Rochester, N.Y., earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration with a 3.58 GPA, and holds a 3.75 GPA pursuing his MBA.  McFadden placed second in the long jump at the 2024 America East Indoor Championships, and set a personal-best of 23-11.75, which ranked second in the conference this season.
 
Reynolds, a high jumper from Hopewell, Junction, N.Y., earned a 3.60 GPA studying Business Administration.  Reynolds won the men's high jump at the 2024 America East Indoor Championships.  He set a personal-best 6-11.50 in the event, ranking first in the conference, fifth in the Northeast region, and ninth among IC4A competitors.  He is just the fifth Great Dane to clear the height.
 
Barrientos Alpha, McFadden, and Reynolds each earn their first All-Academic selection.  Nicholas earns her third.  To be eligible for All-Academic consideration, student-athletes must have sophomore athletic eligibility, attain a 3.30 minimum grade-point average, and be a contributor on their team.  The squad is voted on by a committee made up of America East student-athlete support and athletic communications administrators, as well as faculty athletic representatives.
 
UAlbany visits UConn on March 30 for the 2024 Dogfight.