BOSTON - University at Albany's Leann Nicholas and Ja'Lil Reynolds earned America East Indoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year honors.
 
A senior in the business administration program, Ja'Lil Reynolds held a 3.60 cumulative GPA through his winter competition. Participating as a high jumper in four meets throughout the 2023-24 season, Reynolds was the Indoor America East Champion on the high jump. Just the fifth Great Dane to jump 6-11.5, he held the fifth-highest height of all jumpers in the northeast during the 2023-24 season. Reynolds was a 2024 AE All-Academic honoree.
 
Reynolds joins four other UAlbany indoor track and field athletes as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. John DeLallo (2016) is the most recent honoree.
 
Studying Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Leann Nicholas maintained a 3.92 cumulative GPA throughout the indoor season. Adding a minor in Spanish, the junior has been named America East All-Academic three times. Winning the triple jump at the 2024 AE Indoor Championships, her fourth-straight indoor/outdoor title, she set a school record in the indoor triple jump to hold both the indoor and outdoor UAlbany triple jump records. With three first-place finishes in four indoor track and field meets, she ranked first in the northeast with the 26th-best jump in the nation during the 2023-24 season. 
 
Nicholas is just the second Great Dane to earn the Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's indoor track and field. Fey Adaramola was the first in 2010.
 
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