Craig McVey enters his tenth year at the helm of the UAlbany men's and women's cross country programs. He is also beginning his 15th year as the institution's associate head track and field coach, where he works with the program's distance runners and pole vaulters. In addition to having school records set at every distance, McVey has seen the men place as high as second and the women finish as high as third at the America East Conference Cross Country Championships under his guidance. The distance runners and pole vaulters he has coached have helped the track and field teams combine to win 20 America East titles and three IC4A championships.
Over the past nine seasons, Great Dane harriers have earned a total of 34 All-East honors. Emily Finnegan, Alex Leuchanka, Paul Lagno, and Peter Rowell all garnered All-Academic laurels last year. At the 44th Annual UAlbany Invitational last year, cross country set a school record for the second straight race by having the top-five finishers register an average time of 18:28.6 on the 5,000-meter course. In that race, Emily Finnegan became only the second female in program history to break the 18-minute mark. Women's cross country took the ECAC crown in 2010 while in the following spring, the Great Danes capture four championship titles and finish first as a team for the seventh consecutive year at the America East Conference Track & Field Championship.
Ricardo Estremera was the second Great Dane in four years to win the individual title at the 2007 IC4A University Championship, and Robbie Freeman also accomplished the feat in 2004. As the associate head track and field coach, he has seen pole vaulter Luke Schoen garner All-America honors three times, while Estremera earned the laurel in the steeplechase at the 2009 NCAA outdoor meet. Steeplechaser Ryan Gaedje was a 2005 Junior National All-American. Andy Allstadt and Freeman won consecutive 5,000-meter America East titles under the four-time regional coach of the year, and Allstadt was the recipient of UAlbany's Presidential Scholar-Athlete Award and received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Alyssa Lotmore, the indoor America East champion in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter running events, earned the same scholarship in 2007. In addition, both school records in the steeplechase have been broken during his tenure.
McVey's coaching career in cross country and track and field began at Kansas State in 1983, where his athletes captured 18 Big Eight Conference titles and ranked as the top NCAA top combined men's and women's program. He became head men's and women's cross country and track coach at Hartwick College five years later, where his teams eclipsed 83 school records and produced NCAA All-Americans as well as 22 New York Collegiate individual champions. Prior to his arrival at UAlbany, McVey coached at Saint Rose during the 1996-97 academic year. The women's cross country team won the NYCAC Conference title and the men finished second. In addition, Golden Knight runners claimed both individual titles at the conference championship meet.
A native of Manhattan, Kan., McVey received a bachelor's degree in physical education from Kansas State in 1979 and earned his master's degree from the institution in 1985. As an undergraduate student, McVey was a member of two Big Eight Conference indoor track and field championship teams, a Big Eight cross country championship team and KSU squads which were ranked annually among the NCAA's top dual-meet teams. He currently resides in Guilderland with his wife, Bette, and their children, Luke (22), Kirsten (18), Maggie (17) and Tyler (11).
