University of Albany

Nadir Simohamed, a native of Algiers, Algeria who arrived in the Capital Region in 1997, begins his 17th season as the horizontal jumps coach at the University at Albany. Simohamed's athletes have helped the Great Danes win 52 America East Conference titles.
 
Simohamed’s athletes have collectively won 62 America East individual titles and 18 IC4A and ECAC individual titles.  He has coached 22 NCAA East Preliminary qualifiers, 12 USATF U20 qualifiers, and five USATF Senior qualifiers.  His athletes have also put up 15 school record-breaking performances.  Additionally Simohamed has coached one U20 Pan American medalist and one USTFCCCA All-American, and has coached all current UAlbany record holders in the horizontal jump events.  Further, Simohamed has helped with the conditioning and development of six of UAlbany’s Division I All-Americans; Alexander Bowen Jr., Matthew Campbell, Mark Pallozi, Alfonso Scannapieco, Luke Shoen, and Devon Willis.
 
In 2020, during the indoor season, Simohamed coached two America East long and triple jump champions, eight IC4A and ECAC qualifiers, and eight America East All-Conference honorees.  Omahri Sturdivant won the indoor triple jump and EJ Onah won the long jump at America East and ECAC Indoor championships.
 
2019 saw Simohamed’s jumpers sweep all four events at indoor conference championships.  Victor Cotto and EJ Onah won the long jump, and Omahri Sturdivant and Lynda Brundige won gold in the triple jump.  Devon Willis would also set a new school record in the men’s triple jump during the indoor season.  Two freshman records fell during the year, in the men’s triple jump by Robert Blue and in the women’s long jump by Onah.  Outdoors, Onah won the long jump and Willis won the triple jump.  Onah went on to qualify for the USATF U20 Championships, qualifying to represent Team USA at the U20 Pan American Games, where she won bronze.
 
In 2018, Simohamed coached one America East champion in the triple jump, eight ECAC and IC4A qualifiers, and eight All-Conference honorees.  One of his athletes, Victor Cotto, qualified for the USATF Junior Championships in the long jump, and Devon Willis set a new triple jump school record in victory at the America East Outdoor Championships.
 
Two of Simohamed’s athletes won the triple jump at the 2017 America East and IC4A Championships.  His group also saw 10 IC4A and ECAC qualifiers, eight America East All-Conference honoreers, and two NCAA East Preliminary qualifiers.
 
Simohamed saw his athletes claim victory in the triple jump three times at America East Championships in 2016.  Solene Bastien swept the women’s event at the indoor and outdoor championship meets, and Matthew Campbell won the men’s event outdoors. 
 
In 2015, Devon Willis became the first men’s freshman to win a field event at IC4A Outdoor Championships when he won the triple jump.  Later in the season, he claimed bronze at the USATF Junior Championships.  In addition to Willis, Simohamed coached three America East triple jump champions, 18 America East All-Conference honorees, and had 15 IC4A and ECAC qualifiers.
 
Aiyanna James, Youssef Benzamia, and Kareem Morris each won America East individual titles in 2014, among 16 of Simohamed’s All-Conference honorees and eight IC4A and ECAC qualifiers.
 
In 2013, Patricia McNish became the program’s most prolific America East champion, claiming her seventh individual conference title.  Simohamed’s athletes won four additional America East events in 2013, leading a collection of 21 All-Conference honorees and nine IC4A and ECAC qualifiers.
 
Team MVP Patricia McNish swept all four horizontal jumps during the 2012 season, winning both the long jump and triple jump and America East Indoor and Outdoor Championships.  Additionally, she won the ECAC Outdoor title in the long jump, setting a new school record in the process, before qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary Championships.  In total, 2012 produced 16 America East All-Conference honorees and seven IC4A and ECAC qualifiers.
 
In 2011, he coached a combined indoor and outdoor five conference champions in the long jump, triple jump, 60m and 200m. Two athletes under Simohamed broke new school records as Nasim Sideeq leaped a 52-foot triple jump and Kadeem Howell flew 23 feet and nine inches in the long jump. Notably, the jumpers under his lead helped secure a back-to-back sweep of America East Conference titles for men and women in both indoor and outdoor competition.
 
In the 2010 season, Simohamed coached 16 IC4A and ECAC qualifiers, 11 all-conference honorees, three America East champions, two NCAA East Preliminary Round qualifiers and one NCAA indoor provisional qualifier. Nasim Siddeeq became the first member of the men's squad to win a field event at the indoor IC4A Championship by claiming the triple jump title. Valete Graham made the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men's Track & Field and Cross Country third team, the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team and was honored as the America East Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in both seasons. Ashley Mahlmeister and Pat McNish advanced to the USA Junior National Championships in the women's triple jump.
UAlbany's horizontal jumpers had a stellar 2008-09, producing 17 IC4A and ECAC qualifiers, 16 all-conference selections, four America East champions, four NCAA East Regional qualifiers, three USATF National qualifiers and three NCAA indoor provisional qualifiers. Siddeeq was named the USTFCCCA Field Athlete of the Year and America East Most Outstanding Field Performer indoors this past winter, while Jenn Gurrant won both ECAC triple jump titles. Seven of the eight school records were broken and rebroken, and Graham, a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team selection and the America East Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year outdoors, fell one centimeter shy of qualifying for the NCAA national meet in the long jump. The horizontal jumpers combined for a total of 31 personal-best performances.
 
Eleven UAlbany jumpers have combined to win 24 America East Conference titles through Simohamed's first six years. The program has most notably produced the America East champion every year in the men's long jump outdoors and the men's triple jump indoors under his watch as well as 24 All-East recipients, 13 NCAA East Regional and Preliminary Round qualifiers, five USATF Junior National qualifiers, three USATF Senior National qualifiers and five USTFCCCA Division I All-Academic Team award winners. In addition, all four school records on the men's side and three of the four marks in the women's horizontal jumping events have been broken and rebroken in his tenure.
 
Simohamed represented Algeria at the World Junior Championships in Sudbury, Ontario in 1988. He later won the Algerian Long Jump National Championship in 1990 and participated in area championships and international competitions in Europe.
 
Simohamed earned his bachelor's degree in computer information systems at Southwest Texas State, currently known as Texas State, in 1996. As a three-year letterwinner of the track and field programs, he was awarded all-academic honors in 1991 and earned All-Southland Conference accolades in 1992. He still ranks among the school's career leaders in the long jump, triple jump and sprint relay events. Simohamed also holds a coaching certification license from USA Track & Field. He resides in Clifton Park with his wife, Esma, and his two children, Sonia (born in 2010) and Samy (born in 2011).