It is really disturbing to me that Big Purple Fans shows absolutely no love to UAlbany’s most successful team. By success I mean most wins, most competative program (Nationally) at the University At Albany. That is program happens to be Men and Womens Track and Field. The track team has yielded the most nationally competative D-1 athletes at the University ever, and has the most America East Conference Championship Titles at Albany (5 to be exact). For the sake of argument read below:
2001: (First year in America East) Runner up to Northeastern (Champions for 16 years 8 consecutive!) Indoor and Outdoor Track! Women placed 6th.
2002: Mens Sweep, A.East Indoor and Outdoor Championships, Conference MVP, Coaching Staff of the Year. Women place runner up to Northeastern...from a 6th place finish the previous year. Men break a conference record of points scored in a America East Championship meet 233pts.
2003: Mens Sweep again, A.East Indoor and Outdoor Championships, Conference MVP, Coaching Staff of the Year, Women place runner up! (Note: UMBC Enters Conference). First UAlbany Female athlete to ever compete at the NCAA D1 National Championship! TERESA COVERT, 100 Hurdles at Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, California.
2004: Men A.East Indoor Champions, Outdoor runner up to Northeastern lost by 0.5 pts. Women Runner up to Northeastern. First UAlbany Male athlete to ever compete at the NCAA D1 National Championships! BRANDON HOWLETT (Discus) at Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas in Austin. (He finished the season 6 feet shy of the USA Olympic Trials standard). COVERT goes for a second time. (She finished the season 0.01 seconds shy of the USA Olympic Trials standard).
2004 HIGHLIGHTS & HEADLINES
Rob Caracciolo UAlbany’s First Track Athlete To Ever Compete In An Olympic Games. Rob competed in the 3000 meters along side the worlds fastest distance runners in Athens Greece in August 2004.
UAlbany Sends Eleven Athletes To NCAA East Regional Track & Field Meet
Eleven athletes will represent the University at Albany at the NCAA East Regional Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 28-29.
Albany Men's Track & Field Wins Title at Boston U. Invitational
Alyssa Lotmore Finishes Eighth In 1,500m Run USA Juniors Track & Field Nationals
College Station, Texas. Competition was held at Texas A&M University’s Frank G. Anderson Track & Field Complex.
Lotmore And Howlett Set School Marks At Williams Relays
Lotmore, a freshman who was part of the school record-setting distance medley relay team at last weekend’s Texas Relays, was clocked in with a time of 17:34.68 in the 5,000 to notch another school mark.
Covert Sets School Record at NCAA Meet. She placed 16th in the nation in the 100-meter hurdle preliminaries in a school-record time of 13.30 just missing USA Oylmpic Trials by 0.01 seconds at the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships.
UAlbany’s Teresa Covert Advances To NCAA East Regional 100-Hurdels Final In Gainesville, Florida. (University of Florida “Gators”)
Teresa Covert Named ECAC Co-Field Athlete Of The Week
Teresa Covert Breaks Her Own School Record In Long Jump Aa UConn Meet
Covert Breaks Two Records On First Day At America East Women’s Track Meet
UAlbany’s Naron Stewart Ties For Eighth In High Jump At NCAA East Regional
Naron Stewart tied for eighth place in the men’s high jump final, as he cleared the bar at 6-feet, 9-inches.
Brandon Howlett Advances To NCAA Divison I Track & Field Championships
UAlbany’s Brandon Howlett Finishes 21st At NCAA Championships
Howlett is the first UAlbany male athlete to compete at the Division I Championships. The senior owns the school record in the discus as he threw 184-feet, 0.5-inches earlier this season at the America East Conference Championships, but has a personal best throw of 202-feet.
Howlett and Opuana Have Top-10 Finishes at IC4A Meet
In the men’s IC4A competition, UAlbany’s Brandon Howlett placed fourth in the discus with a toss of 174-feet, 3-inches and Eric Opuana had a hammer throw mark of 184-feet, 10-inches to place seventh overall.
Howlett Sets Meet Record At Williams Relays
Brandon Howlett Earns Second Straight ECAC Weekly Honor
Howlett Places First In The Discus At The Duke Invite
Brandon Howlett Places Second In Discus At Raleigh Relays
Eric Opuana Qualifies For NCAA Regionals At Texas Relays
Gered Burns Wins IC4A 800-Meter Championship
UAlbany's Burns and Matthews Set School Marks at NYU
Burns Chosen ECAC Division I Track Co-Athlete of the Week
Burns Wins 800-Meter Run at New Balance Armory Invite
And that’s not all of the headlines…are these accomplishments not worthy of Big Purple Fans notoriety? Are they not admirable? Do they not warrant credit?