Men’s Track Selects Captains
ALBANY, N.Y. – With the indoor track season quickly bearing down on the University at Albany, the men’s team announced their selections for team captains for the 2013-14 season. Seniors Jonathan Santana, Matthew Catera, and Abel Gilet, and junior Alexander Bowen were named captains on Tuesday.
“They are a great group of leaders who I have no doubt will lead our program well,” said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Roberto Vives, speaking of both the men’s and women’s selections, which were also made on Tuesday.
Santana, a Rochester, N.Y. native, is one of most prolific sprinters in UAlbany history. For indoor track, he holds all-time rankings in the 200 (fourth, 21.72), 400 (third, 48.00), 500 (sixth, 1:03.80), and 600 (second, 1:20.67). In outdoor track, he holds all-time rankings in the 200 (fourth, 21.64), and 400, (second, 47.19).
Catera hails from Whitestone, N.Y., and is one of the more versatile athletes on the team. He holds the eighth-best time in school history in the indoor heptathlon (4771), and holds the school record for the outdoor decathlon (6637).
Gilet has only been on the team for a year, yet already holds the third-best shot put (51’-1”) and fourth-best discus throw (165’-7”) in outdoor school history.
Finally, Bowen, a Beacon, N.Y. native, holds school records in both the indoor and outdoor high jump, recording heights of 7’-3.25” in each event.
Coach Vives shared some of his thoughts about the athletes who were selected.
“Jonathan is highly respected and committed to excellence. Matt is the hardest working person on the team and a natural born leader. Abel has only been with us for one year, but he has tremendous love for the program which is contagious to his teammates. And Alex is a soft spoken but incredible athlete who is not intimidated by anyone.”
The women’s team selected Katie Dowd, Kathryn Fanning, Jillian Haynes, and Tynelle Taylor-Chase as their captains. After the RACC Classic Intra-Squad meet on December 9, UAlbany’s first competition will be the Penn State Relays in State College, Pa., on January 11.
