GCRTFCCHOF Scholastic Award Winners receive Track and Field News accolades

Posted November 18, 2024

Recently-released Track and Field News end-of-the-year high school rankings reflect strong recognition for Greater Capital Region Track, Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame 2024 Scholastic Award Winners Alexandra O’Rourke of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake HS and Neil Howard III of Taconic Hills HS.

In the United States top-25 boys’ rankings, Neil was fourth in the intermediate hurdles (51.91 seconds) and third in the decathlon (7448 points). Among All-American selections, he was chosen No. five in the 300/400 meter intermediate hurdles category and No. three in the decathlon. While at Taconic Hills, Neil won multiple state championships and established numerous Section II records. He is currently a scholarship athlete at Michigan University where he will specialize in multi-events.

As a junior, Alex garnered position No. six in the 800-meter run (2:04.98). She is currently a member of the undefeated Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake field hockey team that is vying for a New York State championship.

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Colonie Summer Track Meets

Posted May 31, 2024

The venerable Colonie Summer Recreation Track Meets will be held for the 54th time this summer, on Tuesdays at 6:00. Because of construction at the Colonie track, the series will be held at Shaker High School this year. Meets will be held on June 25, July 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. Once again this year, the meets will be generously sponsored by The Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club, and there is no registration or cost. Two highlights of the series will be The Colonie Mile, July 9, and Ribbon Night, July 30. On the latter evening, award ribbons will be distributed to children across a number of events. Due to lack of access to equipment, the high jump and hurdles will not be contested this summer. 

ORDER OF EVENTS
ONE MILE RUN 
50 METER DASH (UP TO 12 YEARS OLD)
100 METER DASH (ANY AGE)
400 METER DASH (ANY AGE)
800 METER RUN
200 METER DASH (ANY AGE)
2 MILE RUN
RELAYS
FIELD EVENTS (TRIPLE JUMP,LONG JUMP,SHOT PUT,DISCUS)

THIS SERIES IS AN INDEPENDENT, PRIVATELY RUN PROGRAM AND IS NOT OPERATED BY, AND HAS NO DIRECT AFFILIATION WITH, THE NORTH COLONIE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT.

United States of America Track & Field, Adirondack Association Seeks Volunteers for Leadership Positions

Posted January 22, 2024

USATF-Adirondack is one of 56 associations that govern and promote the sports of track and field, cross country, and road racing in the United States. Geographically, the Adirondack Association stretches north to the Canadian border, west to beyond Utica, south to Kingston and east to the Massachusetts border. ADK supports organized clubs within this area, administers youth meets like the Junior Olympics and provides a distance-running Grand Prix series of road races, among other things.

Currently, the Association is seeking to fill several leadership positions: Treasurer, Coordinator of Track and Field, and Vice President. All meetings throughout the year are virtual. Other opportunities to get involved in other Association work also exist, as well: membership, sanctions, and event support are but several examples. If you are interested in serving in any of these positions, desire more information, or if you would like your name placed on the Association volunteer list, please contact Adirondack Association President Kristen Hislop at president@adirondack.usatf.org

Capital Region All-Time Marathon Performance List

Posted December 26, 2023

Check out a revised all-time Capital Region Marathon list on our new Archives/Records page. We greatly appreciate the work of 2023 HOF inductee Mark Mindel in creating and revising this list.

Capital Region Runners Compete Successfully in NCAA Championships

Posted December 18, 2023

With Capital Region distance running superstar Kelsey Chmiel (Saratoga Springs/ North Carolina State) on the sidelines with an injury, it fell to the purview of five other local stars to hold the banner of our region high at the 2023 NCAA National Championships on November 18 in Charlottesville, Virgina. You will recall that Kelsey was an integral part of NC State’s NCAA national championship teams in 2021 and 2022, when she placed sixth and second respectively, arguably the best performances ever recorded in this event by a Capital Region harrier.

The premier performance of ’23 was turned in by graduate student Tyler Berg (Burnt Hills/Columbia/Notre Dame), who broke into the double digits in 92nd place, leading the Fighting Irish to a 14th place team finish. Redshirt freshman Gitch Hayes (LaSalle/North Carolina) completed the course at No. 147 and Nicholas Soldevere (Guilderland/Iona) checked in at place 206. Tyler was the third man for the Irish and Gitch held down position No. 5 for the sixth place Tar Heel team.

On the women’s side, frosh Sheridan Wheeler (Saratoga/Iowa State) copped the highest local finish at 183 and junior Faith DeMars (Ballston Spa/Penn State) crossed the line at 197.

Hall of Fame 2023 Scholastic Award Winner Neil Howard III’s Channel 13 Video Story

Posted November 29, 2023

Click the button above to see this great feature on Neil Howard III!

University of Michigan Track and Field Gets Commitment From Nation's Top Decathlete

Posted October 31, 2023

After several months of recruiting days and official visits with universities in major conferences interested in signing the multi event national champion and elite hurdler, Taconic Hills senior Neil Howard III has announced he has committed to the Big 10's University of Michigan for his collegiate career.

Howard III is a three-time national champion in the Decathlon and holds the freshman, sophomore, and junior class NYS records in the event. This past June, his personal best score of 7,153 points at Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon made him the all-time NYS leader in the event, breaking a record that had stood since 1962. A six-time NYS champion, Howard holds five outdoor titles in the long jump, pole vault, 110 meter hurdles and back to back championships in the 400 meter hurdles, as well as Federation titles in the long jump, pole vault, and 400 meter hurdles. His 400m hurdle time of 52.41 eclipsed a fifteen year old NYS Section 2 record by over half a second. During the last indoor track season, he won the pole vault state title with an indoor personal best vault of 15' 9" and captured the Federation title.

After his All-American performance in the Decathlon in June, and with only one day of rest, he put up a fourth place finish in the 400 meter hurdles at Nike Outdoor Nationals. Later that month, Neil was named as one of the original 40 members of the Nike Elite Program, a new program dedicated to developing the top high school track and field athletes in the United States. With support from the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation (NSAF) and USA Track & Field (USATF) Nike Elite members attended an immersion event held at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike provides athletes with competition apparel, mentorship, and support to compete in key competitions throughout the upcoming season like the Millrose Games, Mt. Sac Invitational, and the USATF U20 Championships next summer.

Neil was named the Times Union Athlete of the Year and was most recently honored as a scholastic winner by the Greater Capital Region Track and Field Hall of Fame along with three other high school students who were chosen as representing athletes with the most significant track and field accomplishments last season.

The GCRTFCC Hall of Fame thanks Mark Mindel for compiling this top 20 list of All-Time Capital Region Marathoners

Posted October 25, 2023

Click here to view the list.

HVCC Track Program Seeks Assistant Coach

Posted August 9, 2023

Under the leadership of Head Coach Jeoff York, the Hudson Valley Community College Track and Field program is seeking to hire an assistant men’s and women’s coach for track and field. Among the duties of the position, the assistant will be responsible for working with distance runners and weight throwers. For necessary qualifications, a full list of responsibilities and application procedure, please review the requisition which can be found at:

Employment Opportunities | HVCC

Applications close on August 27.

HS National Meets: Neil Howard is the Decathlon Champion and the Guilderland Girls Capture Relay

Posted June 20, 2023

The trip to Oregon was well worth it for Neil Howard. The Taconic Hills junior smashed a 57-year-old state record Friday night (June 16), rallying to win the decathlon in the 2023 Nike Outdoor Nationals at historic Hayward Field.

Howard finished with 7,153 points to take down the state mark of 6,779 set by Alvin Pearman of Roosevelt (Long Island) in 1966. He won by 118 points over Max Tucker of Georgia. Howard now owns the state freshman (6,316), sophomore (6,683) and junior class records.

Howard stood fifth after Day 1 but took the lead with a PR-matching 15-9 in the pole vault. He slipped to second after the javelin (155-9), but his 4:30.23 in the 1,500 was sufficient to prevail. Howard’s other marks were 11.30 in the 100, 21-10 3/4 in the long jump, 41-4 1/4 in the shot put, 5-5 in the high jump, 48.49 in the 400, 14.97 in the 110 high hurdles and 119-7 in the discus.

Meanwhile, across the country in Philadelphia, the Guilderland Track Club won the girls’ 1,600-meter sprint medley relay Saturday, Saratoga Springs finished an impressive second in the distance medley relay Sunday and the Streaks’ Sheridan Wheeler placed second in the 2,000-meter steeplechase Friday night during the New Balance Outdoor Nationals at Franklin Field.

Read the Full Press Release
Capital Region Track, Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame Announces Its Scholastic Award winners

Posted June 17, 2023

Newly crowned state champions Neil Howard of Taconic Hills and Bashir Praileau of Albany Academy head the list of 2023 Scholastic Awards being presented by the Greater Capital Region Track, Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame.

Sprint and hurdle specialists Kendall Barnhart of Guilderland and Abigail Wicks of Averill Park were also chosen, and the Guilderland girls’ crew of head coach Chris Scanlan and assistants Dave Kosier, Taylor Mead and Dan Penna earned a new award as Track Coaching Staff of the Year.

All of the Scholastic Award winners will be honored when the GCRTFCCHOF inducts nine new members into its hall during a banquet on Oct. 7 at the Albany Marriott on Wolf Road in Colonie.

Read the Full Press Release
Harry Marra, 2012 USATF National Track Coach of the Year, Pens Book Documenting his Lifetime of Coaching Decathletes: "Stories From the Passenger Seat: Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Coaching"

Posted April 2, 2023

Former area resident Harry Marra, selected as the United States Track and Field Nike Coach of the Year in 2012 and International Amateur Athletic Federation Coach of the Year in 2016, has recently published a book recounting his over five decades of coaching track and field, Stories From the Passenger Seat: Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Coaching.

Neil Howard III Repeats Decathlon National Championship; Sets NYS Sophomore Record

Posted January 11, 2023

Neil Howard III, a junior from Section II's Taconic Hills High School, won Olympic gold at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic Championships in Sacramento, California in July. Howard defended his 2021 national title in the decathlon where he combined his speed, strength, and endurance in ten events over two days to earn All-American status with a personal best score of 6,683 points, 1,305 points over the second place finisher. At the end of day one, Howard led the field of nine athletes in the 15-16 age division in total points after the 100m (11.34 sec. PR), long jump (21‘ 6.6”), shot put (37’ 11"), high jump (5’ 8.75”) and 400m (50.67 sec. PR). Day two, the following events were contested: the 110m hurdles (15.92 sec.), discus (121’ 7” PR), pole vault (13’ 11”), javelin (145’ 10.8” PR) and 1500m (4:37.92 sec.) run.

Howard set the NYS freshman decathlon record with his win last year. He now owns the sophomore decathlon record, beating the previous score from 1984. At the NYS meet in June, Howard long jumped a personal best leap of 23' 10.5" to earn the NYS Federation title, and won the Division 2 400m hurdle title with a time of 55.76 before coming in third place in the Federation race with a personal best time of 54.69 seconds.

Capital Region Harriers Star at NCAA Division I Championships

Posted December 22, 2022

The GCRTFCCHOF would like to provide a big shout out to four Capital Region collegiate cross country runners who recorded excellent performances at the NCAA championships on November 19. Kelsey Chmiel (Saratoga Springs/North Carolina State) posted a tremendous 3rd place finish (19:37.1) which was integral to NC State defending the championship that they won in ’21. Also on the women’s side, Abigal Spiers (Niskayuna/Syracuse) ran to a 124th place. Tyler Berg (Burnt Hills/Columbia), running as an individual qualifier, posted a 78th place finish (30:02.2). Representing Syracuse on the men’s side, Noah Carey (Guilderland) rolled to 81st place, hard on the heels of Tyler.

Section 2 Cross Country Teams Win State Championships

Posted November 21, 2022

Three local high school cross country teams won titles at Saturday’s (Nov. 12) state championships at Vernon-Verona H.S. On the boys’ side, the Spartans of Burnt Hills emerged victorious for the 6th consecutive year. This string matched the all-time state record for consecutive wins, established by Beaver River way back in 1983-89. It was the 11th title overall for Coach Chip Button, which places the school 2nd behind Beaver River, which has 17, for total wins. For the girls’, the Streaks of Saratoga came out on top with their 17th state championship, which leads the state all time. Coaches Linda and Art Kranick have been "at the helm" for all of the wins. On the Class C level, the Blackbirds of Voorheesville won their initial state championship, defeating 2nd place Addison by 26 points. Congrats to all of these hardworking athletes and coaches.

HOF Trustee Cara Udvadia Finds Success in First Marathon Race

Posted November 21, 2022

Cara Udvadia, the most recent addition to The Board of Trustees, Greater Capital Region Track, Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame, placed second among all women at the October Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. Ms. Udvadia had set an ambitious goal for her initial 26 miler: to break 2 hours, 50 minutes. Assisted in her training program by her dad, Mohonasen HS track and cross country coach Bill Sherman, Cara superceded the goal with by significant margin at 2:47:08. Making it a "family affair," husband Ryan was third at 2:27:36. Congrats to two of the finest road racers on the local scene.

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The Capital Region Track and Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame was founded to provide recognition to those athletes, coaches, and officials who have achieved superlative performances or who have made significant contributions to the history and growth of these sports in the Great Capital Region area of Upstate New York.

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