UAlbany Track & Field's Valete Graham Named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Third Team

Towson, Md. - University at Albany's Valete Graham has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men's Track & Field and Cross Country third team, as announced on Tuesday, June 22 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The horizontal jumper is the track & field program's second student-athlete to garner the national recognition after distance runner Andy Allstadt was named to the second team four years ago.

Graham, a senior from Bronx, N.Y., graduated with a 3.70 grade point average as a psychology major and was recently honored as UAlbany's 2009-10 Co-Male Athlete of the Year. He made the 2008 and 2009 USTFCCCA Division I Men's All-Academic Track and Field Team and was named the 2009 America East Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in outdoor track and the 2010 America East Scholar-Athlete of the Year in indoor track. A member of five America East all-academic teams, Graham was a 2010 ECAC Merit Medal winner as the school's top senior male student-athlete and a recipient of the Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete Award.

During the outdoor season, Graham won his third straight long jump title at the America East championship by leaping 24-feet, 7.75-inches, becoming just the second athlete to accomplish the feat in league history. The indoor and outdoor team MVP also placed fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 47-8. Graham, who was eighth in the long jump (23-9.50) at the IC4A Championship, ended his career with a 22nd-place finish in his premier event (24-3) at the NCAA East Preliminary Round. His mark of 24-9.25 in the long jump at the 2009 America East championship is a school record.

Graham was also impressive during his final indoor campaign, accumulating 18 points at the America East championship. He garnered all-conference laurels twice by winning the long jump with a leap of 23-6 and placing second in the triple jump with a mark of 47-10. He also led the Great Danes to their second consecutive title at the IC4A Championship by registering a fourth-place mark of 23-2.75 in the long jump. UAlbany was the first program to win back-to-back IC4A crowns since Georgetown in 2000, and remains the only America East institution to win the championship. In addition, Graham broke the program standard in the long jump by leaping 24-6.50 at the Great Dane Classic.

UAlbany has placed 12 student-athletes on national Academic All-America teams since upgrading to the Division I level in 1999-2000. Graham is the second Great Dane to be selected this month, as women's lacrosse midfielder Olivia Jarem earned a spot on the at-large second team.

University at Albany's Academic All-Americans (Division I)
Baseball
Eddie Scott (2002, 3rd team)

Football
J.T. Herfurth (2000, 1st team)
Ryan MacLean (2002, 2nd team)
Victor Camacho (2003, 1st team)
David Parks (2003, 2nd team)

Men's Soccer
Stephan Hall (2005, 1st team)
Stephan Hall (2006, 1st team)

Softball
Amber Maisonet (2008, 1st team)

Men's At-Large
Emil Bove (2002, 2nd team, lacrosse)

Men's Track & Field/Cross Country
Andy Allstadt (2006, 2nd team)
Valete Graham (2010, 3rd team)

Women's At-Large
Olivia Jarem (2010, 2nd team, lacrosse)



Courtesy: UAlbany Athletics