Empire 8 Athletes of The Week: January 14, 2013
Men’s Basketball Player – Stevens
Patrick Sabatino, Sophomore, Forward – Westfield, NJ/Westfield
After scoring 13 points and securing six rebounds in a non-conference win Tuesday at Kean University, sophomore forward Patrick Sabatino led Stevens to a 2-0 conference weekend. On Friday against Alfred, Sabatino scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds in just 20 minutes of action. He followed that performance with a career-high 26 points to lead the Ducks to a key win over St. John Fisher Saturday. Sabatino also added eight more rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals to his line as the Ducks improved to 11-1 overall and 4-0 in the Empire 8. In the two conference wins, the sophomore averaged 22 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, shooting a remarkable 78.3 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from the line.
Men’s Basketball Rookie – Nazareth
Maurice Mills, Forward – Utica, NY/Proctor
Maurice Mills was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe on the weekend as the Golden Flyers recorded conference victories over Elmira and Utica. Mills scored seven points in in the 71-65 win over the Soaring Eagles Friday night and then finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 89-81 win over Utica.
Women’s Basketball Player – Houghton
Kristen Moose, Junior, Guard – Swain, NY/Canaseraga
Kristen Moose averaged a double-double as she carried Houghton College to two wins this past weekend verse Utica College and Elmira College. In her game against Utica on Friday night she had 25 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists; she went 3-5 from three-point range and 8-of-8 from the line. On Saturday, she finished with 22 points and 15 boards.
Women’s Basketball Rookie – Hartwick
Brittney Dumas, Guard – Easton, CT/Joel Barlow
Brittney Dumas shot an astounding 82% from the field in two Hartwick wins over St. John Fisher and Alfred this weekend. In the two victories, she missed just four shots making 18-of-22 from the floor. On Friday in a 65-52 win over Fisher, she made eight of her ten shots to tie for a team-high 18 points, went 1-for-2 from three-point range, and added five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. The next day in a 68-42 win over Alfred, she made 10-of-12 shots for a game-high 22 points. She scored 14 of Hartwick's 21 points in a big 21-1 five-minute run early in the second half to put the game away. She added six rebounds versus the Saxons and finished the week with averages of 20.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg.
Men’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Hartwick
Kenny Kleso, Senior – Milford, PA/Delaware Valley
Kenny Kleso had a solid day in the pool as he helped the Hartwick men to a 177-97 victory over SUNY Cortland on Sunday. He had two first place finishes in the 500 free (4:47.68) and the 100 breast (58.32). His breast time set a new Moyer Pool and beat the previous record of 59.15. He also added a 1000 free time of 9:58.61 that was good for second place. Kleso swam a 27.47 50 breaststroke relay split in the 200 medley that helped the men take first place with an overall time of 1:37.89.
Women’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Hartwick
Imma Rutigliano, Freshman – Tillson, NY/John A. Coleman
Imma Rutigliano enjoyed a career day in the pool as she won three events on the afternoon to help the Hartwick women defeat SUNY Cortland 163-135 on Sunday afternoon. She won the 100 back (1:03.74), the 200 back (2:17.49) and the 200 IM (2:19.88). Rutigliano also swam a 50 backstroke split time of 29.61 in the 200 medley relay as the Hartwick women won with an overall time of 1:55.15.
Men’s Indoor Track Athlete – Stevens
Michael Cahill, Junior – Clark, NJ/Union Catholic
Michael Cahill set a new school record and qualified for the ECAC Championships with a time of 15:15.69 in the 5,000-meter race at the Gotham Cup on Jan. 11. He broke the old record by just over four seconds which was set back in 2006.
Men’s Indoor Field Athlete – Utica
Dwight Hicks, Senior – Syracuse, NY/ William Nottingham
Dwight Hicks took first place on the college level in the weight throw with an ECAC qualifying mark of 15.36 meters (50’ 4.75”). He also placed third in the shot put with a toss of 14.13 meters (46’ 4”), missing the post-season mark by .22 meters.
Women’s Indoor Track Athlete – Houghton
Alyssa Figueroa, Junior - Piscataway, NJ/Timothy Christian
Alyssa Figueroa won the triple jump at the RIT Invitational Saturday with a leap of 11.35 meters (37’ 1.25”), breaking her own school record by almost a half a meter. She also ran a 8.08 in the 60 meters, good enough for second place. Her triple jump distance and sprint time qualified her for the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Nationals.
Women’s Indoor Field Athlete – Nazareth
Hannah Brackley, Sophomore – Horseheads, NY/Elmira Notre Dame
Hannah Brackley won the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:23.99, more than seven seconds faster than the runner-up. Brackley also finished third in the 200-meter dash out of 33 competitors with a school record time of 27.34 seconds. She was .02 seconds off of first place.