Risucci and Fackler Earn Empire 8 Honors
Nazareth senior Carissa Risucci and Ithaca junior Korie Fackler have been named the Empire 8 Swimming and Diving Athletes of the Week.
Risucci earned Female Swimmer of the Meet at the Upper New York State/Empire 8 Championships as she led the Golden Flyers to a fourth-place team finish. Risucci won two individual events, hit one NCAA automatic-qualifying cut, one provisional cut-time, set two school records and one championship record during the four-day meet. On the final day of competition, Risucci won the 200 breaststroke with a school and championship record time of 2:16.20, automatically qualifying her for next month's NCAA Division III meet in Houston. The day before she successfully defended her title in the 100 breaststroke as she broke her own school record in the finals with a winning B-cut time of 1:03.93. Risucci also placed fourth in the 200 individual medley (2:09.49) and was part of the third-place 200 medley relay (1:48.69) and 400 medley relay (3:56.56).
Fackler earned Female Diver of the Meet at the Upper New York State/Empire 8 Championships. Fackler highlighted the opening day of the meet with a record-setting performance on the 3-meter diving board. Fackler scored 494.50 in the championship dive format, which was a record in the UNYSCSA, the Empire 8 meet, and in the A&E Center Aquatics Pavilion. Fackler added to her 3-meter title with a first-place finish on the 1-meter board. She scored 475.35 in the finals, more than 40 points better than the runner-up as her score set a UNYSCSA and a school record.