E8 Athletes of the Week: Sept. 29
E8 league standings continued to take shape over the past week, with several programs still holding perfect league records. Those earning weekly honors include...
Football Offensive Player – Buffalo State
Rich Pete, Senior, RB – Utica, NY/TR Proctor
The senior running back had 140 yards on 23 carries and scored all four Buffalo State touchdowns as the Bengals erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat visiting Salisbury, 32-28. Rich Pete found the end zone on runs of nine, one, 20 and two yards, including the game-winning score with 3:06 remaining. He also had one catch for 13 yards. Pete has rushed for at least 100 yards in all four games this season.
Football Defensive Player – Ithaca
Kenneth Bradley, Freshman, LB – Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial
Kenneth Bradley led Ithaca with 10 tackles, nine of which were solo, and had a tackle for loss as the Bombers improved to 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Empire 8 with a 17-6 win at Alfred. It was Ithaca's first win at Alfred since the 2008 season. Bradley and the Ithaca defense held Alfred to just six points, after the Saxons entered the game averaging 32.3 points per game.
Football Special Teams Player – Utica
Dakota Peel, Senior, Punter – Alden, NY/Alden
Utica punter Dakota Peel once again provided great field position for the Pioneers all afternoon, punting the ball four times for 203 yards (50.8 yard average), including a long of 65 yards. Peel set a new school-record for average yards per punt in a single game (50.8 yards per punt). He pinned Brockport inside their own 20-yard line twice in the fourth quarter. The first was a 65-yard punt that was downed at the Brockport 1-yard line with 10:30 left in regulation. The second was a 42-yard punt that rolled out of bounds at the Brockport five yard line with 4:05 left in the game.
Field Hockey Offensive Player – Washington & Jefferson
Amanda Steffey, Sophomore, Forward – Irwin, PA/Penn Trafford
Amanda Steffey scored two goals, including the game winner with 4:41 remaining, to help W&J remain undefeated in E8 play after a 4-3 win over Stevens. She netted the first goal of the match just 57 seconds into the contest for the early lead. She attempted 12 of the Presidents' 24 shots, including 10 of which were on goal. The two-goal game marked her third multi-goal game of the season.
Field Hockey Defensive Player – Ithaca
Caitlin O’Brien, Junior, Defender – Carver, MA/Carver
Junior defender Caitlin O'Brien had one of the best games of her career against Nazareth Saturday, as she scored both of Ithaca's goals in a 2-0 victory. The goals were O'Brien's second and third of the season, adding to her career high. She also recorded five shots on goal in the win.
Men’s Cross Country Runner – Nazareth
Kevin Witt, Freshman – Webster, NY/Webster Thomas
Freshman Kevin Witt was Nazareth's top finisher in the men's 8-kilometer race at the Harry Anderson Invitational, hosted by Roberts Wesleyan. He placed 42nd overall out of 233 runners with a time of 27:32.
Women’s Cross Country Runner – Nazareth
Robin Wagner, Junior – Rochester, NY/Brighton
Junior Robin Wagner was the Golden Flyer’s top finisher in the women’s 5-kilometer race at the Harry Anderson Invitational, hosted by Roberts Wesleyan. She placed 52nd overall out of 268 runners with a time of 20:09.
Men’s Golf Athlete – Elmira
Evan Clarke, Senior - Rochester, NY/Chili-Churchville
Evan Clarke logged a pair of top-two finishes this week for the Soaring Eagles. He finished tied for second in the Elmira College Fall Invitational, coming second to teammate Jarryd ten Vaanholt who won the event. Then, Clarke shot an even par at the Keuka College Invitational to claim medalist honors. For Clarke, he now has five top three finishes on the year.
Women’s Golf Player – Elmira
Audrey Clarke, Freshman – Rochester, NY/Chili-Churchville
On back-to-back days, freshman Audrey Clarke picked up a pair of tournament wins. She began the week by winning the Elmira College Fall Invitational in dominant fashion, finishing with a score of 90, which was 15 strokes better than the second place finisher. The following day at the Keuka College Invitational, Clarke shot a career-low 88 to claim medalist honors. It is the first time an Elmira golfer has won back-to-back events in over three years.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player – Alfred
Ivan Capitan-Carro, Senior, Midfield – Baynot, Spain
Ivan Capitan-Carro accumulated six points in a 1-0 week for the Saxons, scoring a hat trick in the 5-4 comeback win over visiting Nazareth Saturday. His second goal, with 8:33 left in regulation, tied the game at 4-4 and then he netted the game-winning goal with 5:54 remaining.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player – Houghton
Jacob Dunnett, Sophomore, Goalie – Quispamsis, New Brunswick, Canada/Kennebecasis
Jacob Dunnett posted back-to-back shutouts this week comprised of a 1-0 win over Pit-Bradford on Tuesday, followed by a 1-0 win over St. John Fisher College on Saturday. The Highlanders have their first winning record of the season (5-4 overall) and are 1-1 in E8 play.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player – Hartwick
Kylie Thayer, Senior, Midfield – Ithaca, NY/Ithaca
Kylie Thayer set up both game-winning goals in a pair of Empire 8 Conference victories for the Hawks. She also added a tally of her own to have a hand in three of Hartwick's four goals in the two matches. On Wednesday, she earned an assist on 'Wick's second goal and then added an insurance marker on an indirect kick to help the Hawks to a 3-1 win over Utica. On Saturday, her service on a corner kick resulted in a Casey Boucher header, which proved to be the winner in a 1-0 shutout of Alfred.
Women’s’ Soccer Defensive – Elmira
Gabe Carmona, Freshman, Goalie – Sylmar, CA/Chaminade College Prep
Gabe Carmona made 13 saves in two games for the Soaring Eagles. She made five saves in a 1-0 loss to #19 Ithaca College. Then, in Elmira's 3-1 win over Stevens Tech, Carmona made eight saves, all of which came in the second half.
Women’s Tennis Player – Elmira
Kim Salkin, Freshman – Brooklyn, NY/Leon M. Goldstein
Kim Salkin went 4-2 this week in singles and doubles. She earned an 8-5 win at first doubles and a 6-3, 6-0 win at first singles against Alfred University, leading Elmira to an 8-1 win and a spot in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. Then, at the USTA-ITA Northeast Regional Championship, Salkin went 2-2 in singles and doubles. She fell in the main draw of singles to the 14th seed in a third set super tiebreakers but would bounce back with a win in the consolation draw. In the doubles main draw, she teamed up with Ayaka Yoshino for an 8-3 win over Nazareth before falling to the tournament's top seeded team.
Women’s Volleyball Player – Stevens
Mary Tobin, Sophomore, Outside Hitter – Boothwyn, PA/Archmere Academy
Mary Tobin was named MVP at the Stevens Invitational after Stevens posted a 4-0 record last weekend to extend their win streak to six matches. Tobin averaged 4.43 points per set as she totaled 53 kills with a .348 hitting percentage and 41 digs in 14 sets played. Her best match came in a five-set win over Coast Guard where he tallied 29 kills with 21 digs and tied a school-record with 33 points.
Women’s Volleyball Rookie – Houghton
Naomi Prentice, Freshman, Middle Blocker – Linwood, NY/York
Naomi Prentice had 16 blocks (1.33/set) in Houghton’s three match week. She put up eight blocks in a five game thriller against Nazareth and 7 blocks in a 3 set sweep over RIT. She also had 21 kills, and hit a .45 against RIT. In addition she had 2 assists.