Athletes of the Week: Oct 12-18
Empire 8 crowned a tennis champion over the weekend, swimming and diving teams opened its season and other fall championships are drawing closer as E8 student-athletes continued to produce stellar performances during the week of Oct. 12-18. Those earning weekly honors include....
Football Offensive Player - Brockport
Wayne Bonsell, Senior, QB – Binghamton, NY/Binghamton
Wayne Bonsell led Brockport to a 27-17 upset win over No. 24 Ithaca College as he threw 16 completions for 238 yards and four touchdowns. Bonsell connected on a 71-yard TD pass to open the second half, and knot the contest at 14-14. He was cool under pressure as he had two touchdown passes in the third quarter, and a final in the fourth to secure the win.
Football Defensive Player - Buffalo State
Rey Jordan, Junior, CB – Buffalo, NY/McKinley
Rey Jordan became the first player in Buffalo State history to return two interceptions for a touchdown in the same game, taking picks 42 and 27 yards to the end zone in Buffalo State's 62-0 win over Finlandia. He also had three tackles, including one for loss as the Bengals' defense set school records allowing just 24 yards of total offense and minus-32 rushing yards.
Football Special Teams Player - Utica
Jerred Beniquez, Junior, KR – Port Ewen, NY/Kingston
Junior Jerred Beniquez returned six kicks for 116 yards including a long of 33 yards. He finished the day with 189 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns as he cracked the 1,000 all-purpose yard mark for the season.
Field Hockey Offensive Player - Washington & Jefferson
Amanda Steffey, Junior, Forward – Irwin, PA/Penn-Trafford
Amanda Steffey recorded her third career hat trick in Saturday's 4-0 win against Hartwick. She posted four shots, three of which ended with scores, to help lead the Presidents to the win at home.
Field Hockey Defensive Player - Stevens
Emily Stukenborg, Junior, Goalie – Stockholm, NJ/Wallkill Valley Regional
Junior goalie Emily Stukenborg set a season-high with 16 saves Wednesday against Rowan, before recording three saves Saturday in a E8 win over Utica.
Men's Cross Country Runner - Stevens
Nicholas Zickgraf, Junior – Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley
Nicholas Zickgraf broke the school-record 8K time en route to leading the Ducks to an 11th place finish at the Rowan University Border Battle. Zickgraf's time of 25:12.79 was good for 13th overall, and it broke the previous mark of 25:17 set in 2013.
Women's Cross Country Runner - Ithaca
Taryn Cordani, Sophomore – Douglas, MA/Douglas
Sophomore Taryn Cordani notched a 19th place individual finish out of 414 runners in a time of 21:54 to pace the Bombers on the 6K course at the NCAA Pre-National meet hosted by Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Men's Golf Athlete - St. John Fisher
Jeff Palmerino, Freshman – Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem
Jeff Palmerino averaged 73.5 strokes per round over two outings to lead St. John Fisher College at Golfweek's Division III Fall Invitational at the Raven Golf Club in Destin, Fla. Palmerino shot a 72 on Monday and a 75 on Tuesday to finish in 20
th place overall out of 90 golfers with a final score of 218 (+5).
Men's Soccer Offensive Player - Elmira
Michael Bryant, Junior, Forward – Portola Hills, CA/El Toro
Michael Bryant guided Elmira to pair of wins last week as he finished with eight points on four goals. Bryant scored the game-tying and game-winning goals in a 3-2 come-from-behind win against SUNY Canton. He then scored two more against Houghton, including the game-winner. Bryant has scored in six consecutive games, with 10 goals during that time, including four multi-goal performances. He is the first Elmira player to score 16 or more goals in a season since 1997.
Men's Soccer Defensive Player - Ithaca
Zach Jacobsen, Junior, Goalie – Frederick, MD/Frederick
Zach Jacobsen led the Bombers to a 1-0-1 record including a conference win at Nazareth. He was credited with two shutouts during the week including a 3-0 win over the Golden Flyers before picking up a scoreless draw against nationally-ranked Skidmore. Jacobsen had 11 combined saves in 200 minutes of action including 10 against the Thoroughbreds.
Women's Soccer Offensive Player - Ithaca
Jess Demczar, Junior, Forward – Hyde Park, NJ/Franklin D. Roosevelt
Jess Demczar helped guide the Bombers to two wins last week including a conference victory. Demczar scored two of the Bombers' three goals last week including the game-winning tally against Oneonta in a 1-0 tilt. She would go on to score in Ithaca's 2-0 defeat of St. John Fisher on Saturday afternoon.
Women's Soccer Defensive - Stevens
Whitney Brown, Freshman, Defender – Plano, TX/Plano West
Whitney Brown helped anchor a defense that surrendered no goals en route to a perfect 2-0 week. In a 7-0 route against Brooklyn Wednesday, Brown collected her first collegiate goal and assist. In conference play against Alfred Saturday, Brown recorded a pair of assists while helping hold Alfred to just two shots on goal.
Women's Tennis Player - Ithaca
Haley Kusak, Junior – Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland
Junior Haley Kusak was named the Empire 8 Women’s Tennis Tournament MVP after the Bombers won their 11th straight Conference Title. In the semifinal match against Hartwick, Kusak won 6-1, 6-1 in first singles and teamed up with partner McKinleigh Lair for an 8-1 win at first doubles. Against Stevens in the championship match, Kusak and Lair posted an 8-3 with in doubles and Kusak won her singles flight 6-2, 6-0.
Women's Volleyball Player - Ithaca
Joelle Goldstein, Sophomore, OH – Kings Park, NY/Kings Park
Sophomore Joelle Goldstein hit .349 over 11 sets in a 2-1 week for Ithaca. Goldstein tallied 36 kills, 30 digs, six total blocks and five aces for 44 points. She began the week with a double-double in a five-set loss to Wellesley (15K, 13D), and then followed up with seven kills (.500%) and 11 digs vs. Southern Maine and 14 kills against Babson.
Women's Volleyball Rookie - Elmira
Natalie Schieder, Freshman, OH – Alden, NY/Alden
In a 3-2 week for the Soaring Eagles, Natalie Schieder hit .287 from the floor on a 64-18-160 stat line. She also finished with 10 service aces, 47 digs and four blocks. Schieder produced match-high kills in three of Elmira’s five matches, including a career-high 20 kills in a four-set win over SUNY Cortland, Elmira's first win against the Red Dragons in five years. She also had three matches last week with a hitting percentage of .400 or better.
Women’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Nazareth
Erika Holland, Sophomore – Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua
Erika Holland helped the 200-meter medley relay in 2:12.17 earn the top spot. Holland also picked up first place finishes in the 200-meter IM, racing to a time of 2:44.65 and also came out on top in the 100-meter butterfly at 1:14.10.
Men’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Nazareth
Dan Burke, Senior – Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker
Dan Burke helped Nazareth earn its first-ever victory over Alfred in 15 tries. The senior was part of Nazareth's 200-meter relay that set a school record at 1:51.12, nearly two seconds ahead of Alfred. He also set a school record in winning the 200-meter IM with a time of 2:14.42 to eclipse the mark of 2:14.57. Burke also captured the 100-meter backstroke in :59.71.