E8 Athletes of the Week: February 23
Here are the student-athletes who earned individual recognition for the week ending Feb. 22:
Men’s Swimming and Diving Athlete – Ithaca
Matt Morrison, Senior – Simsbury, CT/Simsbury
Matt Morrison won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events at the Empire 8 Swimming and Diving Championship over the weekend. It marks the third consecutive year he has swept the titles. Morrison started the week winning the 1-meter event with a score of 562.80 on Thursday. He completed the sweep on Saturday with a score of 588.40 in the 3-meter competition. He was named the Male Diver of the Meet at the conclusion of the weekend.
Women’s Swimming and Diving Athlete – Ithaca
Nickie Griesemer, Sophomore – West Chester, PA/Bayard Rustin
Nickie Griesemer was named the Female Diver of the Meet for the second consecutive year at the Empire 8 Swimming and Diving Championship over the weekend after completing a sweep of the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. She scored a conference record of 525.55 in the 3-meter competition on Wednesday to defend her title then claimed the win in the 1-meter event on Friday with a score of 472.20.
Men’s Basketball Player – Nazareth
Mitch Ford, Junior, Forward – Victor, NY/Victor
Mitch Ford closed out the season averaging 29 points and 10.3 rebounds in Nazareth’s 2-1 week. He recorded a new school with a 49-point performance in a 95-84 victory over Ithaca. The 49 points broke a record of 40 points that has stood since 1986. He also scored 24 points in a win at Stevens on Friday and added 14 points in a season-ending loss at Hartwick on Saturday.
Men’s Basketball Rookie – Stevens
Chris Cosgrove, Freshman, Guard – Oradell, NJ/Saddle River Day
Freshman guard Chris Cosgrove ended his season incredibly strong for the Ducks, leading them to a win over No. 16 St. John Fisher in the season finale. Cosgrove scored 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting, dished out seven assists and grabbed three rebounds to go along with one block. On the week, the rookie had 14 assists and just two turnovers, tallying four or more helpers in 12 of the team's last 13 games and 24 over his last three. For the week, Cosgrove averaged 12 points, 2.5 rebounds, seven assists and one steal, shooting 50 percent from the field and 86 percent from the line. For the year, Cosgrove had 89 assists and just 29 turnovers which is good for a ratio better than 3-to-1.
Women’s Basketball Player – St. John Fisher
Portia Velasco, Senior, Guard – Vallejo, CA/Carondelet
Senior Portia Velasco averaged 18.7 points over three games and shot 54.8 percent (23-for-42) in a 2-1 week for the Cardinals. She also went 4-for-9 from 3-point range and recorded 14 rebounds, nine assists and six steals.
Women’s Basketball Rookie – Elmira
Danielle Cleary, Freshman, Guard – Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy
Danielle Cleary finished her rookie season strong, averaging 18.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in a 2-1 week. Her best game of the season came in Elmira’s season-finale against Alfred. She lit up the scoreboard with a single-game record 37 points, topping a record that had stood for 36 years, and also added 11 rebounds for her second career double-double. Cleary was 11-of-19 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 12-of-15 at the charity stripe.
Men's Indoor Track Athlete – Stevens
Thomas Cunningham, Senior – Colonia, NJ/Saint Joseph’s
At the Princeton Invitational, Thomas Cunningham took home first place and qualified for ECAC Championship with a time of 8:49.50 in the 3,000-meter run. Cunningham bested multiple Division I athletes from programs, such as Georgetown University and New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Men's Indoor Field Athlete – Ithaca
Andrew Brandt, Junior – Broomall, PA/Marple Newton
Junior Andrew Brandt topped the field in the high jump at Ithaca’s Bomber Quad with a personal best mark of 2.01 meters (6 feet, 7 inches), which was three inches better than the runner-up. Brandt’s performance, ranked No. 30th in Division III, also was an ECAC-qualifying mark.
Women's Indoor Track Athlete – Ithaca
Christine Benway, Senior – Queensbury, NY/Queensbury
Christine Benway took top honors in the 60-meter hurdles with an ECAC-qualifying time of 9.11 seconds at Ithaca’s Bomber Quad on Friday. Benway also competed in the 60-meter hurdles the following day at Cornell’s Marc Deneault Memorial Invitational. Benway clocked a time of 9.29 seconds in the preliminaries to surpass ECAC requirements for the second day in a row. She finished in sixth place overall in the finals at Barton Hall.
Women's Indoor Field Athlete – Ithaca
Brandy Smith, Sophomore – Miami, FL/Ransom Everglades
At Ithaca’s Bomber Quad on Friday, Brandy Smith paced the field in the shot put at 13.08 meters (42 feet, 11 inches), which is an ECAC mark and broke a 16-year school record of 12.66 meters set by Erin Stevens in 1999. Smith also topped the ECAC mark in the weight throw with a toss of 15.29 meters (50 feet, 2 inches) to finish in second overall. Smith also competed at Cornell’s Marc Deneault Memorial Invitational on Saturday. Smith ranked fourth in both the shot put and weight throw to meet ECAC requirements in each events. Smith threw a distance of 12.92 meters in the shot put and 14.80 in the weight throw.