Athletes of the Week: Nov. 28 - Dec. 4
Indoor track and field opened its season over the weekend, giving us six sports in regular season action. Those earning weekly honors for the week of November 28 - December 4, 2016 included...
Men’s Basketball Player – Nazareth
Tyler Stenglein, Junior, Guard – Rochester, NY/Irondequoit
Tyler Stenglein averaged 18.7 points, 3.7 assists and eight rebounds per game in a 1-2 week for Nazareth on 19-of-35 (.543 percent) from the floor. He notched 22 points, seven rebound and four assists in a 69-54 win over Alfred on Tuesday. Followed that up with a 24 point game, with eight rebounds and three assists in a 87-79 loss to RIT Friday. In the final game he poured in 10 points (5-for-10), with nine rebounds and four assists in a 64-59 loss to undefeated Rochester.
Men’s Basketball Rookie – Nazareth
Cody Green, Freshman, Guard, Fulton, NY/ G. Ray Bodley
Cody Green scored in double figures in all three games for Nazareth over the week as it went 1-2. He went an impressive 12-for-19 (.632) from 3-point range. He started off the week with a career-high 17 points, including going 5-of-6 from 3-point land, in a 69-54 win over Alfred State. On Friday he poured in 11 points on 3-for-5 from downtown in an 87-79 loss to RIT. He closed out the week with 15 points on 4-for-8 from 3-point territory.
Women’s Basketball Player – Elmira
Rachel Vespucci, Sophomore, Forward – Macedon, NY/Our Lady of Mercy
Rachel Vespucci finished with a pair of double-double efforts in a 2-0 week for the Soaring Eagles. She averaged 13.0 points and 15.5 rebounds per game in the two wins over Penn College and SUNY Cortland. Vespucci scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds in a 65-23 win over the Wildcats; the 23-point output was the lowest Elmira has held a team to since the 1985-86 season. Then in EC's thrilling two-point win over Cortland, Vespucci produced her fourth consecutive double-double of the year with 15 points and 15 boards, which helped EC earn its first win over the Red Dragons since 1997-98.
Women’s Basketball Rookie – Stevens
Zoe Hahn, Freshman, Guard – Mickelton, NJ/Kingsway
Zoe Hahn recorded back-to-back double-digit performances in games against No. 14 Montclair State University and Haverford College. She started off the week with 12 points and three rebounds on Monday and then poured in 13 points and hauled down six boards on Saturday. Hahn also totaled four assists, three steals and two blocks on the week.
Men’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Nazareth
Alex LaPoint, Junior – Fairport, NY/Fairport
Alex LaPoint had a stellar weekend at the Bomber Invitation, setting one individual school record and taking part in two school relay records. LaPoint broke a 14-year-old school record with a fourth-place finish in the 200 butterfly (1:55.64) on Saturday night. He, along with Andrew Battaglia, Robert Draper and Matt Leverich knocked off the school record in the 800-yard freestyle relay as their time of 7:04.96 put them in third place. The final school record came Sunday in the 400 free relay as LaPoint and three others swam in 3:11.82 to take seventh place. Other highlights for the weekend included a Friday night first place swim for LaPoint in the 200 IM in 1:53.41, which was only .04 off his own school-record time. He also was first in the 400 IM on Saturday (4:05.01). LaPoint was fifth in the 200 breastroke (2:10.52) and helped the 400-meter relay finish fourth in 3:32.57.
Women’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Ithaca
Grace Ayer, Senior – Delmar, NY/Bethlehem
Grace Ayer had several strong performances over the weekend as the nationally-ranked Ithaca College women's swimming & diving team took second place at the sixth annual Bomber Invitational. Ayer notched two individual NCAA B cut performances over three days and had seven finishes in the top six overall. The senior finished second overall in the 200 IM in 2:07.03, which was a B standard time and would go on to notch another qualifying time with a fourth place finish in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.29. Ayer was also part of three relays including two record-setting performances. In the 200 medley relay, she swam the third leg as the group set a new team record in the event with a time of 1:44.47, which also qualified as a B cut time. She was also part of a winning 400 medley relay squad which set a new pool record after posting a winning time of 3:51.49. Ayer was also part of the winning 400 free relay. Additionally, Ayer finished second in the 100 IM, and fifth in the 200 backstroke.
Men’s Indoor Track Athlete – St. John Fisher
Eddie Mahana, Freshman – Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse
Eddie Mahana had two first place finishes in his debut in a Cardinal uniform at the Early Season Invitational on Saturday, hosted by the College at Brockport. The freshman got his day started with the 60-meter hurdle preliminaries, placing second in the field with a time of 8.57 seconds. He bettered that by .08 seconds in the finals, earning himself a first place victory. Later in the day, he teamed up with four other Fisher sprinters to take first in the 4x400-meter relay, clocking in at the 3:27.59 mark.
Men’s Indoor Field Athlete – Stevens
Neil Forrester, Junior – Ramsey, NJ/Ramsey
Neil Forrester set a new school record in the shot put at the Springfield Season Opener with a toss of 15.44 meters, breaking the previous mark of 14.81 meters, which the junior also held.
Women’s Indoor Track Athlete – Utica
Makenna Cooley, Junior – Remsen, NY/Remsen
Makenna Cooley posted a first place finish in the women's one mile run as she registered a time of 5:41.35 on Saturday. She also placed third in the women's 300 meter dash with a time of 46.02. Utica won the season opening Pioneer Invitational after posting 249 team points to earn first place at the Todd & Jen Hutton Sports & Recreation Center Saturday.
Women’s Indoor Field Athlete – Ithaca
Brandy Smith, Senior – Miami, FL/Ransom Everglades School
Senior Brandy Smith was named the Greg Page Relays Field MVP after a pair of first place finishes in the weight throw and shot put. Smith bested the weight throw field with a mark of 17.91 meters (58 feet, 9.25 inches) and set a new school record in the shot put with a distance of 13.72 meters (45' 0.25").