Athletes of the Week: Feb. 1-7, 2016
A full week of action in the conference brought about several exciting outcomes from the past week, highlighted by some standout performances. Those earning Empire 8 Athlete of the Week recognition for the week of Feb. 1-7, 2016 include...
Men's Swimming and Diving Athlete - Utica
Raphael Warnon, Senior – Rock Tavern, NY/Washingtonville
Raphael Warnon placed first in the 100-yard backstroke (56.09) and the 200-yard backstroke (2:02.49). He also helped the 200-yard freestyle relay place first and the 200-yard medley relay place second.
Women’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Utica
Grace Gallentine, Sophomore – Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes
Grace Gallentine placed first in the 200-yard freestyle (2:08.58), the 100-yard freestyle (58.55), and the 50-yard freestyle (26.52). She also was apart of the 200-yard freestyle relay that placed first with a time of 1:54.61.
Men's Basketball Player - St. John Fisher
Keegan Ryan, Junior, Forward – Plattsburgh, NY/Beekmantown
Keegan Ryan averaged three double-doubles as he totaled 65 points and 37 rebounds in the three conference wins for Fisher. He posted a 58% average shooting percentage on the week. He started Monday with 17 points, 12 rebounds and three assists against Utica and then finished with 20 points and 10 boards Thursday verse Ithaca. In the Saturday overtime game against Nazareth he tallied a career-high 28 points, and managed 15 rebounds.
Men's Basketball Rookie - Elmira
Justin Porrett, Freshman, Guard – Dumont, NJ/Dumont
Justin Porrett averaged a team-leading 20.5 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.5 steals, and shot the ball at a 54.2-percent clip from the field at home against Utica and Hartwick over the weekend. He scored a career-high 24 points against the Pioneers on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor (.778), including a pair of made three-pointers on his only two attempts of the night. Porrett also logged a career-best three steals and dished out five assists. The following day against Hartwick, Porrett scored a team-high 17 points, grabbed five boards, and logged six assists, which tied for his second-highest output of the season.
Women's Basketball Player - St. John Fisher
Mary Kate Cusack, Senior, Guard – Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa
On the week, Cusack averaged 13 points, six rebounds, 7.3 assists and three steals in a 3-0 week for Fisher. She posted an impressive 22-6 assist to turnover ratio. In the game against Utica she tallied 24 points and went 8-for-8 in free throws, while in the Ithaca game she grabbed 10 boards and managed eight assists. She finished the week with nine points and five steals in the win over Nazareth.
Women's Basketball Rookie - Houghton
Madison Detwiler, Freshman, Forward – Williamsburg, PA/Williamsburg
Madison Detwiler average eight points and 5.5 rebounds as Houghton went 1-1 on the week. Detwiler finished with seven points, four rebounds and one block against Stevens Friday and then finished with nine points, seven rebounds and two assists in the win over Utica.
Men’s Indoor Track Athlete – Utica
Nicodemus Gambill, Junior – Rochester, NY/East Hight
Nicodemus Gambill placed first in the 60-meter dash (7.03) as Utica hosted the Doris and Walt Miga Invitational. He placed second in the 200-meter dash with a season best time of 22.49.
Men’s Indoor Field Athlete – Nazareth
Luis Rivera, Senior – Rochester, NY/Irondequoit
Luis Rivera demolished his previous school record in the weight throw with a heave of 19.97 meters, (65 feet, 6 1/4 inches). His previous record was 19.29m (63 feet, 3 1/2 inches) set at last year's nationals. That mark remains the top spot in the country.
Women’s Indoor Track Athlete – Stevens
Amy Regan, Senior – Green Brook, NJ/Watchung Hills
Senior Amy Regan of the Stevens Institute of Technology women's indoor track and field team set a school-record in the 5,000-meter run at the NYC Armory Invitational. Regan won the 5K in 16:23.40, which featured runners from several prominent Division I programs. The Green Brook, N.J. native broke her personal best by 14 seconds and is currently ranked No. 1 in Division III this year. Furthermore, Regan's time is the second fastest time ever in Division III.
Women’s Indoor Field Athlete – Ithaca
Brandy Smith, Junior – Miami, FL/Ransom Everglades
Junior Brandy Smith established two new facility and school records at Ithaca’s Bomber Invitational & Multi. Smith set her first record mark in the shot put with a toss of 13.31 meters to beat the field by over a meter. Smith also registered a record in the weight throw, measuring out 17.83 meters to best the competition.