The Empire 8 Athletic Conference has announced the Track Athlete, Field Athlete, Rookie and Coach of the Year awards for the 2015-16 men’s indoor track and field season. The conference coaches vote on the awards.
Utica College junior
Nicodemus Gambill has been voted the Track Athlete of the Year. Gambill is the second Utica athlete to earn the E8 Track honor, joining previous honoree Joe Pruckno (11-12). He also became Utica’s first student-athlete to be named the Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Gambill won titles at 60 meters and 200 meters at the Empire 8, NYSCTC and ECAC championship meets. He was named the Empire 8 Track Athlete of the Meet after setting new E8 meet records in the 60-meter and 200-meter. Gambill set the school record in the 200 at the ECAC meet on March 5 with a time of 21.91. The three time E8 Track Athlete of the Week qualified for the NCAA Championship in both events. He placed 11th in the preliminaries of the 60-meter dash with a new school-record of 6.90 and was unfortunately disqualified in the 200 meter preliminaries.
Nazareth senior
Luis Rivera has been tabbed the Field Athlete of the Year for the second straight year after a record-breaking season that culminated with a National Championship performance in the 35-pound weight throw. His toss of 20.45 meters (67 feet, 1 1/4 inches) at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships was more than four feet farther than the second-place finisher in that event and crowned Rivera as the Golden Flyers' first national champion in track and field. The distance is the sixth furthest throw in NCAA Division III history.
Rivera was undefeated all season including top marks at the Empire 8, ECAC and NYSCTC meets. The five-time Empire 8 Field Athlete of the Week had a winning toss of 19.07 meters (62 feet, 6 3/4 inches) at the NYSCTC to set a new meet record. Rivera first at the ECAC meet with a heave of 19.85 meters (65 feet, 1 1/2 inches) and set a new championship mark at the Empire 8 meet with a toss of 18.84 meters (61' 9.75'').
Stevens Institute of Technology pole vault specialist
Andy Accardi has been granted the award for Rookie of the Year. He won the Empire 8 title in the pole vault with a mark of 4.20 meters, besting his closest opponent by .15m. His best mark of the season was on January 30 at the Springfield College Invitational when he cleared 4.40 meters. Accardi is the first Stevens athlete to earn the E8 Rookie honor.
The
Ithaca staff, led by Head Coach Jim Nichols, earned the Men’s Indoor Track and Field Coaching Staff of the Year. The Bombers won the E8 Indoor Championship for the eighth time in nine years. Ithaca also enjoyed a second place finish at the NYSCTC and seventh place finish at ECAC’s. The coaching staff guided senior Andrew Brandt to USTFCCCA all-region honors and a fourth place All-American performance at the NCAA Championship. Brandt cleared 2.08 meters and became Ithaca’s first men's indoor All-American since 2003 and the first individual honoree since 2002.