Athletes of the Week: Feb. 13-19, 2017
The Empire 8 swimming and diving championships were filled with season best times, indoor track and field athletes broke school records and the basketball regular season came to a close resulting in some outstanding athletic performance. Those earning weekly honors for the week of Feb. 13-19, 2017 include....
Men’s Basketball Player – St. John Fisher
Keegan Ryan, Senior, Forward – Plattsburgh, NY/Beekmantown
Keegan Ryan made 79% (30-for-38) of his shots from the floor and 88% (22-of-25) from the foul line to lead St. John Fisher to a 3-0 week to finished off the regular season. In the third game of the week, Keegan Ryan recorded his 41st career double-double and moved into sole possession of first place on the program's all-time rebounding list. Ryan, who has averaged 9.1 rebounds during his career, has amassed 962 over 106 career games. The senior averaged 27 points and 7.33 rebounds per game this week.
Men’s Basketball Rookie – Ithaca
Riley Thompson, Freshman, Guard – Newtown, PA/Council Rock North
Freshman Riley Thompson concluded his rookie campaign with a pair of stellar performances against Utica and Houghton. In the 75-74 loss at Utica, Thompson scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting (3-of-6 from 3-point range) with three rebounds and three assists. He then scored 23 points on 9-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-11 from distance with five boards and three assists in a 105-73 triumph over Houghton.
Women’s Basketball Player – Hartwick
Emily Stone, Senior, Guard – Granby, CT/Granby Memorial
Emily Stone averaged 23 points per game in a pair of Hartwick wins over Nazareth and St. John Fisher this weekend. She made 56% (14-for-25) of her shots from the floor and 88% (7-for-8) from three-point range and added seven assists, and four steals. On Friday night, Stone had a team-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shots with three assists and two steals in a 72-70 victory. The next day in a 79-68 win over St. John Fisher, she tied a career-high with 26 points. Stone made seven of her 11 shots, all four of her three-point attempts, and eight of 10 from the free-throw line. She also contributed four assists and two steals.
Women’s Basketball Rookie – Alfred
Jamie Wilcox, Freshman, Guard – Forestville, NY/Pine Valley
Jamie Wilcox averaged 20.5 points four rebounds, four assists and 4.5 steals as the Saxons split their final two games of the season. In the season-ending overtime win at Houghton, Wilcox scored 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting, forcing overtime with a jumper with one second left in regulation. She added five rebounds, three assists and three steals in the game. In a loss to Elmira, she had 14 points, three rebounds, fiver assists and six steals.
Men’s Swimming & Diving co-Athlete – Stevens
Ethan Gehenio, Junior – Annville, PA/Northern Lebanon
Ethan Gehenio had a large hand in Stevens winning the UNYSCSA and Empire 8 Championship. Gehenio won the 50-yard freestyle (20.91), swam the final leg of the championship 200-yard medley (1:32.29) relay team and the 200-yard freestyle (1:23.55) relay team. The Annville, Pennsylvania native also swam the opening leg of the winning 400-yard medley (3:24.98) relay team and earned additional championships in the 100-yard backstroke (50.78), the 200-yard backstroke (1:50.64), and placed second in the 400-yard freestyle (3:05.82) relay.
Men’s Swimming & Diving co-Athlete – Utica
Matt Patton, Freshman – Waterford, CT/Waterford
Matt Patton won the 1-meter and placed second on the 3-meter springboard at the Empire 8 Swimming and Diving Championship over the weekend to be named the E8 Diver of the Meet. Patton won the 1-meter event with a score of 351.50 and scored a 322.45 in the 3-meter.
Women’s Swimming & Diving co-Athlete – Ithaca
Grace Ayer, Senior – Delmar, NY/Bethlehem
Grace Ayer was named the UNYSCSA Co-Women’s Swimmer of the Meet and E8 Swimmer of the Meet. Ayer shattered the UNYSCSA and championship meet records in winning the 200-yard individual medley (2:03.62) by nearly four seconds. She added another individual title in 100-yard backstroke (56.59). In the 200-yard backstroke event (2:04.32) she won the E8 title and placed third in the UNYSCA. She was also part of the winning 200-medley (1:44.00), 200-free (1:35.28), 400-free (3:29.49) and 400-yard medley (3:48.68) relay teams.
Women’s Swimming & Diving co-Athlete – Ithaca
Nickie Griesemer, Senior – West Chester, PA/Bayard Rustin
Nickie Griesemer was named UNYSCSA and Empire 8 Women's Diver of the Meet after sweeping both the one-meter and three-meter titles. She scored a 554.90 in the 3-meter event to set a new pool, UNYSCSA and championship meet record. She then scored a 526.85 on the 1-meter springboard to break the 11-dive program-, UNYSCSA- and championship-meet records.
Men’s Indoor Track Athlete – Ithaca
Derek Howes, Sophomore – Needham, MA/Needham
Sophomore Derek Howes won the 500-meter dash in 1:05.95 at Cornell's Marc Deneault Invitational on Saturday in an event made up of all three NCAA Divisions. Howes won by nearly a second. He also ran a leg on the 4x400-meter relay team that finished second in 3:29.90.
Men’s Indoor Field Athlete – Utica
Clarence Skipper, Freshman – Albany, NY/Guilderland
Clarence Skipper set a new school record in the triple jump event with a jump distance of 14.25 meters at the Utica Pioneer Invitational over the weekend. This mark currently ranks 15th in the nation for Division III Indoor Track & Field.
Women’s Indoor Track Athlete – Ithaca
Amber Edwards, Junior – Queens Village, NY/Midwood
At the Utica College Pioneer Invitational on Saturday, junior Amber Edwards won the 60-meter hurdles in a facility record time of 9.08 seconds.
Women’s Indoor Field Athlete – Alfred
Danielle Perry, Freshman – Leicester, NY/York
First year Danielle Perry broke a 30-year old Alfred University school record in the triple jump on Saturday at the Brockport Golden Eagle Invitational. The previous record belonged to Joy Robinson set back in 1987 with a distance of 10.67 meters (34’-7.5”). Perry’s new mark has upped the school record to a distance of 10.87 meters (35’-7.95”). Perry finished third overall in the event behind the first place exhibition jumper and the second place finisher from Brockport. Perry also competed in the long jump where she hit a distance of 4.77 meters (15’-7.8”) to earn a new personal best distance in the event.