The Empire 8 Athletic Conference has announced the Track Athlete, Field Athlete, Rookie and Coaching Staff of the Year awards for the 2017-18 men’s indoor track and field season. The conference coaches vote on the awards.
Stevens Institute of Technology sophomore
Alex Kainer has been voted the Track Athlete of the Year. It marks the second time a Duck athlete has earned the honor as Nick Zickgraf earned the recognition in 2014-15.
Kainer established All-American status at the NCAA Championship in the 200-meter dash as he placed fifth with a time of 21.93. It was the first All-American honor for a Stevens male track or field athlete in the program history.
At the Empire 8 Championship he won the 60-meter dash in a school record time of 6.93 and claimed the 200-meter title in a school record, meet record and conference record time of 21.91.
St. John Fisher College senior
Mark VanMarter has been selected the Field Athlete of the Year, marking the third year a Cardinal has earned the award.
VanMarter capped off an outstanding 2017-18 campaign by winning a National Title at the Indoor Championship in the long jump with an Empire 8 record leap of 7.36 meters. He qualified for the NCAA’s with the top seed mark of 7.36 meters that he set on Feb. 8 at the Brockport Invite.
At the Empire 8 Championship, VanMarter totaled 26 points for the Cardinals and was voted the Field Athlete of the Meet for the fourth straight season. He won the long jump (7.09m), placed second in the high jump (2.03m) and second in the triple jump (14.45m) due to number of attempts. The 14.45 meters set a new meet and facility record.
Fisher’s
Kyle Rollins has been granted the award for Rookie of the Year. He earned fourth place in the high jump at the NCAA Championship with a height of 2.10 meters to take home an All-American honor. He punched his ticket to the NCAA’s with a school and conference record height of 2.12 meters on Jan. 20 at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational.
At the conference Championship, Rollins totaled 34 points for the Cardinals as he placed first in the high jump (2.08m) and triple jump (14.45m) with a new meet and facility record in both events. He also placed second in the long jump (6.79m) and third in the 60-meter hurdles (8.48).
Rollins is the third Fisher athlete to earn the E8 Rookie of the Year honor.
The
Fisher coaching staff, led by Head Coach Mike Henchen, earned the Men’s Indoor Track and Field Coaching Staff of the Year.
The Cardinals won the E8 Indoor Championship for the second time in program history and finished ninth at the NCAA Championships. The coaching staff guided five athletes to USTFCCCA all-region honors, had four individuals qualify for the NCAA Championship and had three All-American performances.
In addition, one member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2017-18 Men’s Indoor Track and Field Sportsman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
Sportsmanship Team
Alfred: Seth Spicer
Houghton: John Vernick
Nazareth: Nick LaBarbera
SJFC: Daniel Norris
Stevens: Nick DiMaria
Utica: Tom Edic