General | 2/3/2020 12:59:31 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on Feb. 3, 2020 for games played from Jan. 27-Feb. 2. It is the 22nd Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2019-20 season.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jonathan Park, Nazareth, So., C, Angola, NY/Lakeshore
Park averaged a double-double with 13.0 points and 15.7 rebounds to go along with 3.7 blocks per game in a 3-0 week for the Golden Flyers. He also shot 51.6 percent from the field (16-of-31). Park scored the go-ahead basket with nine seconds left in regulation and had a huge block at the other end to preserve a 75-73 win over St. John Fisher Tuesday. Park added 12 points, 16 boards and three blocks in a win over Alfred and 11 points to go along with 16 rebounds and four blocks as Nazareth defeated Houghton Saturday. Park leads the E8 with 9.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in 2019-20.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Billy McCrae, Houghton, Fr., F, Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township
McCrae averaged 12.7 points and 8.3 rebounds, while shooting 48 percent from the floor in three games this week for the Highlanders. McCrae had 12 boards and nine points in an overtime win over Alfred Tuesday and added 21 points and six rebounds versus Nazareth Saturday. It is his third E8 Rookie of the Week honor in 2019-20.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jadyn Abrams, Nazareth, So., G, Bath, NY/Haverling
Abrams averaged 15.7 points in a 3-0 week for Nazareth including a 25-point effort that tied her career high at Houghton on Saturday. Abrams shot 10-for-13 from the floor and was 2-for-2 from long range and 3-of-3 from the foul line in the win. Overall, Abrams shot 56 percent from the field (20-for-36) and had six steals, including five in a key win over St. John Fisher Tuesday.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sydney Przygoda, Utica, So., F, Freehold, NJ/Freehold
Przygoda averaged 16.5 points and 12 rebounds per game while guiding Utica to two conference wins last week. Przygoda had 11 points and nine rebounds against Hartwick on Tuesday, before contributing her latest double-double against Elmira College with 22 points and 15 rebounds Saturday. A five-time E8 Player of the Week, Przygoda leads the league, averaging 18.5 points per game, while shooting 59 percent from the field.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Ryann Stefaniak, Nazareth, Fr., G, Batavia, NY/Batavia
Stefaniak averaged 6.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in a 3-0 week for Nazareth. On Tuesday, she had nine points and five rebounds in the victory over St. John Fisher. It is her second E8 Rookie of the Week honor in 2019-20.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Eddie Mahana, St. John Fisher, Sr., Hurdles/Sprints, Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse
Mahana ran the 400-meters in 50.16 seconds at Pioneer Open on Saturday, breaking his own fastest time in the conference. He ranks fourth regionally and 22nd in the nation in the event. It is his second straight Empire 8 weekly accolade.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ryan Desautels, St. John Fisher, Jr., Throws, South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls
Desautels produced two top-five performances at the Pioneer Open on Saturday. He set a personal best in the shot put with a 14.96-meter throw that ranks first the E8, seventh regionally and 42nd nationally. In addition, Desautels fired the weight 14.64 meters to place fourth.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Antwan Kelly, Utica, Fr., Throws, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Kelly highlighted the day at Saturday's Pioneer Open with his performance in the weight throw. He continued a promising start to his career with a 15.83-meter toss to place third. That is a personal best and a new school record, eclipsing the previous best set by Dwight Hicks in 2011.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Eshone Cofield-Jackson, Utica, Fr., Sprints, Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove
Cofield-Jackson excelled in the sprints with a pair of runner-up finishes in a 60- and 200- meter events at Saturday's Pioneer Open. She ran the 60-meter preliminaries in 8.07 to place just behind All-American Elisabeth Plympton of Plattsburgh State. She finished second in the final with a career best time of 8.03 seconds. Cofield-Jackson and Plympton also went at it at 200-meters in a race that came down to hundredths of a second, with Cofield-Jackson eclipsing the AARTFC standard at 200-meters in 26.01 seconds as she placed as the runner-up. That is also the 15th fastest time in Division III this season. She remains the Empire 8's fastest athlete in each event.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Laura Meade, Utica, So., Jumps, Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville
Meade recorded her second-best mark of the season in the women's triple jump at a length of 10.90 meters as she went on to take home the victory in that event at the Pioneer Open Saturday. She currently leads the Empire 8 with her performance.
MEN’S SWIMMNG & DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Yury Chernyak, Hartwick, Sr., Breaststroke/Individual Medley, Sidney, NY/Sidney
Chernyak's best finish in Saturday's final regular season meet at Stevens was a victory in the 200-yard breaststroke, which he claimed with a time of 2:09.61. He also took second in the 100-yard breaststroke at 59.28 seconds, just over half second behind the winner. Chernyak's was also third in the 200-yard individual medley (2:03.05) and a meet-best 56.07-second split in the second leg of the 400-yard medley relay, a race that Hartwick finished in 3:35.61. It is his fourth E8 weekly accolade of the 2019-20 season.
WOMEN’S SWIMMNG & DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Olivia Bart, Hartwick, Sr., Freestyle, Bristol, CT/Bristol Eastern
Bart had strong individual and relay performances in Saturday's final regular season meet at Stevens, which resulted in a Hartwick victory. She claimed wins in both the 50-yard freestyle in 24.40 seconds (over 1.5 seconds faster than the nearest competitor) and the 100-yard freestyle in 54.88 seconds (over 3.5 seconds faster than second place). Bart, a three-time E8 Athlete of the Week, also contributed to a win in the 200-yard freestyle relay, leading off with a 24.35-second split en route to a team time of 1:41.73, and a second-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay, anchoring with a 53.68 second 100-free split.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Josh Bigford, St. John Fisher, Sr., OH, Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse
Bigford led all players in kills in each of the Cardinals' wins over Wittenberg and Daemen as Fisher extended its current win streak to eight matches. He averaged 16.5 kills while hitting .341 against Wittenberg and .395 versus Daemen. In addition, Bigford compiled nine digs, four aces, three assists and two total blocks on the weekend. He leads all Empire 8 players with 3.78 kills per set in 2020, while hitting .355.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Tyler Anderson, Elmira, Fr., RS, Bellmore, NY/John F. Kennedy
Anderson was stellar for the Soaring Eagles during a five-match week. Anderson floored a team-high 71 kills while playing all 19 sets. The rookie averaged 3.74 kills per set and hit at a .299 clip, while adding 18 digs, seven blocks, and three aces. On Wednesday, Anderson registered 12 kills while hitting .600 in a three-set win over Keuka. On Saturday, Anderson slammed 16 kills and tallied two blocks in the win over Randolph Macon. He set a career-high with 21 kills while hitting at .356 in a four-set battle against Hiram on Sunday and finished the weekend with a 14 kill, five dig performance against Mount Union. Anderson has 94 kills in 31 sets this season (3.03 kills per set).
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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