General | 3/2/2020 12:55:13 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on March 2, 2020 for games played from Feb. 24-March 1. It is the 26th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2019-20 season.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brian Norsen, St. John Fisher, Fr., INF, Hamburg, NY/Frontier
Norsen helped lead the No. 19 Cardinals to three wins over the weekend as Fisher began its spring trip at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. Norsen was 6-for-11 on the week with a double, a home run, five RBI and three runs scored. In a nine-inning game against Cabrini, Norsen was 3-for-4 with an RBI before going 3-for-5 with a home run and three more RBI in a doubleheader against Saint Joseph's College of Maine.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Daniel Parslow, Utica, Jr., P, Fonda, NY/Fonda-Fultonville
Parslow was outstanding in his debut start with the Pioneers over the weekend, earning the win by pitching five scoreless innings, while allowing just one hit to go along with three strikeouts in a 9-3 win over Wesley.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – David Kruis, Elmira, Fr., RHP, Midland Park, NJ/Midland Park
Kruis made his collegiate debut on the mound and pitched in both games of Sunday's doubleheader at Stevenson. He finished with two innings of scoreless relief without allowing a hit and was one walk shy of two perfect frames. Kruis struck out one in a 1-2-3 inning in his first outing, then struck out two in his second appearance.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dennis Hare, St. John Fisher, Sr., F, Red Hook, NY/Red Hook
Hare was named 2020 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 22.0 points per game in leading the Cardinals to the E8 Championship this weekend. On Friday, Hare poured in 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor and 8-of-9 shooting from the foul line to go along with five boards, three assists and two steals in an 81-69 win over Utica in the semifinals. Hare followed that up with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including three made 3-pointers in Fisher’s come-from-behind 72-64 win over top-seeded Nazareth in the Empire 8 Championship game on Saturday.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Miranda Lynch, St. John Fisher, So., G, Webster, NY/Webster Thomas
Lynch was named 2020 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, while shooting 55 percent from the floor in leading the Cardinals to the E8 Championship last weekend. On Friday, Lynch scored 13 points to go along with five rebounds in a 68-50 win over Hartwick in the semifinals. Lynch followed that up with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including three made 3-pointers and five assists in Fisher’s 74-53 win over Sage in the Empire 8 Championship game on Saturday.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Mitch Marlow, Utica, Sr., Distance, Malone, NY/Franklin Academy
Marlow was named the 2020 Empire 8 Championship Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet, as Utica finished second overall at the league championships, held Feb. 28-29 at Houghton. He won three individual events overall, including a pair of races Friday. He opened the meet by winning the mile run in a time of 4:27.29 and also annexed the 5,000-meters, crossing the finish line in 15:33.43. On Saturday, Marlow won the 3,000 meters, hitting the finish line in 8:50.21.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Kyle Rollins, St. John Fisher, Jr., Jumps, Groveland, NY/Geneseo
Rollins led the way for the Cardinals, winning all three jumping events to earn 2020 Empire 8 Championship Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet honors, as St. John Fisher won its third league championship over the weekend. On Friday, Rollins took the long jump with a leap of 6.93 meters and on Saturday, won his third straight high jump crown, clearing 2.04 meters, while setting an E8 meet record in the triple jump, leaping 14.52 meters. He was also the 2019 Empire 8 Indoor Field Athlete of the Year and 2018 Rookie of the Year.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Eshone Cofield-Jackson, Utica, Fr., Sprints, Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove
Cofield-Jackson was named Empire 8 Championship Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet after winning the 60-meter (7.97 seconds) and 200-meter dash (25.55 seconds) events, in addition to leading the Pioneers to a speedy time of 4:06.42 in the 4 x 400-meter relay. Cofield-Jackson was also runner-up in the 400-meter dash (1:00.44), as Utica placed second as a team at the league championship, hosted by Houghton on Feb. 28-29.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Katrina Cornick, Utica, So., Throws, Mason City, IA/Mason City
Cornick garnered Empire 8 Indoor Championship Field Athlete of the Meet accolades after winning the weight throw with a toss of 15.33 meters, while placing third overall in the shot put (11.78 meters), as Utica placed second as a team at the league championship, hosted by Houghton on Feb. 28-29.
MEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Joe Post, St. John Fisher, So., A, Lafayette, NY/Lafayette
Post was tremendous at the face-off “X” for St. John Fisher, winning 21-of-24 draws while grabbing a game-high 17 ground balls as the No. 13 Cardinals battled No. 7 Denison to double overtime in Fisher's home opener on Tuesday. Post has won 48-of-57 faceoffs (84.2 percent) in two games this season.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Jeremy Harris, Houghton, Jr., GK, Altamont, NY/Guiderland
Harris made seven saves and allowed just one goal over 51 minutes during Houghton’s season-opening 20-1 win over Medaille on Wednesday afternoon.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lexi Scaccia, Utica, So., A, Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro
Scaccia was dominant as Utica turned in a huge win to open the 2020 season against SUNY New Paltz. She led the way for UC with five goals and two assists as the Pioneers logged a 14-7 victory against the Hawks. She also had seven draw controls, six caused turnovers, and was 2-for-3 on free position chances.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Hali Vandermeulen, Utica, Sr., GK, Walden, NY/Valley Central
Vandermeulen made 12 saves on 19 shots on goal (.632 save percentage) as the Pioneers won a 14-7 decision against SUNY New Paltz over the weekend to open their 2020 campaign. She was particularly strong in the first half, stopping nine of New Paltz’s 12 shots on goal, as Utica built a 6-3 lead.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Shane Wenz, Sage, Sr., MH, Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane
Wenz recorded 53 kills and 59 points in Sage’s three matches over the week. Wenz broke his own single-match program records with 30 kills and 33 points in a four-set battle at UVC foe MIT. He also hit .460 in that match with five digs and three blocks. Wenz hit .414 with 13 kills, five digs and three blocks versus Nazareth and added 10 kills versus Rivier. He is second in the E8 with 3.92 kills and 4.41 points per set this season.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Paul Hackford, St. John Fisher, So., S, Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park
Hackford dished out a match-high 55 assists with only one setting error as the No. 10 Cardinals came back from down two sets to defeat No. 1 NYU on Saturday. He also added six kills, six digs, three total blocks and two service aces in a win that handed the Violets' their first loss of the season. Hackford leads the E8 with 9.82 assists per set this season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Neiram Galan-Canales, Elmira, Fr., S, San Juan, Puerto Rico/EEBA Pablo Casals
Galan-Canales finished with a career-high 40 assists, while adding four digs and one ace in a five-set thriller versus Nazareth on Wednesday for his second E8 Rookie of the Week accolade in 2020.
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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