General | 11/1/2021 12:55:20 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on November 1, 2021, for games played from October 25-October 31. It is the ninth Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2021-22 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and women’s volleyball.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Grant Stokoe, St. John Fisher, Sr., Cortland, NY/Homer
Stokoe won his second straight Empire 8 Championship Runner of the Meet honor on Saturday, winning the 2021 E8 Championship by just under four seconds in a time of 25:39.5 from the Washington County Fairgrounds. It is Stokoe’s fifth E8 weekly honor of the fall.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Riley Corey, St. John Fisher, Jr., Waterloo, NY/Waterloo
Corey won her second straight Empire 8 Championship Runner of the Meet accolade on Saturday, winning the 2021 E8 Championship by 45 seconds in a time of 22:04.4 from the Washington County Fairgrounds. Corey led from start to finish help St. John Fisher win its second straight Empire 8 Women’s Cross Country Championship and second of the 2021 calendar year. It is her fifth E8 weekly accolade this fall.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kirstin Billings, Keuka, Fr., F, Hilton, NY/Hilton
Billings recorded seven points on three goals and an assist, as the Wolves wrapped the 2021 season with a pair of wins over Elmira and Oswego in a 2-1 week. She tallied in a win over Elmira Tuesday and scored two goals, including the game-winner in Friday’s victory over Oswego. Billings dished out an assist in the season finale versus Hartwick on Saturday.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Amanda Chuttey, Nazareth, Sr., GK, Auburn, NY/Port Byron
Chuttey was sensational in Nazareth’s 2-1 win via penalty strokes over Washington & Jefferson Saturday that clinched a postseason berth. Chuttey made 25 saves on 26 shots through regulation and overtime and proceeded to stop four of five penalty stroke shootout attempts to lift the Golden Flyers to victory.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jala Coad, Brockport, Jr., RB, Amityville, NY/Amityville
Coad scored a season-high three rushing touchdowns and added 130 rushing yards on 21 carries as the Golden Eagles won the I-90 Bowl Rivalry Game for the fifth straight season at Buffalo State, 41-16, on Saturday afternoon. He averaged 6.2 yards per rush and eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing on the season. He has at least one touchdown in all eight games this season for the 6-2 Golden Eagles. He has 533 more yards rushing than his closest competitor in the E8. He has now matched his career-high in rushing yards in a single season with 1,040. He is a three-time E8 Offensive Player of the Week in 2021.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jimmie Warren, Utica, Sr., LB, Suffern, NY/Suffern
Warren led a tremendous effort by the Pioneers defense on Saturday in a 20-3 victory over Morrisville. Warren finished with five total tackles including two tackles for a loss and a sack that resulted in a five yard loss, as the Pioneers allowed just 150 yards on the afternoon.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dylan Dubuque, Cortland, Sr., LB, East Greenbush, NY/Columbia
Dubuque blocked a punt that teammate DJ Trent recovered in the end zone for a touchdown during Cortland's 47-3 win over Alfred. Cortland has a school record four blocked punt touchdowns this season, with Dubuque blocking punts on two of them. In addition, Dubuque finished with six tackles and forced a fumble to create a turnover in Cortland territory against the Saxons. With the win, Cortland clinched the Empire 8 title. It is Dubuque’s second E8 weekly honor of 2021.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sai Baraka, Alfred, So., M, Rochester, NY/Bishop Kearney
Baraka scored his second goal of the season as he chipped in a loose ball off an Alfred corner kick in the second overtime period against Keuka College Saturday. It was his second game-winning goal of the year as it propelled Alfred to post-season play, claiming the No. 5 seed in the Empire 8 tournament.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Logan Menna, Nazareth, Fr., GK, Lancaster, NY/Lancaster
Menna made seven saves to earn the shutout victory with a 1-0 win over Houghton on Wednesday to wrap up the regular season. He was undefeated in conference play and allowed just four goals against Empire 8 opponents. Menna is a three-time E8 weekly honoree in 2021.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Carli Kovarik, St. John Fisher, Sr., F, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Kovarik tallied four goals and an assist in a pair of 4-0 wins during the week to close out the Empire 8 regular season. In Wednesday's win versus Keuka, Kovarik scored back-to-back goals, then went back-to-back again on Saturday's Senior Day win vs. Elmira for goals number 13 and 14 on the season and notched an assist on the first goal of the day. Kovarik has earned three E8 weekly honors in 2021.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jacey Palmgreen, Alfred, So., D, Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia
Palmgreen tied the Alfred University school record for single season assists as she picked up her ninth of the year in a 1-0 win over the Empire 8 regular season champions Nazareth on Saturday. Palmgreen placed a corner kick right in front of the Nazareth goal in the 47th minute of play that was headed in by Alyssa Smith for the game-winning goal. Palmgreen also spearheaded a defense that only allowed six shots as the Saxons picked up the shutout.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Emiliano Terrazas, Alfred, So., Breaststroke/Individual Medley, La Paz, Bolivia/St. Andrew’s
Terrazas was perfect in his races on Friday at Nazareth as he teamed with Phil Volaski, Colby Watkins and Alessandro Lagos Canales to win the 400-meter medley relay with a commanding time of 4:04.86. He then won the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2:16.46 before ending his night with a 1:08.04 victory in the 100-meter breaststroke. He is now a two-time E8 Athlete of the Week this season.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Allie Norwood, Nazareth, Sr., Diving, Lockport, NY/Lockport
Norwood posted wins in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events at the home dual victory over Alfred on Friday afternoon and then won the 3-meter and placed second in the 1-meter to teammate Lizzy Tripp at Division I Niagara Saturday. She had scores of 258.65 and 235.65 versus Alfred and 249.45 and 268.20 at Niagara.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Eleanor Cepiel, Utica, Jr., OH/RS, West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of the Holy Names
Cepiel hit .250 with 28 kills in a 1-1 week for the Pioneers. Cepiel hit .294 with 12 kills and 11 digs against SUNY Delhi Wednesday and added 20 digs and 16 kills in a three-set sweep over Cazenovia on Friday to wrap up the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Staecia Silofau, Hartwick, Fr., RS/OH, Kapolei, HI/Maryknoll
Silofau had 29 kills and five blocks in Hartwick's two matches on Saturday. She put up 16 kills and a pair of blocks in the Hawks' four-set win over Baruch, and then followed that up with 13 more kills, 14 digs, five aces, and three blocks in a five-set loss to Oneonta. Silofau is now a two-time E8 Rookie of the Week in 2021.
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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