Football | 11/15/2021 12:53:05 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on November 15, 2021, for games played from November 8-November 14. It is the 11th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2021-22 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, and men’s and women’s swimming and diving.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Daniel Cook, St. John Fisher, Jr., F, Honeoye Falls, NY/Pittsford Mendon
Cook posted his first double-double of the season as the Cardinals trounced Fredonia on Saturday, 100-66. Cook finished with a game-high 23 points to go along with 13 rebounds as he was 6-for-11 from the field and a perfect 11-of-11 at the free throw line. Cook also added two assists and a pair of steals over 25 minutes.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Bryan Adams, Elmira, Fr., G, Bronx, NY/The Gunnery School
In two games this week, Adams averaged 17.5 points per game for the Soaring Eagles in the Max Ziel Tournament hosted by Oswego State. Adams scored 18 points while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists in his debut Friday. On Saturday, Adams scored 17 points, while dishing out seven assists and grabbing four rebounds.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alyssa Waters, Elmira, Sr., G, Plattsburgh, NY/Beekmantown
Waters helped lead the Soaring Eagles to a 2-0 start with wins over Penn College and Wells. On Tuesday, Waters scored a career-high 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the field against the Wildcats while adding three assists. On the week, Waters averaged 18 points, four steals, two rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Syrita Faraj, Russell Sage, Fr., G, Troy, NY/Tamarac
Faraj averaged 15.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in a 2-1 week for Russell Sage after collecting back-to-back double digit scoring performances at the Emmanuel College Tournament. Faraj earned a spot on all-tournament team after she scored 40 points and added 14 rebounds in a pair of games while shooting 14-of-24 from the floor. Faraj chipped in with seven assists in tournament play and 9 overall during the week.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Grant Stokoe, St. John Fisher, Sr., Cortland, NY/Homer
Stokoe was the top Empire 8 finisher at the 2021 NCAA Niagara Regional Championship hosted by SUNY Geneseo on Saturday. He moved from 19th to 16th between the 6,000- and 7,000-meter marks, to finish in 16th place overall at 25:52.7 and a 5:13 mile pace on the muddy terrain over the 8,000-meter course. His performance earned him an All-Region nod, making him just the third Cardinal to receive the recognition in program history. It is Stokoe’s sixth E8 weekly honor of the fall.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Riley Corey, St. John Fisher, Jr., Waterloo, NY/Waterloo
Corey qualified for the NCAA Championships after an impressive fourth place at the 2021 NCAA Niagara Regional Championship hosted by SUNY Geneseo on Saturday. Corey finished fourth overall out of 142 runners, completing the 6,000-meter course in a time of 23:08. Her fourth place finish was the best-ever by a Cardinals' runner at a regional final and allowed her to earn All-Region accolades. It is her sixth E8 weekly accolade this fall.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Davien Kuinlan, Hartwick, Sr., QB/RB, Bethpage, NY/Plainedge
Kuinlan was Hartwick's offensive star in Saturday's season finale on senior day, rushing 43 times for 208 yards in his final collegiate game, a 14-7 win over Morrisville. The 208 yards picked up on the ground is the highest single-game effort for a Hartwick player since 2014. Kuinlan also contributed through the air, completing six of 11 passes for 60 yards and Hartwick's first touchdown on a well-placed throw to Justice Mansfield-Beaulieu in the back left corner of the end zone.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alaan Montgomery, Brockport, Sr., DB, Buffalo, NY/Canisius
Montgomery picked off two passes against Alfred on Saturday and has now tied the program-record for interceptions in a single season with nine. He returned his first interception 16 yards to the Alfred four yard line to set up a Brockport third quarter touchdown. Later in the third quarter, he returned his second interception 31 yards to the Alfred 18 yard line to set up another touchdown. He leads the nation with an average of 0.9 interceptions per game. He also ranks sixth nationally and leads the league with 1.6 passes defended per contest.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kwasi Addo, Utica, Gr., LB, Menands, NY/Shaker
Addo finished with 12 tackles, including 1.5 for a loss in Utica’s 35-14 win over St. John Fisher on Saturday to celebrate senior day. In addition, Addo was able to get a timely forced fumble to end the Cardinals momentum and secure the victory for the Pioneers.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Travis Alvarez, Cortland, Sr., OL, Keyport, NJ/Keyport
Alvarez blocked a field goal with less than two minutes remaining to preserve Cortland's 28-27 win over visiting Ithaca in the annual Cortaca Jug game and give the Red Dragons a 10-0 regular season record. The block extended Alvarez's school-record total to 11 career blocked kicks.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Fernando Lagos, Alfred, So., Freestyle/Butterfly, Tegucigalpa, Honduras/Escuela e Instituto Lincoln
Lagos had a standout weekend in a simultaneous tri-meet against University of Rochester and Fredonia. He had two overall wins and another relay win over Fredonia. His first win was in the 200-yard butterfly by over six seconds, swimming a 2:01.88. He followed that up with a win in the 100-yard freestyle, completing the event in 49.00 seconds. Lagos finished second versus Fredonia and third against University of Rochester in the 100-yard butterfly, swimming a 53.36. In his final event of the day, Lagos teamed with Colby Watkins, Andrew Yates and Alessandro Lagos Canales for a 1:30.47 win in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Allie Norwood, Nazareth, Sr., Diving, Lockport, NY/Lockport
Norwood continued to excel in 2021-22 with two wins versus University of Rochester. She had a season-best score of 258.67 in the 1-meter event and improved her season high score by 17 points with a score of 289.35 on the 3-meter board.
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.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram