Men's Cross Country | 11/23/2021 9:55:05 AM
St. John Fisher senior Grant Stokoe was named Runner of the Year, while Nazareth first-year standout Cade Eells was honored as the Rookie of the Year, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2021 Men’s Cross Country award winners on Tuesday, November 23. The individual awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Stokoe, a native of Cortland, NY, won his second straight Empire 8 Championship at the Washington County Fairgrounds on Oct. 30 by just over three seconds in an impressive time of 25:39.5 over the 8,000-meter distance. Two weeks later on Nov. 13, Stokoe finished 16th overall at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship hosted by SUNY Geneseo to earn All-Atlantic Region honors. Stokoe, who also won the Terry Rodenbeck Early Season Invitational on Sept. 3 and was runner-up at the Houghton Highlander Invitational on Oct. 9, was a six-time Empire 8 Runner of the Week in 2021.
Eells emerged as a standout runner for Nazareth as the season progressed. He finished seventh overall at the Empire 8 Championship in a season-best time of 26:13.5 over 8,000-meters and was the top finisher among all E8 first-year runners at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship, placing 44th overall. Eells, a native of Ithaca, NY, led the Golden Flyers to their second straight Empire 8 Championship in 2021 and seventh place finish at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship.
The Nazareth coaching staff, led by head coach James Goss and associate head coach Mike Heyman was honored as the 2021 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. Goss and Heyman led Nazareth to its second consecutive Empire 8 Championship on Oct. 30 and a strong seventh place finish at the 2021 NCAA Niagara Region Championship two weeks later. In addition, the coaching staff mentored nine all-league selections, including first team picks Nathan Bowers, Eells and Nathan McNally.
The
Empire 8 first, second and third team all-conference selections were determined at the championship meet on Oct. 30 at the Washington County Fairgrounds, hosted by Russell Sage. Those selections were previously announced on Nov. 4.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2021 Men's Cross Country Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference 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.
2021 Empire 8 Men’s Cross Country Award Winners
Runner of the Year: Grant Stokoe, Sr., St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Cade Eells, Fr., Nazareth
Coaching Staff of the Year: Nazareth, led by head coach James Goss
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Kyle Jenkins, Sr., Alfred
Aidan Freda, Fr., Hartwick
Seth Greene, So., Houghton
Nathan Bowers, Jr., Nazareth
Brett LaBier, Sr., Russell Sage
Nick Ferri, Fr., St. John Fisher
Michael Roberts, So., Utica
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