General | 12/6/2021 12:49:35 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on December 6, 2021, for games played from November 29-December 5. It is the 14th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2021-22 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track and field and men’s and women’s swimming and diving.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Thomas Morreale, Utica, Jr., F, Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro
Morreale had an outstanding week on both sides of the ball as the Pioneers won a pair of non-league games over Skidmore and Hamilton. Morreale scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor (4-for-4 from 3-point range) versus Skidmore on Tuesday before following it up with 23 points against Hamilton. In the two victories, Morreale averaged 19.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 block, while shooting 56 percent from the floor.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Bryan Adams, Elmira, Fr., G, Bronx, NY/Gunnery School
Adams earned his third E8 Rookie of the Week accolade this season after scoring 20 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 69-65 win over Penn College on Tuesday.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brigid Johndrow, Utica, Sr., G, Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic
Johndrow stuffed the stat sheet in Tuesday’s 59-43 win over SUNY Poly, nearly flirting with a triple double. Johndrow scored 12 points to go along with eight assists, six rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots in helping Utica improve to 6-0 on the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Syrita Faraj, Russell Sage, Fr., FG, Troy, NY/Tamarac
Faraj led the Gators to a 62-56 home opening win on Thursday, as she netted a double-double with 21 points and a career best 18 rebounds for her second E8 Rookie of the Week honor in 2021-22.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ethan Billings, St. John Fisher, So., Distance, Wantage, NJ/High Point Regional
Billings was the first Division III runner to cross the finish line in the 5,000-meter run at the Houghton December Classic on Friday as he recorded a time of 15:51.77 to finish in sixth place. That time is currently the 30th best in Division III to date this season.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – John Coddington, Russell Sage, Jr., Throws, Hudson, NY/Hudson
Coddington won the shot put and weight throw events at Saturday's Springfield College Season Opener. He achieved a mark of 14.01 meters in the shot put and threw the weight 15.12 meters. Currently, Coddington is 22nd nationally in the shot put and 25th in the weight throw.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Amerrah Horne-Vaden, Houghton, Fr., Sprints, Portland, OR/Tualatin
Horne-Vaden finished third in the 60-meter dash (7.97 seconds), second in the 200-meters (26.49 seconds) and helped lead the Highlanders to a win in the 4 x 200-meter relay (1:52.29) at the Houghton December Classic on Friday. Her marks top the Empire 8 after week one in the 60- and 200-meters and are 15th and 11th best in NCAA Division III, respectively.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Madison Palmer, Alfred, Sr., Throws, East Aurora, NY/East Aurora
Palmer qualified for regionals in both throwing events in her season-opening performances as she swept both the shot put and weight throw on Friday at the Houghton December Classic. She recorded a throw of 11.80 meters in the shot put and then defeated everyone in the weight throw with a toss of 14.18 meters. Palmer neared both of her school record marks on the evening as well.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Diallo Marshall, Hartwick, Jr., Freestyle/Butterfly, Saint George, Antigua & Barbuda/St. Anthony’s
Marshall was the Hawks top performer at the three-day Ithaca Invitational over the weekend, which consisted of 10 teams. He was third in both the 50-yard freestyle, with an impressive time of 20.95 seconds, as well as the 100-free, in 46.62 seconds. He was also a key participant on four of Hartwick’s five relay teams throughout the three days.
CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Emiliano Terrazas, Alfred, So., Breaststroke/IM, La Paz, Bolivia/Saint Andrew’s
Terrazas did not lose to a single E8 opponent during the Ithaca College Bomber Invite this past weekend in his scoring events, while being the top scorer amongst all E8 participants. He helped lead Alfred to a fourth place finish in the 200-yard medley relay, combining for a time of 1:36.46. Terrazas helped lead Alfred to fourth in the 400-yard medley relay (3:34.00). Individually, He took fifth in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:14.33 and was also fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke (58.23) before picking up a pair of third place finishes in the 100-yard IM (53.43) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:07.80). He is a three-time E8 Athlete of the Week in 2021-22.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Taylor Robey, Nazareth, Gr., Sprint Freestyle, Hurley, NY/Kingston
Robey won the 50-yard and 100-yard free events and hit the NCAA “B” cut in both events at the Ithaca College Bomber Invite over the weekend. Her time in the 50-free was 23.42, while she recorded a time of 51.48 seconds in the 100-free. She also anchored the 200-yard medley relay (4th place - 1:49.70), led off the 200-free relay (3rd place - 1:38.74), was seventh in the 200-free (1:57.42), anchored the 400-medley relay (6th - 4:04.41) and led off the 800-free relay (4th - 8:02.68). She is now a two-time E8 Athlete of the Week this season.
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