General | 1/10/2022 12:55:05 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on January 10, 2022, for games played from January 3-January 9. It is the 17th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2021-22 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s indoor track and field.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jonathan Park, Nazareth, Sr., C, Angola, NY/Lakeshore
Park led the Golden Flyers to three E8 wins over league foes Houghton, Hartwick and Russell Sage. He averaged 15.0 points on 82 percent shooting from the floor (22-for-27) while also averaging 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Park opened the week by scoring 14 points on (7-of-8 shooting) to go along with eight boards and four blocks in a win over Houghton Tuesday. On Friday, Park tied an Empire 8 single-game record by shooting a perfect 11-for-11 from the field in a 23-point, 11-rebound performance at Hartwick. Park added eight points, seven caroms and three blocks in a win over Russell Sage Saturday.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brendan Trapper, St. John Fisher, Fr., F, Buffalo, NY/Canisius
Trapper helped lead St. John Fisher to three conference wins over last week over Alfred, Hartwick and Sage by an average margin of 35 points. Trapper finished the week averaging 22.0 points and four rebounds per game while shooting 26-of-43 (.605) from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Against Alfred on Tuesday, Trapper netted 23 points along with six rebounds, two assists and a steal before scoring 15 points paired with three rebounds and three assists on Friday at Sage. The senior closed out the week with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting at Hartwick on Saturday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Kenneth Allison Jr., Alfred, Fr., G, Troy, NY/Lansingburgh
Allison Jr. set several career-highs at St. John Fisher on Tuesday evening. He led the Saxons with 14 points on the night. He also had the team-high in assists with four, made field goals with four and made free throws with a perfect 5-for-5 showing. He was 4-for-7 from the floor, including 1-for-1 from 3-point land.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sydney Przygoda, Utica, Sr., F, Freehold, NJ/Freehold
Przygoda nearly averaged a double-double over three games this past week. Przygoda netted 16 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.3 steals and two assists per game in wins over Hamilton, Elmira and Keuka. On the night she scored her 1,000th career point against Elmira, Przygoda totaled a game high 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting while coming down with another game high 12 rebounds. She became the 61st player in Empire 8 history to reach 1,000 career points. It is her second E8 weekly honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Mikyla Mitchell, So., G, Glenville, NY/Mekeel Christian
Mitchell came off the bench to average 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game in Hartwick's weekend sweep over Nazareth and previously unbeaten No. 19 St. John Fisher. Against Nazareth on Friday, she dropped 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting in 19 key minutes. Her layup with 48 seconds remaining tied the game and then sunk a key free throw to give Hartwick the lead with 14 seconds left. The following day versus St. John Fisher, Mitchell scored a game-high 15 points. Her three steals and clutch free throws in the final minutes allowed Hartwick to take down the Cardinals and improve to 2-0 in conference play.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Andrew Ford, St. John Fisher, Sr., Distance, Clinton, NY/Clinton
Ford ran a season and team-best time of 4:42.62 in the mile in Saturday's Cornell University Southern Tier Collegiate Invitational. The senior led the way with a first place finish, bringing seven more teammates across the finish line in the race's top nine finishers.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Joe Jerkovich, St. John Fisher, Sr., Throws, Jupiter, FL/Jupiter
Jerkovich enjoyed a stellar outing at Saturday's Cornell University Southern Tier Collegiate Invitational as he finished as the best Division III thrower, where he placed fourth in the weight throw (13.58 meters) and third in the shot put (11.26 meters).
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Samantha Shea, St. John Fisher, Sr., Sprints, North Tonawanda, NY/Starpoint
Shea made a statement in her Cardinals debut on Saturday at the Cornell University Southern Tier Collegiate Invitational winning the 400-meter run, while breaking the Fisher indoor record in the event, while qualifying for the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Championship with her time of 59.48 seconds. It is currently the seventh fastest time in Division III to date this season.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Alondra Arroyo, St. John Fisher, Sr., Pole Vault, Central Square, NY/Paul V. Moore
Arroyo excelled for Fisher at the Akron University Eighth Annual Pole Vault Convention on Saturday afternoon. The senior placed first in her heat and cleared heights of 2.59 meters, 2.70 meters, and a season-high 2.89 meters.
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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