General | 1/17/2022 12:49:34 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on January 17, 2022, for games played from January 10-January 16. It is the 18th 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, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and men’s volleyball.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Stuart Phair, Russell Sage, Sr., F/C, Canaberra, Australia/Trinity Christian School
Phair averaged 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds, while shooting 60 percent from the floor in a pair of road wins over Empire 8 opponents. The senior forward/center scored a season-high 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting to go along with seven boards in Saturday's win at Houghton.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Kenneth Allison Jr., Alfred, Fr., G, Troy, NY/Lansingburgh
Allison Jr. averaged 7.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game in a 2-1 week for the Saxons. He opened the week by dishing out a career-best nine assists in a win over Elmira. Allison Jr. nearly recorded a double-double with nine boards and eight points against Russell Sage on Friday before a six-point, four rebound, four-assist performance in an overtime win over Hartwick Saturday. It is his second straight E8 weekly honor.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jadyn Abrams, Nazareth, Sr., F, Bath, NY/Haverling
Abrams averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, while shooting 51 percent in two games, as Nazareth earned a pair of conference wins over Elmira and Utica. Abrams erupted for a season-high 30 points, six boards and four assists in a win over Elmira on Friday. She drained six 3-pointers in the victory. On Saturday, Abrams added 17 boards, five rebounds and three assists on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor in a win over Utica.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Lauren Sanderson, Russell Sage, Fr., G, Ravena, NY/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk
Sanderson averaged 13.5 points on 43 percent shooting in a pair of E8 wins for Russell Sage. The freshman guard also registered 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. She established a career high of 17 points in Saturday's win at Houghton, knocking down 8-of-10 shots from the foul line.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Sidney Tomasso, St. John Fisher, Fr., G, Waverly, NY/Waverly
Tomasso finished in double figures twice last week as the No. 25 Cardinals defeated both Utica and Elmira in a pair of E8 matchups. Tomasso averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals overall. She posted a career-high 14 points and seven rebounds against the Pioneers before capping off the week with 11 points in limited time against the Soaring Eagles.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – John Ruggio, St. John Fisher, So., Sprints, Oswego, NY/Hannibal
Ruggio hurried his way to a third-place finish in the final round of the 60-meter hurdles at Saturday's Utica Winter Opener as the sophomore crossed the finish in a final time of 8.94 seconds – just .25 seconds away from qualifying for the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference (AARTFC) Championship.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Hunter Logan, Utica, So., Throws, Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College
Logan led a 1-2 finish in the men's shot for Utica at Saturday's Utica Winter Opener meet. He hoisted a 15.74 meter toss on his second attempt in the men's shot put for a new collegiate personal best. It was the fourth-best mark in program history and is also the fifth-best mark to date in Division III this season.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Gracie Wright, St. John Fisher, Fr., Sprints, Trumansburg, NY/Charles O. Dickinson
Wright earned a career-best time in the 400-meter run at Saturday's Utica Winter Opener with a time of 59.79 seconds (.44 seconds faster than last week's mark) to set a new Cardinals' program best time by a freshman in the race while her stellar performance also earned her a trip to the AARTFC Championship. In addition, she also helped lead the 4 x 400-meter relay team to a nearly 23-second victory with a time of 4:11.98.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jane Fahy, Utica, Jr., Throws, Oriskany, NY/Mohawk Valley Community College
Fahy won the shot put with a mark of 12.44 meters to break her own indoor school record at the Utica Winter Opener meet on Saturday. The record previously stood at 12.33 meters. Fahy's new record mark stands as the 24th-best performance to date in Division III this season.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Michael Schultz, Hartwick, So., Freestyle/Individual Medley/Butterfly, Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley
Schultz won both the 100- (:53.33) and 200-yard butterfly (2:00.65) on Saturday versus E8 foe Alfred. He outswam his opponents by nearly six seconds in the 200-fly, and three seconds in the 100-fly. He also won the 200-yard individual medley by over five seconds in a time of 2:01.84 and led off the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 25.96 seconds in the 50-yard backstroke.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Abby Miller, Hartwick, Sr., Freestyle/Individual Medley, Oneonta, NY/Oneonta
Miller excelled with three wins on Saturday over Alfred in the 1,000-yard freestyle (11:35.90) in addition to the 100- (1:05.60) and 200-yard butterfly (2:29.29) events. She outswam her competition by more than ten seconds in both the 1,000-free and 200-fly and won by eight seconds in the 100-fly.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Owen Wickens, Nazareth, So., OH/S, Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit
Wickens did it all for the Golden Flyers in their season-opening 4-0 weekend, hitting .521 with a team-best 30 kills, while dishing out 102 assists in addition to 16 digs, 15 services aces and three blocks. Wickens hit .714 vs. Geneva, .600 against Hilbert and .667 versus Medaille before slamming nine kills to go along with 35 assists, seven service aces for a 16-point evening in a four-set win over No. 12 Juniata on Saturday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Alberto Mauricio, Elmira, Fr., OH, San Pedro De Macoris, Dominican Republic/Liceo Gaston Fernando Deligne
Mauricio helped the Soaring Eagles to pair of season-opening wins over SUNY Potsdam on Sunday. He slammed 16 kills while adding four service aces and six digs in the two matches, while recording a .500 attacking percentage to his stat line.
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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