General | 1/24/2022 12:52:12 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on January 24, 2022, for games played from January 17-January 23. It is the 19th 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 – Stephen Gabel, Nazareth, Sr., G, Victor, NY/Fairport
Gabel scored a career-high 35 points in a win at Keuka on Tuesday evening. He shot 14-for-21 (66.7 percent) from the field with three made 3-points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while dishing out six assists in just 27 minutes of play. It is Gabel’s third E8 weekly honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – David Rosa, Houghton, Fr., G, Canavanas, Puerto Rico/Antiles Military Academy
Rosa averaged 13.0 points and seven rebounds in a pair of road games against St. John Fisher and Utica, while shooting 56 percent from both the field (10-of-18) and 3-point range (5-for-9). Rosa's 17 points on Saturday against Utica set a new season-high.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sammy Pasinella, Russell Sage, Sr., G, Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville
Pasinella averaged 18.3 points across three games last week, hitting 42.9 percent of her 3-point attempts. She scored a season-high 29 points on 9-for-15 shooting on Tuesday versus Utica, while tying a program record with eight made 3-pointers in that contest. Pasinella added 18 points, two assists and two steals in a win over Elmira Saturday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Sidney Tomasso, St. John Fisher, Fr., G, Waverly, NY/Waverly
Tomasso poured in 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line to go along with six rebounds and four assists in just 23 minutes in a win over Houghton Friday night. It is Tomasso’s second straight E8 Rookie of the Week honor.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Kaleb Luton, Nazareth, Jr., Sprints/Jumps, Amherst, NY/Sweet Home
Luton finished second in the 60-meter hurdles with an impressive time of 8.33 seconds at the Welcome Back to Brockport meet on Saturday. Luton also set a school record in in the long jump with a leap of 6.76 meters (43rd best in Division III to date) and took fourth in the high jump.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Kyle Rollins, St. John Fisher, Gr., Jumps, Groveland, NY/Geneseo
Rollins earned first place in the high jump and second place in the triple jump in Saturday's Welcome Back to Brockport Meet. In the high jump, Rollins cleared a day-best mark of 2.04 meters on his second attempt at the height. Later, he qualified for the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) Championship in the triple jump with a season-best mark of 14.39 meters, which is now the nation's ninth best measurement in the event.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
CO-TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Amerrah Horne-Vaden, Houghton, Fr., Sprints, Portland, OR/Tualatin
Horne-Vaden broke her own school record on Saturday at the Highlander Invitational with a time of 26.34 seconds in the 200-meter dash, which is also the 25th best in Division III to date this season. Horne-Vaden also won in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.97 seconds, which is 41st nationally.
CO-TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Samantha Shea, St. John Fisher, Sr., Sprints, North Tonawanda, NY/Starpoint
Shea qualified for two more All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) Championship events at Saturday's Welcome Back to Brockport Meet. She was the quickest qualifier in the first round of the 60-meter dash, by eclipsing the regional standard at 8.08 seconds, then turned around and ran a new personal best in the final round at 8.00 seconds flat and took the race's title. In the afternoon session, she sped to a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter dash by crossing the finish line in 26.31 seconds, which is 22nd best in Division III in 2021-22.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jane Fahy, Utica, Jr., Throws, Oriskany, NY/Mohawk Valley Community College
Fahy once again rewrote her own school shot put record on Friday at the Hamilton Invitational. The second-year Pioneer crushed her previous mark by over half a meter, lofting out a 13.08 meter throw to set a new program standard. Fahy's new record mark stands as the 11th-best performance to date in Division III this season. It is her second straight E8 weekly honor.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Fernando Lagos, Alfred, So., Butterfly/Freestyle, Tegucigalpa, Honduras/Escuela e Instituto Lincoln
Lagos picked up two individual wins and a second place finish in individual events against Ithaca College on Saturday. He first won the 200-yard butterfly by over five seconds as he clocked a time of 2:03.38. Lagos went on to win the 100-yard butterfly, swimming a 53.51 to edge out the top finisher from Ithaca's time of 53.65. His second place finish was in the 100-yard freestyle, with a time of a 50.07. Lagos ended his day, teaming with Alessandro Lagos Canales, Andrew Yates and William LaMastus in the 200-yard freestyle relay, finishing third with a time of 1:32.09. It is Lagos’ second E8 weekly honor of the season.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Elizabeth Tripp, Nazareth, So., Diving, Hamburg, NY/Hamburg
Tripp won the 3-meter diving event at the RIT Invitational on Saturday with a Judson Pool record score of 282.10 points and was also 4th in a very competitive 1-meter field with her score of 246.20.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Oscar Munoz-Trinidad, Elmira, Jr., RS, Jarbacoa, Dominican Republic/Colegio Experimental Fernando Arturo de Merino
Munoz Trinidad helped the Soaring Eagles go 3-1 over the weekend while accounting for 52.5 points through 12 sets played. He averaged 3.67 kills per set with a .434 attack percentage. Munoz Trinidad added 10 total blocks to go along with his 44 kills. He hit .632 with 13 kills and four blocks in a three-set win over Baruch on Saturday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Evan Ingerick, St. John Fisher, Fr., S, Penfield, NY/Penfield
Ingerick was the guiding force behind No. 11 Fisher's potent attack over the weekend as the Cardinals remained perfect on the year following wins over Lasell, Mount St. Joseph, Wells and SUNY Poly. The first-year setter combined to produce 80 assists and 12 digs over three appearances. He posted a career-high 31 dimes in a sweep of Lasell before adding 26 more helpers and three digs against Mount St. Joseph. Ingerick closed out the week with 23 assists and a career-best seven digs in a sweep over SUNY Poly on Saturday.
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