General | 11/14/2022 12:42:17 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on November 14, 2022, for games played from November 7-November 13. It is the 11th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2022-23 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, and men’s and women’s swimming and diving.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jonathan Park, Nazareth, Gr., F/C, Angola, NY/Lakeshore
Park was named Most Valuable Player of the Mike Daley Memorial Tournament at Nazareth as the Golden Flyers used a dominating defense to win the championship title. Park scored 39 points in the two games, including 25 against Cortland in the championship game. He added 24 rebounds including 15 against Cortland and also finished with nine blocks (six in the title game), while shooting 67 percent from the floor (18-for-27).
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Esafe Taufahema, Houghton, Fr., F, West Jordan, UT/West Jordan
Taufahema started his college career strong last week, averaging 21.3 points per game and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 70 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the free throw line over three contests. Taufahema dropped 30 on 12-of-14 shooting in his Houghton University debut at Pitt-Bradford and landed a double-double (16 points and 10 rebounds) versus York on Saturday.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Erin Hardick, Medaille, Sr., G, Buffalo, NY/Sacred Heart Academy
Hardick totaled 44 points in two games, while shooting 46 percent from the floor. She averaged 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.0 steal per game. She opened the year with a double-double, going for 20 points, 10 boards and six assists in a win over Cazenovia on Tuesday. She followed that up with 24 points at SUNY Brockport on Saturday.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Emma Cole, Houghton, Fr., F, Houghton, NY/Fillmore Central
Cole averaged 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game, while shooting 69 percent from the floor (11-of-16) as the Highlanders won their first two games of 2022-23. Cole scored eight of Houghton's 11 overtime points at SUNY Canton Saturday. She finished that contest with 16 points, six boards, four blocked shots and two steals.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Madelyn Cozzens, Utica, Fr., F, Clifton Park, NY/Shenedehowa
Cozzens finished one rebound shy of a double-double in her first career game for the Pioneers on Wednesday, leading the team to a 70-61 win over Rensselaer. Cozzens started and scored 13 points while also recording nine rebounds, one block and one steal. Cozzens was nearly perfect from the free throw line, going 7-for-8.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Nathan Bowers, Nazareth, Sr., Endicott, NY/Owego Free Academy
Bowers led Nazareth to an eighth place team finish at the NCAA Niagara Regional on Saturday with an All-Region performance time of 26:19.0 over the 8,000-meter course from Genesee Valley Park in Rochester. Bowers finished 24th overall and was the top Empire 8 runner in the field. It is his fourth E8 weekly honor of the 2022 season.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Lilianna Hanning, Nazareth, Jr., Rochester, NY/Bishop Kearney
Hanning led Nazareth to a 10th place team finish at the NCAA Niagara Regional on Saturday. She finished 21st overall with a time of 23:29.4 over the 6,000-meter course from Genesee Valley Park in Rochester and earned All-Region honors. She was the top Empire 8 finisher in the race. It is Hanning’s second E8 weekly honor of 2022.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Steven Frerichs, SUNY Morrisville, Jr., QB, Wilson, NY/Wilson
Frerichs led Morrisville to a dominating 38-12 win over Hartwick Saturday, connecting on 14-of-19 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown through the air, while adding another 68 yards in the ground game on 10 carries for three additional touchdown scores. Frerichs’ first touchdown was a 21-yard scramble, before connecting minutes later on a 29-yard scoring strike. He finished the afternoon with back-to-back four-yard rushing scores.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – John Stroughn, Utica, Sr., DL, Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity
Stroughn led the Utica defense with season-high milestones of 12 total tackles, four tackles for a loss and season-high four sacks, totaling 11 yards in the Pioneers' 35-21 win over St. John Fisher on Saturday.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nick Andrade, Hartwick, Jr., K/P, Shelton, CT/Shelton
Andrade averaged 42 yards on four punts for Hartwick Saturday and pinned Morrisville inside its own 15-yard line on three different occasions. His best punt was a 61-yard boot that pinned Morrisville on its own 5-yard line.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Michael Schultz, Hartwick, Jr., Freestyle/Butterfly/Individual Medley, Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley
Schultz had another stellar week for the Hawks, helping the team defeat town rival Oneonta in a dual meet on Saturday, 191-96. Schultz picked up first place finishes in the 100-yard fly (52.80 seconds), the 200-yard fly (1:56.31), and the 200-yard IM (2:03.63). He also swam the lead leg for the first place finishing team in the 200-yard medley relay to open the competition. It is his third E8 weekly honor of 2022-23.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Courtney Pierce, Hartwick, Fr., Individual Medley/Breaststroke, Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley
Pierce picked up first place finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:13.83), the 200-yard breaststroke (2:24.57), and the 200-yard individual medley (2:25.47) in Hartwick's dual meet against Oneonta. She also swam the anchor leg in the 200 free relay which finished second.
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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