Men's Cross Country | 11/22/2022 9:57:22 AM
League Champion Nazareth College swept all three individual awards, as Nathan Bowers was named Runner of the Year, Joey Everts was honored as the Rookie of the Year and James Goss and Mike Heymann nabbed Coaching Staff of the Year accolades, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2022 Men’s Cross Country award winners on Tuesday, November 22. The individual awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Bowers, a native of Endicott, NY, was the lone Empire 8 student-athlete to earn All-Region accolades at the 2022 NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship, hosted by University of Rochester on Nov. 12, placing 24th overall. In addition, Bowers finished as runner-up at the 2022 Empire 8 Championship on Oct. 29 for the third consecutive season in a time of 25:48.2 to earn his third straight All-E8 first team accolade. Bowers, who recorded three top-10 performances this season, set a personal best time of 25:26.9 over 8,000-meters at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University on Sept. 30 and was a four-time Empire 8 Runner of the Week in 2022.
Everts emerged as a key contributor for Nazareth as the season progressed. He finished seventh overall at the Empire 8 Championship in a season-best time of 26:11.9 over 8,000-meters and was the top finisher among all E8 first-year runners at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship, placing 53rd overall. Everts, a native of Scottsville, NY, led the Golden Flyers to their third straight Empire 8 Championship in 2022 and eighth place finish at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship.
The Nazareth coaching staff, led by head coach James Goss and associate head coach Mike Heyman was honored as the 2022 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year for the third straight year. Goss and Heyman led Nazareth to its third consecutive Empire 8 Championship on Oct. 29 and an eighth place finish at the 2022 NCAA Niagara Region Championship two weeks later. In addition, the coaching staff mentored 10 all-league selections, including first team picks Bowers, Cade Eells, Everts, Nathan McNally and Matt Reimann.
The
Empire 8 first, second and third team all-conference selections were determined at the championship meet on Oct. 29 at Field of Dreams Park, hosted by Houghton. Those selections were previously announced on Nov. 10.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2022 Men's Cross Country Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
2022 Empire 8 Men’s Cross Country Award Winners
Runner of the Year: Nathan Bowers, Sr., Nazareth
Rookie of the Year: Joey Everts, Fr., Nazareth
Coaching Staff of the Year: Nazareth, led by head coach James Goss
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
George Mecca, Sr., Alfred
Sam Bagley, Fr., Hartwick
Isaac Gasparri, Fr., Houghton
Noah Keyes, Fr., Keuka
Joshua Wolski, So., Medaille
Antonio Benitez, Fr., Nazareth
Chris Pellegrini, Fr., Russell Sage
Myles Andersen, Sr., St. John Fisher
Tristan Vargo, So., Utica
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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