General | 12/5/2022 12:08:33 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on December 5, 2022, for games played from November 28-December 4. It is the 14th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2022-23 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and men’s and women’s indoor track and field.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Justice Brantley, Utica, Sr., G, Catskill, NY/Catskill
Brantley led Utica to a 3-0 week for the Pioneers, averaging 18 points per game on 62.5 percent shooting from the floor (20-for-32) while also adding five rebounds and two assists per game. Brantley excelled in Utica’s Empire 8 opener at Russell Sage on Friday as he led the unit with 22 points and eight rebounds while shooting 9-for-13 from the field, 1-for-1 from three and 3-for-6 from the free throw line. He also added 16 points in wins over Hartwick and Cazenovia.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Jaylen Savage, Nazareth, Fr., G, Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton
Savage averaged 14 points on nearly 59 percent shooting from the field (10-for-17), four assists, and four rebounds in two conference wins for Nazareth. He scored 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-4 from 3-point land, with six boards and a career-high seven assists in an 85-65 win over Elmira on Friday. He followed that up with seven points and two boards in a 72-50 win over Alfred on Saturday. It is his second straight E8 weekly accolade.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Giuliana Pritchard, Russell Sage, Gr., F, Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam
Pritchard filled the stat sheet by averaging 19.5 points on 59.0 percent shooting, 9.0 rebounds, 6.33 assists, 1.33 blocks, and 1.33 steals across the past three contests, all victories for the Gators. She totaled 44 points on 72.7 percent shooting (16-of-22), 18 rebounds, 13 assists, four blocks and four steals to help Russell Sage open E8 play with a pair of home wins over Utica and Keuka.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Brielle Reidinger, Nazareth, Fr., F, Easton, PA/Wilson Area
Reidinger averaged 12 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game in a pair of conference games for Nazareth. In a 65-54 win over Elmira on Friday, she had four points and 10 boards in just 17 minutes of play. She followed that up with a career-high 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the field, 11 rebounds and two assists in a 65-62 victory over Alfred on Saturday.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Emiliano Terrazas, Alfred, Jr., Breaststroke, LaPaz, Bolivia/Saint Andrew’s
Terrazas established himself as the top-scorer during the Ithaca College Bomber Invitational among Empire 8 competitors with 97 points as he scored the sixth most points overall in the three-day meet. Terrazas helped the Saxons finish fourth overall against top regional competition. He placed third overall in the 200-yard breaststroke, clocking in a time of 2:10.39. He also picked up a fourth place finish in the 100-yard individual medley with a time of 54.41 to lead his best individual performances. Terrazas was also eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke (59.27) and in the 400-yard individual medley (4:22.82). In the 400-yard medley relay, his team finished fourth with a time of 3:33.14 behind Ithaca, Rochester and Hamilton. Terrazas then teamed with Saxons for a sixth place finish in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:37.19 and a seventh place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:28.86.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Alexa Rizzo, Nazareth, Jr., Diving, Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua
Rizzo took second place in the 1-meter diving competition at the Ithaca Invitational over the weekend. She scored a career high 477.35 and was a mere .35 behind the first place diver from Ithaca, cementing herself as a standout diver in the region.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Chris Pellegrini, Russell Sage, Fr., Sprints, Loudonville, NY/Colonie Central
Competing at the Springfield College Opening Day Track Meet, Pellegrini posted a time of 1:34.93 in the 600-meters and was 11th in the race breaking the school record set a year ago. The old mark was 1:35.20 set by Chad Hicks at the same meet.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Antwan Kelly, Utica, Sr., Throws, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Kelly set a new school record in the men's weight throw at the Saints Holiday Relays hosted by St. Lawrence University on Saturday by becoming the first Pioneer to eclipse 17 meters in that event. His winning toss sailed 17.17 meters. The was the best throw in the field by nearly two meters.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Laura Meade, Utica, Gr., Sprints/Jumps, Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville
Meade won every event she entered at Saturday's Saints Holiday Relays hosted by St. Lawrence. A career-best 9.64 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles preliminaries set the tone for a win in the finals of that event. She also won the triple jump in a solid 10.97 meters and was on the winning 4x200 relay team. Meade teamed up with Bryona Hayes, Janaiya Cruz-Bermudez, and Mackenzie Mix to produce a time of 1:49.23 and best a pair of relay squads from the University of Ottawa.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Gabrielle DeSanctis, Utica, Sr., Throws, New Hartford, NY/New Hartford
DeSanctis won the women's weight throw with a 14.83 meter throw at the Saint Lawrence Holiday Relays on Saturday. Her winning throw was nearly two meters better than the second place finisher.
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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