Men's Swimming and Diving | 3/24/2022 9:55:22 AM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2021-22 Men’s Swimming & Diving All-Conference awards on Thursday, March 24. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Sophomore Michael Schultz of Hartwick College earned Empire 8 Swimmer and Rookie of the Year honors. Schultz enjoyed a tremendous first season for the Hawks, culminating by being named the Empire 8 Swimmer of the Championship Meet, held in conjunction with the Allegheny Empire Championships at Webster Aquatic Center from February 16-19. Schultz won a pair of individual championship events and was part of two winning relay teams, while garnering a pair of runner-up finishes. Schultz won the 200-yard individual medley (1:56.07) and 200-yard butterfly (1:51.76) events and was also part of the winning 400-yard medley (3:32.57) and 400-yard freestyle (3:09.36) relay teams. He was also second in the 100-yard butterfly and 800-yard freestyle relay.
Schultz is the second student-athlete in Empire 8 history to earn both Swimmer and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season, joining Seth Farrand of Nazareth College, who completed the feat in 2017-18.
Nazareth College freshman Jacob Smith was named the 2021-22 Empire 8 Diver of the Year. Smith garnered Empire 8 Diver of the Championship Meet last month and was also named 2022 Allegheny Empire Co-Diver of the Meet after winning both E8 championship diving events. He annexed the 3-meter title with a score of 387.50 and also won the 1-meter championship, recording 386.15 points.
The Alfred University and Nazareth College coaching staffs shared Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors. Alfred head coach Brian Striker and his staff led the Saxons to a second place finish at the 2021-22 Empire 8 Championships, while nine student-athletes earned All-Empire 8 honors. It is Striker and Alfred’s sixth E8 fifth Coaching Staff of the Year honor and first since 2008-09.
Heckman, in his first season as head coach, led the Golden Flyers to their second consecutive Empire 8 Championship. Overall, nine different Golden Flyers earned All-Empire 8 accolades. It was the second straight E8 Coaching Staff of the Year accolade for Nazareth.
The
Empire 8 first and second team all-conference selections were determined at the championship meet on Feb. 16-19 from the Webster Aquatic Center. Those selections were previously announced on Feb. 25.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2021-22 Men's Swimming & Diving 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.
2021-22 Empire 8 Men’s Swimming & Diving Award Winners
Swimmer of the Year: Michael Schultz, So., Hartwick
Diver of the Year: Jacob Smith, Fr., Nazareth
Rookie of the Year: Michael Schultz, So., Hartwick
Co-Coaching Staff of the Year: Alfred, led by head coach Brian Striker
Co-Coaching Staff of the Year: Nazareth, led by head coach Chris Heckman
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Colin Schultz, Jr., Alfred
Colin Leonard, Sr., Hartwick
Cameron Fairley, So., Nazareth
Jackson Sorbello, Sr., 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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