General | 5/9/2022 12:17:29 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on May 9, 2022, for games played from May 2-May 8. It is the 34th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2021-22 season. Sports featured include baseball, softball, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Luke Duffy, St. John Fisher, Sr., OF, Otisville, NY/Minisink Valley
Duffy had a monster weekend at the plate after batting .500 overall as the top-seeded Cardinals closed out Elmira to advance in the Empire 8 Championship. Overall, Duffy was 6-for-12 with four walks, two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI to go along with two stolen bases. On Friday, Duffy went 4-for-9 with five RBI, three walks, a double and a homer before closing out the weekend with five RBI and two extra base hits in Saturday’s decisive game three win over Elmira.
CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Ryan Cardone, Utica, So., P, Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro
Cardone picked up his fifth win of the season after pitching seven shutout innings in the Pioneers’ 12-0 win over Russell Sage College in game one of the best-of-three Empire 8 Semifinal series on Friday. Cardone scattered just three hits while striking out six batters and not issuing a walk in the win. It is Cardone’s second E8 weekly accolade of the 2022 season.
CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Connor McHugh, St. John Fisher, Jr., P, Latham, NY/Shaker
McHugh picked up a key win for the top-seeded Cardinals over the weekend as Fisher advanced in the Empire 8 Championship after closing out Elmira on Saturday. McHugh pitched five innings in the win and held the Soaring Eagles to just three hits. The lefty surrendered one unearned run and finished with four strikeouts. It is McHugh’s second E8 weekly accolade of the 2022 season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Jacob Coonan, Russell Sage, Fr., OF, Wynantskill. NY/Averill Park
Coonan had four hits in the best-of-three Empire 8 Semifinal series against Utica. On Saturday, he went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in game three versus Utica.
SOFTBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Megan Bennett, Alfred, So., P, Athens, PA/Athens Area
Bennett was named the 2022 Empire 8 Softball Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player after earning two wins and a save on the mound for the Saxons, while not surrendering a run in 10 innings of action. She picked up the win in relief, striking out four batters in two innings in Alfred’s E8 Tournament opener, a 4-3 win over Nazareth Thursday. On Friday, Bennett struck out three batters in two hitless innings of relief to earn the save in a win over St. John Fisher. In Saturday afternoon’s winner-take-all championship against St. John Fisher, Bennett scattered five hits and struck out seven batters to earn the shutout over six innings in a 9-0 win. It is her second E8 weekly accolade of the 2022 season.
MEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ben Hammond, St. John Fisher, So., GK, Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius
Hammond was named the 2022 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship Most Valuable Player after recording a .643 save percentage, while stopping 18-of-28 shots as the Cardinals rolled to their third straight league title. He made six saves, while allowing just one goal over 45 minutes in the semifinal win over Hartwick and stopped 12 shots in Saturday’s E8 Championship win over Nazareth. It is Hammond’s fifth E8 weekly honor of the season.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sydney Carpenter, St. John Fisher, Fr., A, Rochester, NY/Hilton
Carpenter was named 2022 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player after leading the Cardinals to their tenth straight Empire 8 Championship over the weekend. She amassed 10 points on five goals and five assists to go along with 24 draw controls, four ground balls and three caused turnovers in the two wins. On Saturday, Carpenter tallied four goals, three assists and 17 draw controls in an 18-6 win over Hartwick. She followed that up with three points and seven draw controls in Fisher’s 12-7 victory over Nazareth in the championship game Sunday. It is Carpenter’s third E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nathan Allen, Nazareth, Jr., Macedon, NY/Penfield
Allen was named the 2022 Empire 8 Men’s Tennis Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player after leading the Golden Flyers to their first Empire 8 Championship over the weekend. Allen teamed with William Britton to garner an 8-4 win at first doubles, as Nazareth earned a 5-3 win over St. John Fisher in the E8 Semifinal match Friday. On Saturday, Allen was victorious for Nazareth at first singles and first doubles in the championship match versus top-seed Houghton. He teamed with Britton to win 8-4 at first doubles as Nazareth gained a 2-1 advantage after the first three matches. He later defeated Houghton's top singles player Micah Schilke 6-1, 6-1 to take a key point at first singles. It is Allen’s third E8 weekly accolade of the 2022 season.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Nathan Bowers, Nazareth, Jr., Distance, Endicott, NY/Owego Free Academy
Bowers was named the 2022 Empire 8 Outdoor Championship Track Athlete of the Meet. Bowers was victorious in both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter championships over the weekend. He set an Empire 8 Championship meet record in winning the grueling 10,000-meter event on Friday evening in a time of 32:26.29. He also crossed the finish line first in the 5,000-meters in 15:28.73.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ke’Sean Watlington, Utica, Gr., Jumps/Sprints, Bayport, NY/Bayport-Bluepoint
Watlington was named Empire 8 Outdoor Field Athlete of the Meet after winning, the long jump and triple jump events, in addition to running the opening leg on Utica's winning 4x100-meter relay team, while helping the Pioneers earn the team title. On Friday, Watlington won his second outdoor long jump title with a leap of 7.23 meters, second best in E8 Championship history. On Saturday, Watlington won his second E8 triple jump championship with a meet record leap of 15.10 meters, which is also the top triple jump in Division III to date this season. It is Watlington’s third E8 weekly accolade of the 2022 season.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Mackenzie Mix, Utica, Fr., Sprints, Camden, NY/Camden
Mix was named the 2022 Empire 8 Women's Outdoor Championship Track Athlete of the Meet after sweeping the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dash events over the weekend. She took the 100-meter dash in 12.23 seconds, while winning the 200-meter dash in 26.08 seconds. Mix recorded an impressive time of 56.76 seconds on Friday evening in the 400-meter dash which nearly set a championship meet record. It is Mix’s third E8 weekly accolade of the 2022 season.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jane Fahy, Utica, Jr., Throws, Oriskany, NY/Oriskany
Fahy was named 2022 Empire 8 Outdoor Co-Field Athlete of the Meet after winning the shot put, while earning runner-up accolades in the discus. Fahy won the shot put with a toss of 12.99 meters and was second in the discus with a throw of 36.19 meters.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Brenna Johnson, Nazareth, Sr., Sprints/Jumps, Cortland, NY/Homer
Johnson was named 2022 Empire 8 Outdoor Co-Field Athlete of the Meet after winning the long jump with an impressive leap of 5.73 meters, just shy of the championship mark, while finishing third in the high jump, clearing 1.55 meters. She also exceled in the track events, placing in the top four in five different events. It is Johnson’s third E8 weekly accolade of the 2022 season.
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