General | 1/23/2023 12:51:50 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on January 23, 2023, for games played from January 16-January 22. It is the 20th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2022-23 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and men’s volleyball.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jajuan Preaster, Houghton, Jr., F, Orlando, FL/Central Florida Christian
Preaster averaged 26.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game, while shooting 59 percent (33-for-56) from the floor and 89 percent from the free throw line (8-for-9) over three E8 conference games this past week. He had 25 points, 11 boards, four steals and four assists in an overtime win over Elmira Tuesday before scoring 28 points on 13-of-22 shooting against E8 leader Utica on Friday night. Preaster finished the week with 24 points and eight boards versus Keuka Saturday for his fourth straight 20-point outing.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Robby Hicks, Alfred, Fr., G, Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa
Hicks played a large role in Alfred’s 85-61 win over Elmira College on Saturday. Coming off the bench, Hicks scored a season-high 18 points to go with two rebounds, shooting 7-of-10 from the field across 17 minutes. Hicks scored 12 of his points from beyond the arc, finishing 4-of-6 from three-point range.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ariea Garrett, Medaille, So., C, Cleveland, OH/Beaumont
Garrett averaged 17.3 points per game and 14.7 rebounds per game, on 52 percent from the floor, while leading Medaille to a 2-1 mark in three league games last week. She began the week by scoring a career-high 31 points on 14-of-24 shooting with 12 boards against Alfred on Tuesday. She pulled down a season-high 18 rebounds and added 13 points and three blocks in a key win over Utica on Saturday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Emma Cole, Houghton, Fr., F, Houghton, NY/Fillmore Central
Cole became just the second Empire 8 student-athlete to record a triple-double since 2010, exploding for 19 points and career-best totals of 18 rebounds and 10 blocks in Houghton’s win over Utica Friday evening. She also added 10 points in a Houghton win Saturday, as the Highlanders finished 3-0 on the week. It is her third E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Kaleb Luton, Nazareth, Sr., Hurdles/Jumps, Amherst, NY/Sweet Home
Luton won the 60-meter hurdles at the Welcome Back meet at Brockport as he clocked an 8.44 in the preliminaries to earn the top spot in the finals and then finished with an 8.28 in the finals with a Regional Championship qualifying time. The time of 8.28 seconds is also the 16th best in Division III to date this season. It is Luton’s second E8 weekly honor of the season.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – John Coddington, Russell Sage, Sr., Throws, Amsterdam, NY/Broadalbin-Perth
Coddington won the weight throw with a toss of 16.47 meters at Saturday's Middlebury Winter Classic. The heave bettered his program record in the event and also moved him into the top-50 nationally this season. Coddington also finished fourth in the shot put with a mark of 13.17 meters.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Sean Cochrane, St. John Fisher, Jr., Jumps, Avon, NY/Avon
Cochrane had a strong performance in the high jump at the Winter Welcome Back to Brockport Meet over the weekend, clearing 1.96 meters to take second place and put him second on the Empire 8 leaderboard this season. It is also a personal record for Cochrane and vaulted him into 28th nationally in the event.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
CO-TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Samantha Shea, St. John Fisher, Gr., Sprints, North Tonawanda, NY/Starpoint
Shea claimed first in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.90 seconds at the Winter Welcome Back to Brockport Meet over the weekend, qualifying her for the Empire 8 Championship and the Regional Championship. Shea's time is also 40th in Division III to date this season. Shea's success continued in the 200-meters, running 26.43 to take sixth place. She is now also ranked in the top-50 nationally in that event as well. It is Shea’s second straight E8 weekly accolade.
CO-TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Mackenzie Mix, Utica, So., Sprints, Camden, NY/Camden
Mix turned in a tremendous performance winning the 60-meter dash at the Hamilton Continental Invitational on Friday with a time of 7.99 seconds. Mix continued her day winning the 200-meter dash in a time of 26.08 seconds. She was also a part of Utica’s winning 4x400-meter relay team. Mix is currently ranked 20th nationally in the 200-meters.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Hannah Ragule, Nazareth, Jr., Jumps/Sprints, Albany, NY/Cohoes
Ragule won the long jump as she led a group of Nazareth jumpers to a strong finish at the Welcome Back Meet at Brockport over the weekend. Ragule finished first with a leap of 5.40 meters (17' 8 3/4") and led five Golden Flyers in the top nine long jump finishers. In addition, she placed 11th in the high jump. She is now ranked 29th nationally in the long jump this season.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – William LaMastus, Alfred, So., Backstroke, Maumee, OH/Anthony Wayne
LaMastus won a pair of individual events against regional powerhouse Ithaca over the weekend. His first individual win was also the first Saxon victory of the day on Saturday, clocking in a time of 54.14 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke. LaMastus doubled-up on his backstroke victories when he won the 50-yard with a time of 24.93. LaMastus led the Saxons to a second place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. he also finished third in the 400-yard individual medley, clocking in a time of 4:27.44. It is his second E8 weekly honor of the season.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Amanda Wilbur, Hartwick, Fr., Butterfly/Individual Medley, Watkins Glen, NY/Watkins Glen
Wilbur was a three-event winner on Saturday in Hartwick's meet against Alfred State in the 200-yard fly (2:30.49), 100-yard fly (1:06.90), and 200-yard individual medley (2:27.62). She was also part of the Hawks' 200-yard medley team that finished second.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Owen Wickens, Nazareth, Jr., OH/L, Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit
Wickens was named the SUNY Poly Invitational Tournament Most Valuable Player and had arguably his best weekend of his career as Nazareth remained unbeaten and won all four matches over the weekend, including a five-set win over No. 3 Wentworth. Wickens slammed 68 kills (4.53 per set), while hitting .408 to go along with 31 digs, 30 assists, 10 service aces and six blocks. He had two 20-kill matches, including a career-high 24 against Wentworth. He was moved to the primary setter role in the final match of the weekend and posted 24 assists, seven kills (with a .700 pct), four aces and eight digs against Potsdam. It is his second straight E8 weekly honor to start 2023.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Casey Jackson, St. John Fisher, Fr., OH, Spencerport, NY/Spencerport
Jackson helped lead nationally-ranked St. John Fisher to four wins at the SUNY Poly Invitational over the weekend. On Friday, Jackson hit .476 with a season-high total of 13 kills to go along with three digs. He added six digs and five kills in a win over Misericordia Saturday.
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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