General | 1/30/2023 1:01:47 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on January 30, 2023, for games played from January 23-January 29. It is the 21st 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 – Brewster Marshall, Alfred, Gr., F, Horseheads, NY/Horseheads
Marshall was instrumental in helping the Saxons finish off a season sweep of St. John Fisher Saturday. He scored 23 points and pulled down nine rebounds while assisting on four shots and blocking four attempts against the Cardinals. Marshall shot 8-of-11 from the floor and was 2-for-3 from the 3-point line while adding five free throws in the win. Marshall totaled 17 points while pulling down seven rebounds, stealing the ball twice and assisting on a basket against No. 23 Nazareth on Friday. He went 6-of-9 from the floor and was a perfect, 3-for-3 from 3-point range. It is Marshall’s second E8 weekly honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Jaylen Savage, Nazareth, Fr., G, Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton
Savage averaged 16.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, while shooting 53 percent from the floor in three league games for No. 23 Nazareth. Savage led Nazareth with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor while adding eight rebounds and three steals at St. John Fisher Tuesday. Over the weekend, he scored 17 points against Alfred and 11 against Elmira, as Nazareth rolled to a pair of wins. Savage is now a five-time E8 Rookie of the Week in 2022-23.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Syrita Faraj, Russell Sage, So., C, Troy, NY/Tamarac
Faraj registered 27.5 points per game on 56.3 percent shooting in a 2-0 week for the Gators. The sophomore guard, who averaged 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.5 steals, in the pair of road E8 wins, established a career-high of 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting in Saturday's victory at Utica. The output was good for fourth-most by a Russell Sage player in a single game. It is Faraj’s second E8 weekly accolade of 2022-23.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Presleigh Brunner, St. John Fisher, Fr., G, Hamburg, NY/Nardin Academy
Brunner averaged 16.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game, while shooting 53 percent from the floor for the league-leading Cardinals, who stayed unbeaten in league play with three wins during the week. Brunner poured in 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting in a win over Nazareth on Tuesday. She added 16 points and a season-high seven assists in a win over Elmira Friday and closed out the week with 13 points in a win at Alfred Saturday.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Cade Eells, Nazareth, So., Middle Distance, Ithaca, NY/Ithaca
Eells qualified for the NCAA Regional meet and with his time of 8:39.06 in the 3,000-meter run at the Nazareth Challenge Cup on Saturday. He broke a 15-year old program record by nearly two seconds in the event and now has the best time in the Empire 8 in the event this season.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ivan Lopez-Testillano, St. John Fisher, Sr., Jumps, Madrid, Spain/Montserrat
Lopez-Testilliano jumped 13.77 meters to place fourth in the triple jump at the Nazareth Conference Challenge Cup Saturday. He qualified for the Empire 8 Championship meet and putting him first on the leaderboard. His jump also qualifies him for the Atlantic Championship and is currently 35th best in the nation.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Brenna Johnson, Nazareth, Gr., Sprints/Jumps, Cortland, NY/Homer
Johnson ran the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay that finished third in a Regional Qualifying time of 4:06.31 at the Nazareth Conference Challenge Cup Saturday. The time ranks fourth on the all-time Nazareth list. She added second place finishes in both the 60-meter dash (7.97) and the long jump (5.58 meters - 18' 3 3/4"). Her long jump performance is ranked tenth in all of Division III this season.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Veronica Duell, St. John Fisher, So., Jumps, Bergen, NY/Byron-Bergen
Duell won the long jump at the Nazareth Conference Challenge Cup Saturday with a leap of 5.62 meters. Duell's jump broke Fisher's indoor long jump school record, broke the Nazareth facility record, and currently stands as the fourth best mark in the nation.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jane Fahy, Utica, Sr., Throws, Oriskany, NY/Oriskany
Fahy set a school record in the women's shot put with a mark of 13.11 meters at the Utica Blue & Orange Invitational on Friday. The mark of 13.11 meters is the 19th best in Division III to date this season.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ryan Hough, Nazareth, Jr., Sprint Freestyle, Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua
Hough recorded three wins Saturday in the final dual meet of the season as he won the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle events against Penn State Behrend. He recorded a time of 21.95 second in the 50-yard freestyle, 47.82 seconds in the 100-free and hit the wall in a time of 1:47.93 in the 200-free.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Joelle Ocheltree, Hartwick, Jr., Distance Freestyle, Libertyville, IL/Libertyville
Ocheltree 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. It is Ocheltree’s second E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alberto Mauricio, Elmira, So., OH, San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic/Liceo Gaston Fernando Deligne
Mauricio slammed 28 kills, while hitting .447 to go along with 15 digs in a pair of three-set wins for the Soaring Eagles on Saturday. He began the day by hitting .778 with 15 kills on just 18 attempts in addition to nine digs in a three-set win over Hilbert. Mauricio added 13 kills, six digs and two service aces in a victory over SUNY Poly. He averaged 4.67 kills and 5.33 points per set during the week.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brandon Smith, Medaille, Sr., MH, Lancaster, NY/Lancaster
Smith led the Mavericks on offense with a .474 hitting percentage in five matches played, spanning 20 sets. For the week, Smith racked up 46 kills, ten blocks, and four aces while averaging 2.8 points per set. His best match came against Hilbert College on Tuesday where he recorded 18 kills on 28 attempts with a .464 hitting percentage and 3.60 kills per set. He also hit .727 with nine kills against Randolph-Macon on 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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