General | 11/13/2023 12:22:28 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on November 13, 2023, for games played from November 6 – November 12. It is the 11th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2023-24 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and women’s volleyball.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dayion Thompson, Utica., So, G, Queensbury, NY/Queensbury
Thompson stuffed the stat sheet with 25 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals in just 24 minutes of play during Utica’s season-opening 86-70 win over SUNY Potsdam on Friday evening. Thompson was incredibly efficient, shooting 6-for-7 from the floor including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. In addition, he was 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the win. Thompson scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half for the Pioneers in the win.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Khalel Noteman, Russell Sage, Fr., C/F, Brooklyn, NY/Canarsie
Noteman led the Gators to two wins during the opening week of play, averaging 5.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He scored eight points and added seven rebounds in Russell Sage’s 63-59 win over Elms on Saturday.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Katie MacLachlan, Nazareth, So., G, Marcellus, NY/Marcellus
MacLachlan led Nazareth to a come-from-behind victory in the 67-56 season opening win over Adrian College on Saturday evening with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. She scored 14 points in the second half after the Golden Flyers trailed by 10 at halftime and out-scored Adrian 45-24 over the final 20 minutes of play.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Hannah Farley, Houghton, Fr., G, Clarence Center, NY/Clarence
Farley averaged 11.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game, while shooting 47 percent from the floor in her first three collegiate games. She Houghton race out to a 3-0 start while capturing the Nan Nichols Tournament Championship at Wooster. Farley had nine points and four steals in her debut against Delhi Wednesday before pouring in 12 points on Friday and 12 more to go along with six boards and three steals against Illinois Institute of Technology Saturday.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Cade Eells, Nazareth, Jr., Ithaca, NY/Ithaca
Eells was the top Empire 8 finisher at the 2023 NCAA Atlantic Region Championship on Saturday from Field of Dreams Park at Houghton. Eells placed 17th overall out of 176 runners, crossing the finish line in a time of 25:00.9 over the 8,000-meter course on his way to earning All-Niagara Region honors. Eells has now earned two Empire 8 weekly accolades during the 2023 season.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Noelle Linenfelser, Houghton, So., Grand Island, NY/Grand Island
Linenfelser, the 2023 Empire 8 Champion, was also the top E8 finisher at the 2023 NCAA Atlantic Region Championship on Saturday from her home Field of Dreams Park at Houghton. Linenfelser placed 21st overall out of 147 runners over the 6,000-meter course in a time of 22:27.8. is Linenfelser’s third straight and fourth overall E8 weekly accolade of the 2023 season.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Zac Boyes, Cortland, Jr., QB, Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West
Boyes completed 24-of-32 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns and ran 15 times for 125 yards in Cortland's 38-28 win at nationally 14th-ranked Ithaca in the annual Cortaca Jug game. He capped the day with two vital runs with less than five minutes remaining - an 8-yard carry on 4th-and-2 from Cortland's 34-yard line and, two plays later, a 46-yard run to the Ithaca 12-yard line that set up a field goal to create the final 10-point margin. It is Boyes’ fifth E8 weekly honor of the 2023 season.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nick Billand, Utica, Gr., DB, Towaco, NJ/Montville
Billand enjoyed a terrific final regular season home game against St. John Fisher, recording a team-high seven tackles while recovering a fumble off a punt in the fourth quarter in the 14-0 shutout win. The fumble recovery with under 9 minutes to play in the game set up Utica's first scoring drive of the afternoon to break the scoreless tie.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dylan Mann, Brockport, Sr., LB, Buffalo, NY/Williamsville North
Mann did it all for the Brockport defense in its 35-14 win over Alfred Saturday. He totaled 11 tackles (4 solo, 7 assisted), including 0.5 tackles for a loss. Along with leading the team in stops he also came up with an interception for the Golden Eagles.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Liam O’Mara, Brockport, Jr., WR, Queensbury, NY/Queensbury
O'Mara came up with two key special teams plays for the Golden Eagles in their 35-14 win over Alfred Saturday. He blocked a punt for the second time this season and didn't stop there. On a separate blocked punt in the game, O'Mara scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 13 yards for a touchdown.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Emmanuel Drappatz, Alfred, Fr., Freestyle, Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel Area
Drappatz had three first place finishes against University of Rochester and SUNY Fredonia in a home tri-meet Saturday. He began as the freestyle leg of the 200-yard medley relay, swimming a 21.12 (fastest in the pool) as he, Will LaMastus, Emiliano Terrazas and Fernando Lagos won the event with a combined time of 1:37.22, edging out the A-team of Rochester’s time of 1:37.28. The Yellowjackets’ freestyle leg got off the blocks first as their team had a time of 1:15.43 after the butterfly leg. Drappatz chased him down and took the lead for the win in the final 25 yards. He followed that performance with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle, clocking in a time of 1:47.66, edging out Rochester’s top swimmer’s time of 1:47.95. Drappatz got his third win of the day with a time of 22.09 in the 50-yard freestyle, defeating the rest of the pool by 0.04 or more. His final event of the day was the 100-yard freestyle where he finished second to U. of R. with a time of 47.96, dropping to the Yellowjacket’s time of 47.82, just 0.07 short of having a 4-0 day against Rochester.
CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Mikey Schultz, Hartwick, Sr., Butterfly/Individual Medley, Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley
Schultz was a vital part of Hartwick's 183-101 dual meet win over SUNY Oneonta on Saturday. The senior helped the Hawks to a 1st place finish in the 400-yard medley relay with a 100-yard butterfly split of 51.21. Schultz also swept his individual events, placing 1st in the 200-yard butterfly (1:56.50), 100-yard butterfly (52.71) and 400-yard individual medley (4:22.43).
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Elizabeth Tripp, Nazareth, Sr., Diving, Hamburg, NY/Hamburg
Tripp hit a season-high score to win the 3-meter diving with a 292.88 and also took second in the 1-meter with a 259.43 as Nazareth competed against University of Rochester over the weekend. It was her third NCAA qualifying mark in the 3-meter and her second in the 1-meter event. It is her second straight E8 weekly accolade.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Casey Grange, Alfred, Sr., MB, Ithaca, NY/Ithaca
Grange was named the 2023 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Championship Most Valuable Player after leading No. 5 seed Alfred to its first league title in program history, as the Saxons won three road matches to become the lowest seeded team to ever win the league title. She totaled 16.0 points in the championship match against No. 3 Keuka College on Saturday, all from kills, including the match-clinching, fourth-set kill. Grange hit .308 in the match with only four errors on 39 attacks. She helped the Saxons defeat the three teams that defeated AU in the regular season, first with a three-set win over No. 4 Nazareth College, then with a four-set win over top-seed St. John Fisher University. She totaled 31.0 points from 30 kills and two block assists while chipping in nine digs.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Cara Bratthauar, Alfred, Fr., OPP, Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg Area
Bratthauar totaled 23.5 points on the week to help the fifth-seeded Saxons win their first Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Championship title in program history. She had two, important career-highs in the Empire 8 Championship against No. 3 Keuka College Saturday. She broke double-digit scoring for the first time this season, totaling 10.5 points from 10 kills and a block assist while adding two digs. Bratthauar had positive attack percentages in all three matches, hitting a weekly-high of .300 in a three-set sweep of No. 4 Nazareth University. She added five kills and a career-best three blocks in a four-set win at No. 1 St. John Fisher University. It is her third E8 weekly honor of the 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.
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