General | 11/20/2023 12:51:24 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on November 20, 2023, for games played from November 13 – November 19. It is the 12th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2023-24 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s swimming and diving.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tyler Cardello, Elmira., So, F, Scottsdale, AZ/Desert Mountain
Cardello averaged 23.0 points and nine rebounds per game, while shooting 54 percent from the floor in three games to begin the season for the Sparing Eagles. In the season-opener against Wells Monday, Cardello finished 9-for-14 from the floor for 23 points and eight rebounds before going for 24 points and 10 rebounds against SUNY Cobleskill in the home opener Thursday. On Saturday against Alfred State, Cardello finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Daniel Cook, St. John Fisher, Gr., F, Honeoye Falls, NY/Pittsford Mendon
Cook earned Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout Tournament Most Valuable Player honors after leading the Cardinals to wins over RIT on Thursday and University of Rochester on Saturday. In Thursday’s win over RIT, he finished two assists shy of a triple-double, tallying 20 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists. He also added a pair of blocks. On Saturday, Cook poured in 17 points, added 11 boards, two steals and two blocks. For the week, Cook averaged 18.5 points, 14.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 blocks, while shooting 53.6 percent from the field.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Deavion Springsteen, Russell Sage, Fr., G, Albany, NY/Albany
Springsteen led the Gators to two wins during the week, averaging 12.5 points on 56.3 percent shooting from the floor, 4.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He scored 10 points and added seven assists and two steals in Russell Sage’s 73-43 win over Castleton on Wednesday. Springsteen scored 15 points and was 7-for-8 from the foul line in Saturday’s 85-76 win over SUNY Poly.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kayla Camacho, Houghton, Jr., G, Spartanburg, SC/Spartanburg Christian
Camacho averaged 17.5 points per game last week while, shooting 67 percent from the field (14-of-21) and averaging 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 3.0 assists per contest. Camacho's 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go along with six boards and four steals at Hilbert Saturday helped the Highlanders keep their record unblemished as the Purple & Gold is now 5-0 to start the season.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sydney Tomasso, St. John Fisher, Jr., G, Waverly, NY/Waverly
Tomasso earned Mark’s Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout Tournament MVP honors after leading the Cardinals to wins over RIT and University of Rochester. In the win against RIT on Thursday, Tomasso recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while adding three assists. Against the University of Rochester on Saturday, Tomasso scored 21 points, grabbed six rebounds three assists and two steals. She shot 62 percent from the floor and averaged 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the two wins.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Joleen Lusk, St. John Fisher, Fr., F, Cherry Valley, NY/Cherry Valley Springfield
Lusk was an impressive force for the Cardinals in leading the team to a pair of wins over RIT and University of Rochester in the Mark’s Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout. In Thursday’s win over RIT, Lusk scored 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting, while adding 11 rebounds for the double-double to go along with two assists and two blocks. Against the University of Rochester on Saturday, the forward scored eight points and led both teams with 12 rebounds and three blocks.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Mikey Schultz, Hartwick, Sr., Butterfly/Individual Medley, Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley
Schultz had three individual first place finishes in the home double meet against University of Scranton and Stevens Institute of Technology. He started his meet in the 200-yard butterfly finishing with a time of 1:57.89, nearly four seconds ahead of the next finisher. His second win of the day came in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 51.87 seconds, placing first by over a second and a half. His third individual first place came in the 200-yard individual medley where Schultz clocked in a time of 1:58.56, beating out the field by over a second. In his final race, needing a win in the 400 freestyle relay to beat Scranton, Schultz rallied Hartwick to the victory, passing the fourth leg of Scranton’s relay team to out-touch them for the win with a split of 48.21 seconds. It is his second straight E8 weekly accolade.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Elaine Chen, Hartwick, Fr., Breaststroke/Individual Medley, Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs
Chen recorded two individual first place finishes in Hartwick’s home double dual meet against University of Scranton and Stevens Institute of Technology. She won the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:10.28 and won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:35.46 against both Scranton & Stevens. Chen placed second in the 200-yard individual medley in a time of 2:24.40 and swam the 50-yard breaststroke leg in the 200-yard medley relay with a 32.00 second split. It is her second E8 weekly accolade of the 2023-24 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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