General | 2/13/2023 12:49:01 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on February 13, 2023, for games played from February 6-February 12. It is the 23rd 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 and men’s volleyball.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Daniel Cook, St. John Fisher, Sr., F, Honeoye Falls, NY/Pittsford-Mendon
Cook averaged 23.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals in a pair of key E8 contests last week, while shooting 51 percent from the floor. On Tuesday, Cook helped St. John Fisher hand Utica its lone league loss of the season to date, pouring in 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor to go along with nine boards. On Saturday in the Battle of the Beaks at Nazareth, Cook finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds, both team highs. He added five assists, three steals and a block. It is Cook’s second E8 weekly accolade of the season.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jonathan Park, Nazareth, Gr., F, Angola, NY/Lakeshore
Park recorded a pair of double-doubles as Nazareth finished 2-0 on the week with wins over Keuka and St. John Fisher. He had 19 points and 15 rebounds against the Wolves Tuesday evening and added 15 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks, while shooting 7-of-9 from the floor against Fisher. Overall, Park, averaged 17.0 points, 17.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, while shooting 73 percent (16-for-22) from the field. It is Park’s third E8 weekly honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Jaylen Savage, Nazareth, Fr., G, Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton
Savage averaged 19.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting 56 percent from the floor in leading Nazareth to a pair of Empire 8 wins during the week. Savage led Nazareth with 21 points and added six rebounds in the victory over Keuka and added 18 points, six assists and two steals in the win over the Cardinals Saturday. It is Savage’s sixth E8 weekly accolade of the 2022-23 season.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Claire Kruszka, St. John Fisher, Jr., G, Lake View, NY/Frontier
Kruszka averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game, while shooting 59 percent (13-of-22) from the field in a 2-0 week for St. John Fisher. She started the week out strong, scoring 23 points and adding six assists in a win over Utica Tuesday. She shot 7-for-7 from the floor, including 5-for-5 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 from the foul line. On Saturday, Kruszka scored 17 points and added five assists, and four rebounds as Fisher rallied from a late deficit to defeat Nazareth and clinch the Empire 8 Regular Season Championship.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Kayla Camacho, Houghton, So., G, Spartanburg, SC/Spartanburg Christian
Camacho tallied 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals to help the Highlanders go 2-1 on the week and clinch their second ever Empire 8 post-season appearance in program history. Camacho exploded for a season-high 29 points and seven boards in a victory over Sage on Friday night. She added 13 points versus Elmira Tuesday and added 11 points, five assists and five rebounds in a win over Hartwick Saturday.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – McKenzie Simmons, Utica, Fr., F, Red Hook, NY/Red Hook
Simmons averaged 16.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in three Empire 8 contests for the Pioneers. She began the week by pouring in a career-high 22 points to go along with seven boards against St. John Fisher Tuesday. Simmons finished the week with a double-double, scoring 14 points in addition to pulling down 11 rebounds in a win over Elmira Saturday.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ethan Billings, St. John Fisher, Jr., Sprints/Jumps, Amherst, NY/Sweet Home
On Saturday, Billings recorded a time of 14:59.10 in the 5,000-meters at the David Hemery Valentine Invite, hosted at Boston University. This time strengthened his lead atop the Empire 8 leaderboard and also shattered the program record for the Cardinals by 30 seconds.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Antwan Kelly, Utica, Sr., Throws, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Kelly broke his school record in the weight throw for the fourth time this season with an incredible toss of 17.90 meters (58’8.75”) at the David Hemery Valentine Invite, hosted by Boston University over the weekend. He remains the only Pioneer to ever eclipse 17 meters and has done it a five times this season. Kelly is now ranked 22nd nationally in the event. It is Kelly’s fourth E8 weekly accolade of 2022-23.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Samantha Shea, St. John Fisher, Gr., Sprints, North Tonawanda, NY/Starpoint
Shea continued her tremendous season by setting a new school record in the 400-meters at the David Hemery Valentine Invite, hosted by Boston University over the weekend, recording a time of 56.70. That mark is the eighth best in Division III to date this season. It is Shea’s third E8 weekly accolade of the season.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Lea Richard, Nazareth, Jr., Throws, Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls
Richard recorded a toss of 16.22 meters in the weight throw at the RIT February Invitational on Friday afternoon. That distance is ranked 32nd in all of Division III this season. It is Richard’s second E8 weekly honor of 2022-23.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Owen Wickens, Nazareth, Jr., OH/L, Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit
Wickens led the No. 9 Nazareth to three more wins as the Golden Flyers remained undefeated with wins over SUNY Potsdam, Trine and No. 13 Mount Union. Wickens finished the weekend with 58 kills including 29 against Mt. Union to tie the school-record for kills in a match. It is also a NCAA single-match to date this season. He added 10 assists, five aces, 19 digs and seven blocks in the three matches. Wickens averaged 4.46 kills and 5.15 points per set during the week to earn his third E8 weekly honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Gabe La Robardiere, St. John Fisher, Fr., OPP, North Syracuse, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse
La Robardiere slammed 15 kills and added seven blocks and six digs in three wins over the weekend. He had seven kills, four blocks and a pair of digs in a three-set win over No. 13 Mount Union on Saturday. La Robardiere added four kills in wins over Trine and SUNY Poly on his way to garnering his third E8 weekly accolade.
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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