General | 2/6/2023 12:57:07 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on February 6, 2023, for games played from January 30-February 5. It is the 22nd 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 – Brewster Marshall, Alfred, Gr., F, Horseheads, NY/Horseheads
Marshall averaged 25.0 points on 62.5 percent shooting from the floor (20-for-32) to go along with 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, helping the Saxons go 2-0 and clinch a spot in the Empire 8 Tournament. He scored 27 points in a dominant road win at Russell Sage College Friday, shooting 11-of-18 from the floor including a 3-for-6 performance from the 3-point line. Marshall added 12 rebounds (10 offensive) while adding three blocks, two assists and one steal. Marshall tallied 23 points, shooting 9-for-14 from the floor with two 3-pointers and three free throws in a win at Hartwick Saturday. He also pulled down nine boards, added two more blocks, two steals and an assist. It is Marshall’s third E8 weekly honor of the season.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Thomas Morreale, Utica, Gr., F, Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro
Morreale averaged 21.0 points per game on 60.9 percent shooting from the field (14-for-23) and 53.8 percent from 3-point range (7-13) in a pair of wins for Utica, who moved to 13-0 in E8 play. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals, 2.0 assists and a block per game to his weekly averages. In Utica's win over Nazareth Tuesday, Morreale scored 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field and 2-for-5 shooting from three. He also grabbed six rebounds to go with four steals, two assists and two blocks. Morreale topped that performance with a season-high 27 points in Saturday's win over Keuka which came from 8-for-12 shooting from the floor with five makes from 3-point range. He added four rebounds, two assists and two steals to his line as well. It is Morreale’s second E8 weekly honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Riley Spencer, Elmira, Fr., G, Port Crane, NY/Chenango Valley
Spencer averaged 18.0 points while shooting 45.5 percent from the floor as the Soaring Eagles won two of three Empire 8 league games during the week. Spencer scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor which included a 4-of-5 mark from beyond the arc in a win over Medaille Tuesday. He added 20 points at Hartwick on Friday night before finishing the week with 14 points in a 72-71 win at Russell Sage Saturday. He drained 11 made 3-pointers in the three contests.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Syrita Faraj, Russell Sage, So., G, Troy, NY/Tamarac
Faraj registered 25.5 points per-game on 55.9 percent shooting (19-for-34) to go along with 10.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals as Russell Sage won a pair of key league games. She began the weekend with 19 points and 12 boards in a win over Alfred and followed that up by equaling her career-high of 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting in Saturday's home win vs. Elmira The output was good for fourth-most by a Russell Sage player in a single-game. She has now scored in double figures in all 20 games this season and scored at least 20 points 10 times. It is Faraj’s third E8 weekly accolade of 2022-23.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Brielle Reidinger, Nazareth, Fr., F, Easton, PA/Wilson Area
Reidinger averaged 13.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, while shooting 59.3 percent from the floor in leading Nazareth to three key conference wins. On Tuesday, Reidinger neared a triple-double by pouring in a career-high 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor to go along with 10 boards and seven assists in a win at Utica. She added nine points and nine boards in a win over Houghton Friday. It is Reidinger’s third E8 weekly accolade of the season.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Kaleb Luton, Nazareth, Sr., Sprints/Jumps, Amherst, NY/Sweet Home
Luton won the 60-meter hurdles as Nazareth competed at the highly-competitive Bomber Invitational at Ithaca. He had the top preliminary time of 8.44 seconds and then clocked an 8.33 in the finals to finish first by one, one-hundredth of a second. It is Luton’s third E8 weekly accolade of 2022-23.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Antwan Kelly, Utica, Sr., Throws, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Kelly broke his school record in the weight throw for the third time this season with an incredible toss of 17.83 meters (58’6”) at the Utica Pioneer Fast Trax Invite on Saturday. He remains the only Pioneer to ever eclipse 17 meters and has done it a four times this season. Kelly is now ranked 19th nationally in the event. It is Kelly’s third E8 weekly accolade of 2022-23.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Amanda Burrichter, Houghton, Sr., Middle Distance, Houghton, NY/Fillmore Central
Burrichter won the 5,000-meter run at the Brockport Multi & Invitational on Saturday by over a minute with a time of 18:15.97, which is the top time in the Empire 8 this year by 30 seconds. That mark also places her 12th in the All-Atlantic Region this season. It is Burrichter’s second E8 weekly accolade of the season.
CO-FIELD 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 a second place finish the 60-meter dash (7.97) and won the long jump at the Bomber Invitational hosted by Ithaca on Sunday with a leap of 5.63 meters - 18' 5 3/4". Her long jump performance is ranked ninth in all of Division III this season. It is Johnson’s second E8 weekly honor of 2022-23.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Michaela Kurbs, St. John Fisher, Jr., Jumps, Lockport, NY/Lockport
Kurbs broke a St. John Fisher record by leaping 5.66 meters (18’ 7”) in the long jump at the Brockport Multi Invitational on Saturday. She was the top Division III finisher and moved into seventh nationally in Division III this season. It is Kurbs’ second E8 weekly accolade of the season.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Oscar Munoz Trinidad, Elmira, Sr., S/RS, Jarbacoa, Dominican Republic/CEFAM
In two matches this week, Munoz Trinidad helped the Soaring Eagles to a pair of wins, marking five straight victories for the Purple & Gold. On Friday, Munoz Trinidad was instrumental in helping EC overcome a two-set deficit to beat Widener. Against the Pride, Munoz Trinidad recorded 19 kills and a .533 hitting percentage before recording 14 kills against Elizabethtown in Elmira's 3-0 win. For the week, Munoz Trinidad recorded a team-best .519 hitting percentage and has now recorded double-figure kills in five of his six matches this season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Gabe La Robardiere, St. John Fisher, Fr., OPP, North Syracuse, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse
La Robardiere slammed 11 kills and added three blocks in three matches over the weekend. He had four kills and one block against No. 2 Juniata on Friday before adding three kills and two blocks in a three-set win over No. 3 Messiah on Saturday afternoon. La Robardiere added four kills in a three-set win over Penn State Altoona on his way to garnering his second 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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