General | 1/22/2024 12:54:57 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on January 22, 2024, for games played from January 15 – January 21, 2024. It is the 20th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2023-24 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
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Damien Call, Utica, Sr., F, Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy
Call led Utica to a perfect 3-0 week in conference play, averaging 16.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per game, while shooting 67 percent from the floor. Call started the week by recording 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor to go along with eight boards in a win over St. John Fisher. His best performance came against Elmira on Friday, where he recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds while recording two blocks and two steals. Call added 12 points in a win at Alfred Saturday.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – David Rosa, Houghton, Jr., G, Canovanas, Puerto Rico/Antilles Military Academy
Rosa posted a season high 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor to go with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals in the Highlanders 83-68 home win over Russell Sage on Saturday. Rosa is fifth in the Empire 8 in steals and seventh in field goal percentage for the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Hudson Idzi, Houghton, Fr., F, Oriskany Falls, NY/Hamilton
Idzi went a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line to tally a career best nine points along with eight rebounds in just 20 minutes of action on Saturday versus Russell Sage. His near double-double helped the Highlanders defeat the Gators by a score of 83-68.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Molly Benetti, Nazareth, So., F, Syracuse, NY/West Genesee
Benetti led Nazareth with a pair of 20-point efforts last week, while shooting 72 percent (18-for-25) from the floor. She scored 20 points in the win at Keuka in just 17 minutes and then notched 21 points in the close loss to St. John Fisher on Saturday. She was an amazing 9-for-10 shooting in the Keuka win and was 9-for-15 from the field against the Cardinals. She also grabbed 14 rebounds and six blocks on the week. Benetti stuffed the stat sheet with eight boards and four blocks against St. John Fisher.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sidney Tomasso, St. John Fisher, Jr., G, Waverly, NY/Waverly
Tomasso averaged 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 assists per game in two wins, including a season-high 25 points to go along with seven boards in a comeback victory against arch-rival Nazareth on Saturday. She also went 10-for-10 from the free throw line against the Golden Flyers. On Tuesday, Tomasso had 12 points, three assists and three steals in a win over Utica to begin the week. It is Tomasso’s third E8 weekly honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Joleen Lusk, St. John Fisher, Fr., F/C, Cherry Valley, NY/Cherry Valley Springfield
Lusk continued her impressive rookie campaign by averaging 13.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in a pair of wins. She also added four assists, two blocks, and two assists. Lusk began the week with 14 points, nine boards and two blocks in a win over Utica and had 12 points, 12 boards and two steals in a 69-62 victory over Nazareth. It is Lusk’s fourth E8 weekly accolade of the season.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Michael Puglisi, Nazareth, So., Sprints, Charleton, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
Puglisi qualified for the AARTFC Championships in both the 200- and 400-meter events. He was third in the 200-meters with a personal-best time of 22.57 seconds and placed second in the 400- with a time of 50.43 just .02 off his personal best. The 200-meter time ranks second on the Nazareth top-five list for the event and is currently in the top-50 nationally this season.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Hunter Logan, Utica, Sr., Throws, Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College
Logan won the shot put at the Hamilton Continental Invitational with a throw of 15.68 meters out of nine throwers. He currently has the 16th best shot put in Division III to date this season at 16.11 meters.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Victoria Brewster, Houghton, Fr., Sprints, Montour Falls, NY/Odessa-Montour
Brewster finished second in the 60-meter dash at the Highlander Invitational on Saturday in a time of 7.83 seconds, which is the top time in the Empire 8 this season and the No. 33 in all of NCAA Division III to date this season. Brewster also finished second in the 200-meters with a time of 26.48 seconds, clocking the third best time in the conference for that event this season.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Makenna King, St. John Fisher, Sr., Throws, Norwood, NY/Norwood-Norfolk
King won the shot put with a throw of 12.28 meters and also took third place in the weight throw with a mark of 13.66 meters at the Houghton Highlander Invitational on Saturday. She currently has the 14th best mark in Division III to date in the shot put at 13.38 meters this season.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Mikey Schultz, Hartwick, Sr., Butterfly/Individual Medley, Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley
Schultz helped lead Hartwick to a 161-139 win over reigning Empire 8 Champions, Alfred University to celebrate Senior Day on Saturday afternoon. Along the way, Schultz broke two Moyer Pool records. He began his afternoon by shattering his own pool record by nearly two seconds in the 200-yard butterfly, going from 1:55.02 to 1:53.59. He also snuck in just under the previous mark in the 100-yard butterfly, posting a new time of 50.50 in the event. Schultz wrapped up his day by taking the win in the 200-yard individual medley. It is his fourth E8 weekly accolade of the 2023-24 season.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Min-Syun (Elaine) Chen, Hartwick, Fr., Breaststroke/Individual Medley, Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs
Chen helped send her senior teammates off in style with a dominant 165-90 win over Alfred University on Saturday afternoon as the Hawks celebrated Senior Day. Chen began her afternoon swimming the breaststroke leg of the winning 200-yard medley Relay with a 31.62 split. She also placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:10.39, the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:34.02, and the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:23.72. It is Chen’s third E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Gavin Newman, St. John Fisher, Jr., S, Commack, NY/Commack
Newman was the primary setter for the Cardinals in three of their four wins this weekend, including victories over Juniata College, Lasell University and Misericordia University. Against the Eagles, Newman recorded 39 assists, two service aces, five total blocks and 13 digs. The next day against the Lasers, he tallied 46 assists and a Fisher single-match record, 11 service aces. In the final matchup of the weekend, Newman recorded 32 assists, two more aces and six digs.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Tristan Henderson, Nazareth, Fr., RS, East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa
Henderson finished with six kills and a .333 attack percentage in the three-set win over Houghton 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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