General | 1/29/2024 1:02:46 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on January 29, 2024, for games played from January 22 – January 28, 2024. It is the 21st 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 – Logan Blankenberg, Nazareth, Gr., G, Ontario, NY/Wayne Central
Blankenberg led Nazareth to three victories in league play, as he averaged 19.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game, while shooting 63 percent from the floor. Blankenberg opened the week with 18 points and seven boards in a 101-68 win over Houghton. He scored 19 points and shot 80 percent (8-for-10) with five assists in a 93-64 win over Hartwick Friday and completed the week with 20 points, nine reounds and three assists in an 86-60 victory against Russell Sage Saturday.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Daniel Cook, St. John Fisher, Gr., F, Honeoye Falls, NY/Pittsford Mendon
Cook averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor, leading the Cardinals to home wins over Russell Sage and Hartwick. Against the Gators, Cook knocked down 10-of-12 free-throws and was 6-of-10 from the floor to total 22 points, while adding six rebounds and four blocks. The next day against the Hawks, Cook shot 12-for-17 from the field to tally 27 points, while collecting nine rebounds, five blocks and four assists. It is Cook’s fourth E8 weekly honor of 2023-24.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Henry Perkins, Hartwick, Fr., F, Albany, NY/Green Tech Charter
Perkins averaged 13.0 points and 11.3 rebounds, while shooting 73 percent from the floor (16-for-22) in a three-game conference stretch against the top-three teams, including a 14-point, 17-rebound double-double against conference leader Utica on Tuesday. Perkins followed up with 12 points and nine rebounds against Nazareth and 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists against St. John Fisher Saturday.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Olivia Dobrovosky, Nazareth, Gr., F, Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles
Dobrovosky led Nazareth to three more wins in conference play, as the Golden Flyers downed Houghton, Hartwick and Russell Sage. She averaged 16.0 points and 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.7 assists in less than 27 minutes per game, while connecting on 59.4 percent of her shots (19-for-32) from the field. In addition, she was 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Dobrovosky had 18 points and four steals in a win over Houghton to start the week and added 15 points, nine boards and four assists against Hartwick Friday. It is her second E8 weekly accolade.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Natalee Collins, Alfred, Fr., F, Waterville, NY/Waterville
Collins shot 60 percent from the floor (6-of-10) and neared a double-double in an overtime loss at Elmira College Thursday. She recorded 13 points while pulling down nine boards (three offensive) to go along with two blocks and a steal.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Marley Drake, Houghton, Fr., G, Jamestown, NY/Jamestown
Drake averaged 14.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game in a 2-1 week for the Highlanders. She poured in a career-high 22 points, draining six 3-pointers to go along with three steals in a win over Keuka on Thursday. Drake also scored 11 points and added three steals in a win over Utica on Saturday.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Tanner Warren, Utica, Fr., Sprints, Mohawk, NY/Central Valley Academy
Warren excelled at the Utica Orange and Blue Invitational over the weekend, recording a time of 23.19 seconds in the 200-meters and 50.74 seconds to place second among Division III student-athletes in the 400-meters. He is currently second among all E8 student-athletes in the 400-meters and third in the 200-meters.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Hayden Penna, St. John Fisher, Fr., Pole Vault, Hilton, NY/Hilton
Penna finished in third place behind two top-25 vaulters in DIII, as the Cardinals competed in the Conference Challenge Cup hosted by Nazareth University on Saturday. Penna cleared the bar at 4.31 meters (14' 1 ¾") in his second attempt, to claim third and to set a new St. John Fisher program record. He enters the top-100 nationally in the event.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ryan Bletsko, Nazareth, So., Pole Vault, Spencerport, NY/Spencerport
Bletsko posted a personal best with a 4.31-meter (14' 1 ¾") jump at the Conference Challenge Cup hosted by Nazareth at the Golisano Training Center on Saturday. He enters the top-100 nationally in the event.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
CO-TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Olivia Gilbert, Alfred, Sr., Middle-Distance, Ontario, NY/Wayne Central
Gilbert earned her second indoor school record (third overall for track & field) as she won the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:05.89 at the RIT January meet on Friday. Her time beat the rest of the field, including runners from Division I St. Bonaventure University, Division II Daemen College and soon-to-be Empire 8 competitors, SUNY Brockport. She bested the field by almost a complete six seconds or more. Gilbert ended her day by teaming with Anne Spila, Annabelle and Bianca Durso in the 4x400-meter relay, finishing with a time of 4:24.94.
CO-TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Elizabeth Ingellis, Russell Sage, Jr., Distance, Kingston, NY/Kingston
Ingellis bettered her program record in the 5,000-meter run on Saturday at Utica with a time of 18:21.97, which currently puts her in the top-70 in Division III this season. It is currently the top time in the Empire 8 this season by nearly 14 seconds.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jane Fahy, Utica, Gr., Throws, Oriskany, NY/Oriskany
Fahy continued her ascent up the top of the Division III leaderboard in the shot put, setting a new personal best with a shot of 13.82 meters (45’4.25”) at the Utica Blue and Orange Invitational on Saturday. She moves into fifth nationally among all Division III student-athletes in the event. It is Fahy’s third E8 weekly honor of 2023-24.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – William LaMastus, Alfred, Jr., Backstroke, Maumee, OH/Anthony Wayne
LaMastus had three wins and a second place finish against perennial power Ithaca College on Saturday afternoon. He started the day by teaming with his brother, Wade, Colby Watkins and Emmanuel Drappatz in the 200-yard medley relay, winning the event with a time of 1:37.10 over the Ithaca time of 1:37.77. LaMastus then led a 1-2-4 finish in the 50-yard backstroke as he swam in 24.41 seconds to clinch his first individual win of the day, defeating Ithaca by 1.19 seconds. His final individual victory was in the 200-yard individual medley, edging out the win with his time of 2:01.76, winning by 0.18 seconds. LaMastus added a second place finish in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.39. It is his second E8 weekly honor of 2023-24.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Alexa Rizzo, Nazareth, Sr., Diving, Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy
Rizzo broke the school record in the 1-meter diving competition on Senior Day Saturday against Penn State Behrend. Her final score of 312.65 (six dives) broke her own school record of 283.40 set earlier this year. Her win in the 1-meter event and second-place finish on the 3-meter board led Nazareth to a 178-118 win over the Lions. It is Rizzo’s third E8 weekly honor of the season. It is Rizzo’s second E8 weekly honor of 2023-24.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Edwin Sosa, Elmira, Jr., MB, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Centro de Excelencia Profesional
Sosa collected double-digit kills in each of his matches to help the Soaring Eagles to a 2-1 record at the Elmira Invitational. Overall, he slammed 45 kills (4.6 per set) and hit .430 in the week. Against Drew on Friday, Sosa posted a .550 hitting percentage, collecting 13 kills and two errors with one block. He finished Friday by helping Elmira to a four-set victory over SUNY Potsdam, slamming 22 kills to go along with a .432 hitting percentage, while also collecting four digs, three set assists, two solo blocks, and a service ace. On Saturday, Sosa added 11 kills and hit .318 against Kean.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Dylan Vargas, Elmira, Fr., MH, Mount Sinai, NY/MacArthur
In three matches this week, Vargas helped the Soaring Eagles to a 2-1 record at the Elmira Invitational, recording a .418 hitting percentage with 24 kills to go along with 10 blocks. Against Drew, Vargas tallied a career-best 11 kills, committing just a pair of errors on 18 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. Rounding out the weekend, he would post nine kills against Potsdam and added five blocks versus Kean.
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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