General | 10/21/2024 12:53:18 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on October 21, 2024, for games played from October 14-October 20. It is the eighth Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2024-25 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Ryan Hagan, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Hagan placed third out of 492 runners at the 43rd annual Mike Woods Cross Country Invitational, hosted by SUNY Geneseo at the National Warplane Museum on Saturday. He recorded a time of 24:22.5 over the 8,000-meter course, averaging a 4:55-mile time for the event. Hagan led Geneseo to the team title by 13 points over runner-up RPI.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Penelope Greene, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., Sag Harbor, NY/Pierson
Greene was the individual race winner, defeating 371 runners at the 43rd annual Mike Woods Cross Country Invitational, hosted by SUNY Geneseo at the National Warplane Museum on Saturday. Greene broke 21 minutes, completing the 6,000-meter course in a time of 20:39.7, defeating the second-place finisher by just under five seconds. She recorded a mile rate of 5:33, helping lead the nationally ranked Knights to the team title. It is Greene’s third E8 weekly accolade of the season.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ella Greico, SUNY Geneseo, So., F, New Hartford, NY/New Hartford
Greico led the nationally ranked Knights to a pair of wins, extending their winning streak to 10 games. She tallied seven points on three goals and an assist on the week. Greico began the week by scoring the game-winning goal in Geneseo’s 1-0 win over Susquehanna on Monday. She added two more goals and an assist in a 9-0 win over Russell Sage College on Saturday. Greico, a two-time E8 Player of the Week, has 28 points on 12 goals and four assists this season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Katelyn Klotz, Hartwick, So., D, South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls
Klotz played a major role in helping Hartwick shutout St. John Fisher on the road on Saturday afternoon. The second-year defender helped stifle the Cardinals offense from the center back position in the 3-0 win and was part of the defensive corner unit that successfully denied seven corner attempts.
FOOTBALL
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ben Gocella, SUNY Brockport, So., QB, Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park
Gocella had the best game of his collegiate career on Saturday in Brockport's 51-0 road win over Hilbert, completing 13 of his 15 passes (86.7%) for career-highs of 250 yards and four touchdown passes. Throwing the ball all over the field, Gocella connected with his receivers for touchdown throws of 43, 42, 17, and 7 yards in the game. Behind Gocella's big day, the Golden Eagles totaled over 500 yards of offense for the first time since the 2019 season.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ethan Gallo, SUNY Cortland, So., RB, Slate Hill, NY/Minisink Valley
Gallo ran 23 times for 173 yards (7.5 yards per carry) and a career-high four touchdowns in No. 2 SUNY Cortland's 59-17 win at Alfred University. He opened the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown run less than five minutes into the game, followed by a 3-yard scoring run in the second. With the Red Dragons leading 31-17 early in the third, Gallo helped seal the victory with 21-yard and 20-yard TD runs on back-to-back Cortland possessions. His four touchdown rushes are the most in a game by a Cortland player since 2011.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Evan Salvaggio, SUNY Morrisville, Sr., LB, Geneseo, NY/Geneseo
Salvaggio finished with a game-high 14 tackles, including six solo stops in SUNY Morrisville’s 28-26 win over Utica on Saturday afternoon.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kyle Farewell, St. John Fisher, Sr., K/P, LaFayette, NY/LaFayette
Farewell converted on all eight of his point after attempts (PAT), nine kickoffs for 469 yards and one punt for 46 yards (46-yard net) in St. John Fisher’s 56-0 win over Hartwick from Growney Stadium on Saturday.
MEN’S SOCCER
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brady Reinagel, SUNY Brockport, Jr., M, Hamburg, NY/Hamburg
In wins over Alfred and Elmira, Reinagel led the Golden Eagles in scoring on the week, accounting for two goals and an assist. In Brockport's 3-2 senior day win over Elmira Saturday, Reinagel netted both his shots on goal for two goals on the day, including the game-winning goal. Reinagel also added an assist in the 2-1 win over Wednesday.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – El Hajdi Iba Sy, Russell Sage, Gr., F, Bronx, NY/Emma Lazarus
Iba Sy recorded five points on two goals and an assist in Russell Sage’s 5-1 win over Keuka College on Saturday. He scored both goals (including the game-winner) within the first 21 minutes to give the Gators a quick 2-0 lead and assisted on Alessandro Cerbara’s goal in the 24th minute to make it 3-0.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kevin Ryan, SUNY Poly, Sr., D, Ravena, NY/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk
Ryan scored a goal and anchored a defensive unit that recorded two clean sheets and allowed just five shots on goal in two league games. On Wednesday, Ryan and the Wildcats allowed just one shot on goal in a scoreless tie against Russell Sage. Ryan scored a goal early in the second half and helped SUNY Poly recorded the shutout in a 4-0 win at Houghton Saturday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Amelia Breton, SUNY Brockport, So., M, Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili
Breton recorded a hat-trick on five total shots in Saturday’s 7-1 win over Elmira. She scored back-to-back goals late in the first half and completed the hat-trick in the 75th minute, as Brockport improved to 12-1-1 on the season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Amelia Geesler, Russell Sage, Sr., D, Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem Central
Geesler scored a pair of goals, including Wednesday's game winner vs. SUNY Poly, to help Russell Sage finish the week with a pair of wins. Geesler helped limit opponents to just three shots on goal during the pair of E8 victories. She added a goal on a penalty kick in the 2-1 win over Keuka on Saturday.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Brian Pabisch, SUNY Geneseo, So., Freestyle, Huntington Station, NY/Half Hollow Hills East
Pabisch won the 50-yard freestyle and was part of the victorious 200-yard individual medley and 200-yard freestyle relay teams in helping lead the Knights to the team title at the Brockport Early Season Invite from the Webster Aquatic Center on Saturday. He began the meet by helping Geneseo’s 200-yard medley relay team earn a win with a time of 1:33.02. Pabisch posted a winning time of 20.87 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle before teaming up to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:24.27 with an individual leg time of 20.47 seconds.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo, So., Freestyle, New Lebanon, NY/New Lebanon
Sotek won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events and 200-yard individual medley in helping lead the Knights to the team title at the Brockport Early Season Invite from the Webster Aquatic Center on Saturday. She began the meet by helping Geneseo’s 200-yard medley relay team earn a win with a time of 1:49.64. Sotek then posted winning times of 24.67 in the 50-yard freestyle, 55.58 in the 100-free and 1:16.64 in the 100-yard individual medley.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lily Vanuga, Hartwick, Jr., Springville, NY/Springville-Griffith Institute
Vanuga was named the 2024 Empire 8 Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player after helping lead the Hawks to their second league title in the last three seasons. She was a perfect 2-0 at fourth singles and 2-0 at third doubles in the two postseason wins. On Friday, Vanuga defeated Olivia Monaco of Russell Sage, 6-0, 6-3 in the 5-2 semifinal win and partnered with Samantha Lantzy for an 8-0 win at third doubles. On Saturday against SUNY Geneseo, Vanuga and Lantzy earned an 8-2 doubles win, while Vanuga helped seal the title for Hartwick with a 6-3, 6-3 singles win over Rachel Malloy.
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK – Samantha Lantzy, Hartwick, Fr., Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK – Lily Vanuga, Hartwick, Jr., Springville, NY/Springville-Griffith Institute
Lantzy and Vanuga were perfect in doubles play at the third spot, helping lead the Hartwick to its second league title in the last three seasons over the weekend. In Friday’s semifinal win over Russell Sage, Lantzy and Vanuga cruised to an 8-0 win over Emma Vander Bach and Jessica Korbeih. On Saturday, the duo defeated Katie Kujawa and Talia Wutz of SUNY Geneseo, 8-2, as Hartwick won the title match by a score of 5-0.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alenna Williamson, SUNY Brockport, Jr., MB, Roanoke, VA/Rockbridge
Williamson enjoyed a tremendous week for Brockport, averaging 4.42 kills, 1.0 block and 4.92 points pet set, while hitting over .400 twice, as the Golden Eagles won three E8 matches. In Brockport’s five-set road win over SUNY Geneseo, Williamson had 11 kills, five block assists, and four digs. Williamson exploded for a career-high 25 kills, while hitting .420, to go with three block assists, and a season-high nine digs in Friday’s four-set win over Utica. To finish out the week, Williamson had 17 more kills on .484 hitting in a three-set win over SUNY Poly. She also added five more digs and four more block assists in the match.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Lydia Fraser, St. John Fisher, Fr., OH, Plymouth, MI/Father Gabriel Richard Catholic
Fraser averaged 5.00 kills, 3.33 digs and 6.08 points per set over the weekend in a pair of Empire 8 wins. On Friday, Fraser led the Cardinals with a match-high 17 kills and five aces to go along with 10 digs and finished the contest with a .293 hitting percentage in a three-set win over Keuka. On Saturday, Fraser reached double-digit kills for the ninth consecutive match with 13 to go along with 10 digs in a three-set win over Elmira. It is Fraser’s third E8 weekly honor of the 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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