General | 10/28/2024 12:32:10 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on October 28, 2024, for games played from October 21-October 27. It is the ninth 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 golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and women’s volleyball.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Timothy Jeralds, Utica, Jr., Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Jeralds placed 23rd out of 78 runners at the Hamilton College Tune-Up on Saturday. He recorded a time of 17:04 over the 5,000-meter course, averaging a 5:29.6-mile time for the event.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Charisma Losee, Russell Sage, Jr., Troy, NY/Lansingburgh
Losee finished 30th out of 71 runners at the Hamilton College Tune-Up on Saturday. She recorded a time of 17:41.5 over the 4,000-meter course.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jace Hunzinger, Houghton, Sr., F, Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy
Hunzinger, who led NCAA Division III in assists last season, tallied four goals in a pair of games last week. She scored against SUNY Oswego Tuesday and added her second hat trick of the season in a playoff clinching win at Russell Sage on Saturday. Hunzinger is second in the conference in goals scored, third in game winning goals, and fourth in overall points this season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Morgan Russo, Nazareth, So., GK, Ilion, NY/Central Valley Academy
Russo stopped 15 shots, including seven in the fourth quarter, to help Nazareth defeat St. John Fisher in a 2-0 shutout on Wednesday and clinch an E8 postseason berth. The win was the first for the field hockey squad over Fisher since 2019. This was Russo's third shutout for the season.
FOOTBALL
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dion Anderson, Alfred, So., WR, Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institution
Anderson broke multiple collegiate career-highs as he not only led the Saxons in receiving, but also rushing and all-purpose yards in Alfred’s 38-34 win at Utica Saturday. Anderson scored three of the Saxons’ five touchdowns on Saturday, including the game-winning, 12-yard touchdown catch with 26 seconds remaining in the game. His first score of the game was an 11-yard run to end the second quarter. Anderson had a long run of 53 yards as he totaled a game-high 93 yards rushing on five attempts. His longest reception was a 39-yard touchdown in the third quarter as he totaled a game-high 170 yards receiving on eight catches. Anderson also received a lateral pass from Braden Alexander for a 26-yard gain in the second quarter. Anderson totaled 289 all-purpose yards on Saturday as he now is second in the nation for all-purpose yards. It is his third E8 weekly accolade of the season.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Zac Boyes, SUNY Cortland, Sr., QB, Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West
Boyes completed 20-of-25 passes for 373 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions and ran for a TD in Cortland's 49-0 home victory over St. John Fisher. Boyes set a school record with his 10th career 300-yard passing game and extended his school record of consecutive pass attempts without an interception to 256, including all 153 of his attempts this season. It is Boyes’ second E8 weekly honor of 2024.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Elijah Grooms, SUNY Brockport, Jr., DB, Bronx, NY/Paint Branch
Grooms put together a career day in the 24-0 win over Morrisville, helping the Golden Eagles defense extend its program record with a fourth straight shutout. From the secondary he had two interceptions and forced a fumble in the game. His second interception sealed the win, as he ran it back 35 yards for touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Grooms also chipped in with three total tackles (2 solo), including 1.5 tackles for loss.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nick DeForrest, Utica, So., LB, Rome, NY/Holland Patent
With the Utica trailing Alfred University, 31-27 with 1:57 left in regulation, DeForrest broke through the Saxons line and blocked a punt straight into the hands of teammate Jimmy Polito, who returned the block 25 yards for a touchdown that put the Pioneers up 33-31.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ryan Arp, Russell Sage, So., Greenville, NY/Greenville CAD
Arp shot a 79 (+7) to earn individual medalist honors at the Nazareth Fall Invitational at Locust Hill Country Club, hosted by Nazareth University on Monday. Arp had four birdies on the day to earn the individual title by one stroke over Vincent Falgiatano
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Joey Avallone, St. John Fisher, Sr., M, Southampton, NY/Southampton
Avallone celebrated St. John Fisher’s senior day in style scoring two goals and adding an assist in a 6-0 win over Keuka College on Saturday. He opened the scoring 6:33 into the match and assisted on St. John Fisher’s second goal just under six minutes later. Avallone made it 4-0 Cardinals in the 34th minute.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ryan Primus, SUNY Poly, Gr., GK, Goshen, NY/Goshen
Primus extended his shutout streak to 445 minutes, as he recorded back-to-back clean sheets against Nazareth and SUNY Geneseo this week to help the Wildcats clinch an E8 postseason berth. He made seven saves in a scoreless draw against Nazareth Wednesday, and one save in the 1-0 win over Geneseo Saturday. He is 8-3-4 with five shutouts this season.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Makaelynn Neivel, Nazareth, Jr., M, Memphis, NY/C.W. Baker
Neivel racked up her first points of the season in a big way during a 6-0 win over SUNY Poly on Wednesday. Neivel broke open the scoring with an unassisted goal at the 32-minute mark, and three minutes later assisted on a goal to push the lead to 2-0. She added another goal, followed by another assist in the second half to earn a total of six points on two goals and two assists.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kiani Barnard-Pratt, Alfred, Jr., GK, Westford, MA/Westford Academy
Barnard-Pratt continues her standout season as she is currently 12th in the nation with a .905 save percentage. She had back-to-back shutout ties in Empire 8 action, keeping the Saxons’ post-season sights set. She recorded five saves, including a penalty kick stop against Russell Sage on Tuesday. Barnard-Pratt followed that with a nine-save shutout at Hartwick on Friday. She now has seven shutouts and earned her second E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Carlos Gonzalez, Alfred, Fr., Breaststroke/Individual Medley, Baja California, Mexico/Unifront
Gonzalez, in only his second collegiate meet, broke the Alfred University McLane Natatorium pool record in the 200-yard individual medley. Gonzalez clocked a 1:54.71, breaking the record with ease as he won the event by almost a complete eight seconds with the Saxons going 1-2-3 in the race. He later won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:56.17, beating the competition by over 18 seconds. Gonzalez ended his day as the first leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay, clocking a 50.45 as Alfred earned a first-place finish by almost five seconds.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo, So., Freestyle, New Lebanon, NY/New Lebanon
Sotek helped the Knights take down Division I foe Canisius on Saturday by earning four first place finishes. She took first in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events, in addition to the 200-medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relays. She began the meet by helping Geneseo’s 200-yard medley relay team earn a win with a time of 1:49.59. Sotek then posted winning times of 24.84 in the 50-yard freestyle, 54.99 in the 100-free and 3:40.15 in the 400-yard individual medley. It is her second straight E8 weekly accolade.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dayna Edholm, Keuka, Gr., OH, Buffalo, NY/Sweet Home
Edholm had a big weekend for the Wolves to keep Keuka College's postseason hopes alive. In a pair of matches on the road at Hartwick and Russell Sage, she had 43 kills in eight sets played to average 5.38 kills per set and averaged 5.94 points per set. She capped the weekend with a season-high 23 kills in a four-set victory over the Gators. Edholm added 16 digs in the win, her eighth double-double of the season. She leads the Empire 8 with 4.12 kills per set and has amassed 301 kills this season. It is Edholm’s second E8 weekly honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Lydia Fraser, St. John Fisher, Fr., OH, Plymouth, MI/Father Gabriel Richard Catholic
Fraser averaged 2.68 kills, 2.14 digs and 3.50 points per set in a pair of E8 matches last week. On Wednesday, Fraser had 10 kills and nine digs against E8 leader Nazareth. On Saturday, Fraser reached double-digit kills for the 11th consecutive match with 10 to go along with six digs and four service aces, while hitting .474 in a three-set win over Utica. It is Fraser’s fourth 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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