General | 12/9/2024 12:52:50 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on December 9, 2024, for games played from December 2-December 8. It is the 15th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2024-25 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field and men’s wrestling.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Luke Insley, Nazareth, Sr., G, Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder
Insley scored a career-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor (58.8 percent) to lead Nazareth to an 83-78 overtime win over Alfred in its first conference game of the season on Saturday night. He also added four rebounds, five assists, one block, and one steal in the win.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Kyle Dhu, Russell Sage, Fr., G, Ozone Park, NY/Brooklyn Law and Technology
Dhu scored a season-high 10 points, going 3-of-5 from the floor, 1-for-2 from 3-point range and 3-of-4 from the foul line in Russell Sage’s 72-45 win over Albany School of Pharmacy on Sunday. He added a pair of rebounds and one assist in the win.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Vanessa Hall, Utica, So., F, Whitesville, NY/Whitesville
Hall averaged 24.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 60.9 percent from the floor (28-for-46) in three games last week. On Saturday, Hall scored a career-best 35 points against Rivier University, tying Utica’s single game record for points that had stood since 2012. She also scored 19 points in just 17 minutes in a win over SUNY Delhi last Monday and added 19 points at Wesleyan Friday. It is her second E8 weekly accolade of the 2024-25 season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Peyton Maneri, SUNY Brockport, Fr., G, Auburn, NY/Auburn
Maneri tallied 13 points, making three shots behind the arc, while recording three steals in a 79-68 win over RIT on Tuesday.
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Peter Morgan, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., F, Sarasota, FL
Morgan scored two goals in No. 4 SUNY Geneseo’s 5-2 win at No. 3 Utica University in front of a sellout crowd of 4,180 fans on Saturday evening. He gave Geneseo a 2-1 lead late in the first period and completed the scoring with a key insurance goal in the third period.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Adam Harris, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., G, Burlington, Ontario
Harris was sensational in the home-and-home series against No. 3 Utica, stopping 77-of-80 shots, recording a 1.44 goals against average and a .963 save percentage, as the Knights took four points to take over the lead in the UCHC standings. On Friday, Harris stopped 27-of-28 shots in a 1-1 tie against the Pioneers. The following night, Harris made a career-high 50 saves, 17 in the first period, 18 in the second and 15 in the third, as Geneseo earned a 5-2 win in front of a sellout crowd of 4,180 at Utica. Harris, who stopped the final 27 shots he faced Saturday, improved to 6-0-1 on the season and is a key reason why the No. 4 Knights one of two unbeaten teams in Division III this season. He is now a two-time E8 Goaltender of the Week.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Carlos Gonzalez, Alfred, Fr., Breaststroke/IM, Baja California, Mexico/Unifront
Gonzalez played a vital role in the Saxons fourth place finish in the Ithaca College Bomber Invitational over the weekend. He had Alfred’s lone victory as he won the 400-yard individual medley with a school-record time of 4:03.93, defeating the rest of the finals group by almost three whole seconds. He also garnered a second-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:04.55. Gonzalez helped the Saxons earn four top-10 relay finishes. The highlight was the 200-yard medley relay that posted a combined time of 1:35.12, teaming with William LaMastus, Emiliano Terrazas and Emmanuel Drappatz. It is his fourth E8 weekly honor of the season.
CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ryan Hough, Nazareth, Gr., Freestyle, Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy
Hough enjoyed a tremendous meet at the Ithaca Bomber Invitational over the weekend. On Saturday, he finished third in the 200-yard freestyle, breaking his own school record with a time of 1:42.38. He also finished second in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.87. On Sunday, Hough took second place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.02. In addition, he was part of four relay teams that placed in the top-15.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Emily LeFrois-Heath, Nazareth, Jr., Individual Medley, Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima
LeFrois-Heath took second in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:35.64 at the Ithaca Bomber Invitational on Saturday. On Sunday, she took 10th overall with a time of 5:20.22 in the 500-yard freestyle. LeFrois-Heath was also part of the 200-yard medley relay team that placed seventh overall.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jacob Miller, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., Sprints, Brockport, NY/Brockport
Miller earned two first-place finishes for the Knights in their season opener at Nazareth on Friday. He took the top spot in the 400-meter Invitational with an AARTFC qualifying time of 49.39 (converted to 48.62 seconds). He was then on the winning 4x400 relay team who finished first with an AARTFC qualifying time of 3:21.18 (converted to 3:18.03). He is currently eighth nationally in the 400-meters, while his 4 x 400-meter relay team which includes Andrew Kent, Jack Towns and Brendan Style has the top spot nationally after the opening weekend of competition.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Sean Cochrane, St. John Fisher, Sr., Jumps, Avon, NY/Avon
Cochrane claimed first place in the men's high jump at the Nazareth Alumni Opener on Friday evening, clearing the bar at 2.02 meters (6’7.5”) in his third attempt at the height, which is currently the second best in all of Division III to date in 2024-25.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Victoria Brewster, Houghton, So., Sprints/Jumps, Montour Falls, NY/Odessa-Montour
Brewster broke her school record in the 60-meter run twice on Friday at the Houghton December Classic. She hit 7.68 in the prelims before surpassing that with a facility record and an Empire 8 leading 7.65 in the finals. Her time is currently fourth in NCAA Division III. She also finished sixth in the long jump with a leap of 4.88 meters.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Alexa Belanger, Houghton, Fr., Jumps/Sprints, Ballston Spa. NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Spa
Belanger won the high jump in her first intercollegiate meet on Friday at the Houghton December Classic. She cleared 1.64 meters (5’ 4.5”), which currently is first in the Empire 8 and sixth in NCAA Division III. Her result is second all-time in Houghton history and just .01 meters from the school record. She also ran a 28.31 in the 200 meters which ranks third in the E8 this season.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Zoe Connor, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., Throws, Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville
Zoe Connor set a new program record for the shot put on Friday at Nazareth, placing first overall with a distance of 12.89 meters (42’ 3.5”). Connor went on to finish first in the weight throw in a tremendous battle with Nazareth’s Lea Richard, recording a distance of 16.95 meters (55’ 7.5”) to Richard’s 16.93 meters. Connor’s weight throw distance is currently seventh nationally, while her shot-put distance is 12th.
MEN’S WRESTLING
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK – Liam Bullock, SUNY Brockport, Gr., 125 lbs., Chester, NY/Chester Academy
Bullock finished 5-1 and in third place at the 125 lb. weight class for Brockport at the RIT Invitational on Saturday. He earned 19.5 points on the day for Brockport. Bullock, the No. 8 seed, won by fall twice (including a pin over the No. 1 seed) and by major decision to make it to the semifinals. Bullock fell to eventual champion Brett Stanley of John Carroll University, 5-3, but moved on to the consolation semifinals where he won by a 14-1 major decision and earned a second major decision win in the third-place match, 21-12 over Alexander Schaeublin of Trinity College.
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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