General | 2/10/2025 12:55:27 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on February 10, 2025, for games played from February 3-February 9. It is the 23rd 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, men’s volleyball, and men’s wrestling.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Mekhi Beckett, SUNY Brockport, Jr., G, Westbury, NY/Mepham
Beckett averaged 17.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game in a pair of key E8 victories for Brockport over the weekend that gives them a two-game lead in the race for regular season title and No. 1 overall seed. On Friday night, Beckett dropped 21 points to lead the Golden Eagles to an 86-85 win over Nazareth. On Saturday, he scored 14 points and dished out six assists in a 96-80 win over St. John Fisher, as Brockport took sole possession of first place in the conference standings.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Damien Call, Utica, Gr., F, Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy
Call was the backbone of the Pioneer offense this weekend, with his 36 points pushing him past the 1,000 career-point milestone. Across two games, Call shot 58 percent from the floor, 50 percent from beyond the arc, and was 6-8 in his attempts from the free throw line. Call was able to bring in 15 total rebounds, dished out six assists, and tallied both a block and a steal. Against Hartwick, Call scored 18 points on 57 percent shooting from the floor, had five rebounds, dished out five assists, and recorded a block and a steal in the contest. Against Russell Sage, Call scored another 18 points on 60 percent shooting from the floor and added 10 boards.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Colin Gentile, SUNY Geneseo, Fr., G, Rochester, NY/Bishop Kearney
Gentile helped lead Geneseo to a pivotal 2-0 weekend that inched the Knights closer to earning a postseason berth with wins over Nazareth and St. John Fisher, averaging 17.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 60 percent from the floor and 67 percent from 3-point range. Gentile was the Knights leading scorer with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor in their win over 104-86 win over St. John Fisher and added 12 points in an 81-70 victory over Nazareth Saturday. Gentile also tallied six rebounds in each contest. It is Gentile’s third E8 weekly accolade of the 2024-25 season.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Layla Acosta, Russell Sage, Jr., G, Haines City, FL/Haines City
Acosta averaged 20.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.7 assists per game in a 3-0 week for the Gators. After opening the week with 16 points in a non-league win over Fitchburg State, Acosta scored 19 points in a win over SUNY Poly and exploded for 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor and 7-of-8 from the foul line in a victory over Utica which helped Russell Sage lock up a spot in the upcoming E8 Championship Tournament.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kristen Suydam, SUNY Geneseo, So., F, Sayville, NY/Sayville
Suydam led the Knights to a pair of massive Empire 8 wins this past weekend, as they defeated both Nazareth and St. John Fisher. Suydam was Geneseo's leading scorer for both games, dropping 16 in the 75-59 win over Golden Flyers and then 17 in the 54-41 win over the Cardinals. Suydam also combined for 13 rebounds over both games and played a key role in Geneseo's stout defensive effort that limited St. John Fisher to a season-low field goal percentage of just 26.8 and 41 points.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Natalie Cornell, Utica, Fr., C, Greenwood, NJ/Jasper-Troupsburg
Cornell put together a pair of stellar performances for the Pioneers last weekend, averaging 13.5 points per game on 92 percent shooting from the floor. Cornell also nabbed 11 total rebounds and dished out four assists. Against Hartwick, Cornell posted a career high 19 points after going a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor. Cornell was able to haul in eight rebounds, and dish out three assists. Against Russell Sage, Cornell added eight points on 67 percent shooting from the floor and was a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
Payne Gatewood, SUNY Geneseo, Fr., F, Boulder, CO
Gatewood scored four goals, including both game-winning tallies in helping lead No. 4 SUNY Geneseo to a pair of wins over SUNY Brockport this past weekend. Gatewood scored the eventual game-winning goal in a 7-2 win at Brockport on Friday and posted a hat trick in the Knights home 5-2 victory over the Golden Eagles. All four goals came at even strength, as he was a plus-4 on the weekend.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Ryan Piros, Utica, Fr., G, Hartland, MI
Piros kept up his undefeated streak this weekend as the Pioneers' netminder, stumping Chatham in overtime and then picking up a big win on Saturday afternoon to improve to 8-0-1 in his tenure as the Utica goaltender. He allowed five goals in the pair of contests, with one of those registering as a power play score, to finish with a 2.41 goals allowed average. Piros finished with a .906 save percentage in the series, making 48 saves over the two-game set. Piros earned E8 weekly honors for the third time this season.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Trent Makowiec, SUNY Geneseo, Gr., Diving, Addison, NY/Addison
Makowiec took the top spot in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives this past weekend at the Geneca Diving Invitational over the weekend. In the 1-meter, he recorded a score of 563.95, with over 50 points between him and the second-place diver and followed it up with a tremendous score of 616.40 in the 3-meter. It is Makowiec’s fourth E8 weekly honor of the season.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Lydia Benjamin, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., Diving, Elmira, NY/Elmira
Benjamin placed fifth in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events at the Geneca Diving Invitational over the weekend. She recorded a score of 404.90 in the 1-meter event and scored 430.55 in the 3-meter competition.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Evan Kurtz, Houghton, Sr., Sprints, Charleston, SC/Homeschool
Kurtz has continued to take time off his own 60-meter dash school record this season. The senior sprinter set a new mark and won the event at the Brockport Invitational on Saturday with an E8-leading time of 6.94 seconds.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Gabe Giannini, SUNY Brockport, Jr., Sprints/Multi, Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute
On day one of the Brockport Invitational and Multi, Giannini won the men's heptathlon with a total of 4,735 points., which is the 20th best score in Division III to date this season. In the 60-meter dash, Giannini took first place at just 7.10 seconds. In the long jump, he had another first place finish with a leap of 6.98 meters. Giannini took yet another first place spot in the pole vault clearing the pole at 4.45 meters. It is Giannini’s second E8 weekly honor of the 2024-25 season.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Penelope Greene, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., Distance, Sag Harbor, NY/Pierson
Greene set a new program record on Saturday at the Blue and Orange Invitational hosted by Utica University in the 3000-meter run with at a speedy time of 9:41.73 for a second-place finish. It is the fourth best time in all of Division III to date this season, as the race winner, Jules Bleskoski of RPI recorded the second-best time nationally.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Janelle Eckl, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., Pentathlon, Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon
Eckl earned a first-place finish in the pentathlon at the Blue and Orange Invitational hosted by Utica University this past weekend, scoring 3,456 points. Eckl's score was good enough second all-time in program history for the Knights and moved her into sixth nationally this season. In the event, Eckl took first in the high jump (1.60 meters), long jump (5.35 meters), and the 800-meters (2:18.92), while finishing second in the 60-meter hurdles and fourth in the shot put.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Owen Wickens, Nazareth, Gr., OH/S, Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit
Wickens stuffed the stat sheet as both a hitter and setter, as Nazareth won three matches on its home floor over the weekend. On Friday against Mount Union, he led the team with 22 kills, 19 digs, and three aces in the four-set win. In the nail-biting five-set-win on Saturday against Marymount, Wickens once again led the team in those categories with 23 kills, 13 digs, and five aces. In the three-set win over Manhattanville later on Saturday, Wickens played at setter where he dished out 21 assists, added six aces, and two blocks.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Coleton Welter, St. John Fisher, Fr., OH, Butler, PA/Butler Area
Welter had a career-high 16 kills in a win over Marymount on Friday afternoon. He also added 11 on Friday night in a sweep of Endicott. Welter had four service aces over the two matches (two in each match). Overall, Welter averaged just under four kills per set and 4.7 points per set in the two matches.
MEN’S WRESTLING
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK – Nick Franco, SUNY Brockport, Gr., 285 lbs., Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale
Franco earned first place at 285 lbs. at the John Summa Invitational in Berea, Ohio to score 27 points for the Green and Gold. In the opening rounds, Franco won both his matches by fall in just 28 seconds and 1:35, respectively. Franco took two more wins in the quarterfinals and the semifinals moving on to the championship match where he defeated Jackson Burns of St. John Fisher by a 10-4 decision. It is Franco’s second E8 weekly honor of 2024-25.
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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