Hilton, NY— The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2021 Men's Cross Country award winners on Tuesday, November 23. The individual awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
RSC's senior captain Brett LaBier (Albany, NY/Colonie) was named to the 2021 Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year Team.
Head Coach David Taranto said of Labier, "Brett is absolutely deserving of the Sportsman of the year award." He continued, "He was our team captain this fall and made his impact felt each day at practice. He rallied the rest of the guys to put in their best every day and on meet day he was able to guide the team through hard competitions. Brett is a hard-working, motivated and steadfast athlete who has been things ahead of him both on the track and after graduation."
Competing at the 2021 Empire 8 Championship, Labier was 39th place with a time of 34:00.3.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2021 Men's Cross Country Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
2021 Empire 8 Men's Cross Country Award Winners
Runner of the Year: Grant Stokoe, Sr., St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Cade Eells, Fr., Nazareth
Coaching Staff of the Year: Nazareth, led by head coach James Goss
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Kyle Jenkins, Sr., Alfred
Aidan Freda, Fr., Hartwick
Seth Greene, So., Houghton
Nathan Bowers, Jr., Nazareth
Brett LaBier, Sr., Russell Sage
Nick Ferri, Fr., St. John Fisher
Michael Roberts, So., Utica