Men's Track and Field | 6/10/2016 10:35:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY – Senior Luis Rivera added another accolade to his storied Nazareth career this week being named the Empire 8 Male Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year as voted on by the conference coaches.  Earlier in the season, Rivera earned Empire 8 Indoor Field Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season.

St. John Fisher College sophomore Peter Girardi was named the Track Athlete of the Year, while Keanu Heedram of Utica College was the Conference Rookie of the Year.  Utica College earned the Coaching Staff of the Year.

Rivera closed out his career for the Purple and Gold with a third place finish in the hammer throw at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Waverly, Iowa back in May.  The Rochester native set the school record with a heave of 59.29 meters (194 feet, 6 1/4 inches) to earn All-American honors for the second consecutive season. In 2015, Rivera became the first-ever outdoor field All-American for Nazareth after a posting an eighth place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Rivera broke his own school record twice during the outdoor season in the hammer throw, with the first coming in his title at the New York State Collegiate Track Conference championships.  He took the crown with a toss of 58.85 meters (193 feet, 1 inch) to break his previous record of 58.58 meters (192 feet, 2 inches) which he set a year ago at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.  Rivera outdid his school record mark again at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships. 

The four-time All-American repeated as Empire 8 Champion in the hammer throw in 2016.  "Luis capped off a remarkable four-year career this spring," said head coach James Goss.  " It is remarkable to think back to his evolution over the past four years after coming into school without ever participating on a track and field team.  His hard work and dedication helped him become a decorated student-athlete here at Nazareth."

In addition, one member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2016 Sportsman/Sportswoman of the Year Team.  Tyler Hancock represented Nazareth for the men and Jamie DiSalvo was the women's representative.  The Empire 8 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. 

Student-Athlete         Institution
Jamie DiSalvo             Nazareth
Sarah Werner              Ithaca
Rebekah White           Houghton
Brynn Hyde                Alfred
Kasey Suszko            Stevens
Jessica Colmerauer    St. John Fisher
Mikey Maxwell           Utica

Student-Athlete         Institution
Tyler Hancock             Nazareth
Stephen Gomez          Ithaca
Malik Bullock             Houghton
Seth Spicer                Alfred
Zach McKeehan         Stevens
Peter Girardi               St. John Fisher
Andrew Russell          Utica