Faraj named Player of Week
Guard picks up second award in a row with big games for Sage women
Syrita Faraj was named Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 16. The sophomore was named again Monday after a big weekend for the Sage women’s basketball team.
Faraj, a 5-foot-9 guard from Troy and a Tamarac High graduate, had a career-high 32 points and 11 rebounds in a 90-69 league victory over Utica on Saturday. On Friday, she just missed another double-double with 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists in an 80-29 league victory over Keuka. She played just 18 minutes in the game.
On the season, Faraj leads the team and the league in scoring with a 19.9 average. She’s also averaging 8.7 rebounds a game with 35 assists and 39 steals. And she has scored in double figures in every game and has five double-doubles.
Sage, which stands 11-7 overall and 7-4 in league play, is also getting solid efforts from senior Sammy Pasinella (Mechanicville High) and graduate student Giuliana Pritchard (Amsterdam High). Pasinella had 23 points in the Utica victory and Pritchard had 20 points in the Keuka game.
Nathan Greene (Troy)
The St. Rose men’s swim team didn’t score a victory in eight dual meets, but the Golden Knights are getting a solid effort from the sophomore, a Troy High graduate. Greene is a distance freestyle swimmer and he wrapped up the regular season by winning the 1,000-yard freestyle in a 128.5-99.5 loss to St. Michael’s on Jan. 21. His time was 10:52.0. In the second semester, he has a first and a second in the 1,000 and two seconds in the
500. The Northeast-10 Conference Championship is set for Feb. 9-12 in Worcester, Mass.
Parker Brown (Sand Lake)
The sophomore led the Hudson Valley bowling team at the Westchester Classic on Sunday in Carmel. The Averill Park High graduate finished fourth in all-events with a 1,131-pin total. He finished fifth overall and had a 574 in the singles portion. Freshman Sean Howlan (Schalmont High) teamed with Brown in the doubles competition and the duo posted a score of 1,031. Howlan placed 19th in all-events and had a 530 score in singles.
Madison Meyer (Duanesburg)
The 5-4 freshman is coming off the bench for the Skidmore women’s basketball team. The Thoroughbreds are 14-4 overall and in second place in the Liberty League with a 10-1 record after a 61-52 conference win over Union on Saturday. Meyer is averaging 5.4 points and 1.9 rebounds a game and has 18 assists and a team-high 26 steals, which stands seventh in the league. She has scored in double figures in five games.
Shamar Mercharles (Albany)
The 6-8 sophomore forward is a key performer on the 10-9 Bryant & Stratton Albany men’s basketball team. The Albany High graduate is in his first season with the team and is averaging 7.9 points and is second on the team in rebounding with 5.9 a game. He leads the Bobcats in blocked shots with 22. Mercharles has scored in double figures in seven contests and had a season-high 20 points in a 10097 victory over Manor College on Dec. 6.
Trevor Green (Troy)
The 6-3 sophomore scored a careerhigh 36 points to lead the 12-7 Hudson Valley men’s basketball team to an 80-67 victory over Cayuga CC on Saturday. He also had nine rebounds and four assists. The Lansingburgh High graduate came back with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a 94-64 triumph over Finger Lakes CC on Sunday. Green leads the Vikings in scoring (22.1), rebounding (9.3) and assists (72). Freshman Demani Benjamin (Green Tech) had a team-high 20 points against Finger Lakes.
Hayleigh Girard (Hudson Falls)
The sophomore finished eighth in the 60-meter hurdles for the Cobleskill women’s indoor track team at the Blue and Orange Invite last weekend in Utica. The Hudson Falls High graduate posted a time of 11.01 but had a 10.79 clocking in the prelims. The highlight of Girard’s season came on Dec. 10 when she finished fifth.