General 10/10/2023 10:00:00 AM United East Athletes of the Week - October 10, 2023 LATHAM, N.Y. - The United East conference has announced its Athletes of the Week for October 10, 2023. Today will include Athletes of the Week for Field Hockey, Men’s Cross Country, Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Golf, Women’s Tennis, and Men’s Tennis. This week’s selections included contests from Monday, October 2 through Sunday, October 8. A total of 7 student-athletes were recognized for their performances. Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week Molly Gray / Jr / Lancaster Bible College / Schaefferstown, Pa. / ELCO Gray helped lead the Chargers to a 2-1 week as the junior had a five-goal weekend. Gray opened up the scoring with two goals in a 3-0 victory over NCAA Division II Roberts Wesleyan. On Sunday against Wells, she scored three goals in a 7-0 win. Gray currently leads the United East in Goals (8) and Shots on Goal (24) while being tied for first in Total Points (17). This is the second Athlete of the Week honor for Gray who previously won for the week of September 6, 2021; a year in which Gray received CSAC All-Conference Honorable Mention . Defensive Player of the Week Amanda Hoover / So / Lancaster Bible College / Bowmansville, Pa. / Garden Spot HS Hoover helped the Chargers go 2-1 on the week including two shutout wins this Saturday and Sunday. She tallied 11 total saves over three games with eight of those saves in their loss to Eastern. Hoover is currently second in the conference for Saves Per Game (5.42) and Total Saves (65). Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week Jonquil Loeffelholz / Jr / Cedar Crest College / Bellingham, Wa. / Sehome HS Loeffelholz paced the Falcons at the DeSales Invitational, placing 38th with a season-best time of 28:37.7. This is the third Cross Country Athlete of the Week honor for Loeffelholz who previously was honored for the weeks of October 11, 2021 and September 27, 2021. Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week Rafe Williams / Jr / Bryn Athyn College / Bryn Athyn, Pa. / Academy of the New Church Williams placed 18th out of 88 runners at the Jack St. Clair College XC Invite hosted by Bryn Mawr on Saturday afternoon. Williams ran the 8K course in 29:43.8 with only one runner affiliated with a NCAA Division III institution finishing ahead of him in the afternoon. This is the fourth Athlete of the Week award for Williams who previously was honored for the weeks of October 3, 2022, October 18, 2021, and October 4, 2021. Williams was also the CSAC Runner of the Year in 2021 and 2022 after winning the individual title each year. Men’s Golf Player of the Week Peyton Mussina / Jr / Pennsylvania College of Technology / Montoursville, Pa. / Montoursville HS Mussina led the Penn College Wildcats to the team title at the Drew University Birdie Bash after carding a one-under-par 71, including a 3-under 33 on the back nine, for a two-stroke victory in the individual portion of the meet. This is Mussina’s second tournament victory, to go with three runner-up finishes, during the Fall 2023 season. This is the fifth Athlete of the Week honor for Mussina (October 3, 2022, September 19, 2023, October 4, 2022 and October 25, 2022) who finished the 2022-23 season as a First Team All-United East honoree after a second-place finish at the league championship meet in April. Men’s Tennis Player of the Week Cooper Wheeler / FY / Penn State Harrisburg / Red Lion, Pa. / Red Lion Cooper Wheeler picked up two more victories during Penn State Harrisburg's convincing 8-1 win at York (Pa.) on Sunday afternoon. The first year teamed with Clayton Herb to earn a hard-fought 8-7 (9-7) victory in the No. 1 doubles contest before cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 decision in the top singles outing to improve to 4-0 in solo action this season. This is the second Athlete of the Week honor for Wheeler who previously won the award for the week of September 25, 2023. Women’s Tennis Player of the Week - Volt Division Allison Wootton / FY / Penn State Harrisburg / Portage, Mi. / Portage Northern HS Allison Wootton's strong start to her rookie campaign continued on Sunday afternoon when she helped lead Penn State Harrisburg to its first win of the season - a 5-4 decision at York (Pa.). The first year and teammate Breanna DeSantis erased an early 3-0 deficit and came from behind to secure an 8-6 victory in the top doubles matchup before she rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 win in the No. 1 solo contest. With the victories, she improved to 5-0 in singles play this season and 4-1 in doubles action. This is the third Athlete of the Week awarded to Wootton who previously won for the weeks of October 2, 2023 and September 25, 2023. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram - gounitedeast | Twitter - @GoUnitedEast * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The United East boasts 17 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Clarks Summit University, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg, Rosemont College, Saint Elizabeth University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.