Each week during the academic year, the NE10 honors
Athletes of the Week for all of its 24 sponsored sports while they are in season. Faces in the Crowd shines a spotlight on outstanding on-field performances that didn't earn Athlete of the Week recognition, while also highlighting academic or community efforts from student-athletes across the league.
Below are this week's
NE10 Faces in the Crowd.
ALEXANDRA BÁ?EZ RENTAS
School: Saint Michael's
Sport: Volleyball
Position: Setter
Class: Senior
Hometown: San Juan, P.R.
Alexandra became the first player in program history to reach the 2,000-assist/1,000-dig club this season, joining only a handful of players in NE10 history to land the milestone. She is the only setter in program history with 1,000 digs and remains the lone player in the NE10 top 10 in both assists and digs this season.
ANTONIO CHANDLER
School: SCSU
Sport: Basketball
Position: Guard
Class: Grad Student
Hometown: Piscataway, N.J.
In his first year with the Owls, Chandler has been a dominant force in the paint on both sides. This week against defending NE10 regular season champion Saint Michael’s, he posted 25 points and 13 rebounds, also adding a block and a steal. He shot an extremely efficient 11-13 for his second straight 20-point double-double.
BARIL MAWO
School: Assumption
Sport: Basketball
Position: Forward
Class: Junior
Hometown: Manchester, N.H.
Mawo was a microwave in 24 minutes in a win at Adelphi last week. The forward pulled down 18 rebounds and got off 15 shots (for 19 points). His total off the glass is the best rebounding day in the NE10 on the young season.
BENTLEY'S PASS GAME
School: Bentley
Sport: Football
Position: Quarterback & Receiver
Brett Pullman was awesome in his final collegiate game, tossing five TDs and throwing for 315 yards. Rashon Bradford was another amazing target, cracking this list for the fourth time this year. The senior hauled in nine grabs for 82 yards and two scores, pushing him over the 1,000 yard mark as the top pass-catcher in the NE10.
DAVID ABOLARINWA
School: New Haven
Sport: Football
Position: Defensive Line
Class: Senior
Hometown: New Bedford, Mass.
Making his second appearance among the Faces in the Crowd, Abolarinwa sacked the quarterback three times in New Haven's win vs. Pace on Saturday. The total outpaced Abolarinwa's season total coming into the game, although all 5.5 of his sacks have come over the year's final month.
DILLON LABONTE
School: SNHU
Sport: Cross Country
Class: Junior
Hometown: Lee, N.H.
Labonte is running his best at the right time and will represent SNHU at the NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Sacramento, Calif. This is the first time he has qualified for Nationals. Labonte is coming off consecutive personal bests, first while running third a the 2024 NE10 Cross Country Championship, then at the NCAA East Regionals, where he finished fourth in 31:30.4. That's the fifth-fastest 10k in program history.
E'LIJAH GRAY
School: SCSU
Sport: Football
Position: Running Back
Class: Senior
Hometown: Somers Point, N.J.
Gray has consistently been one of the top backs in the NE10 this season and added to his resume on Saturday. The back carried 23 times for 139 yards and three TDs. He eclipsed 1,000 yards for the first time in his career and sets himself up to potentially be a multi-time NE10 1st Team performer.
JAYLA TYLER
School: Saint Michael's
Sport: Basketball
Position: Forward
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Albany, N.Y.
No stranger to the NE10, Tyler played in 13 games as a rookie for Saint Rose last year but has blossomed in her new home. The forward pulled in 16 rebounds last week, besting her teammate Makayla Blake (14) for the most in an NE10 game this season. The game is the second she's ripped 16 boards and is averaging a near double double.
JOSH MORISSETTE
School: Saint Anselm
Sport: Basketball
Position: Wing
Class: Junior
Hometown: Exeter, N.H.
One of the most explosive scoring threats in the NE10, Morissette went off again vs. AIC last week. The marksman drilled a league-best nine threes for 34 points against the Jackets. Both numbers are best in the NE10 this year.
MELANIE HOYT
School: Saint Anselm
Sport: Basketball
Position: Forward
Class: Senior
Hometown: Stamford, N.Y.
Hoyt shot 82% (14-17) for 31 points last week against AIC, including hitting the game-winner with seven seconds to go. Hoyt played only 18 minutes in a big win over Georgian Court but in St. A's other two games has played 75 of 80 minutes.
NEW HAVEN RUNNING BACKS
School: New Haven
Sport: Football
Position: Running Back
The three-header Chargers monster was just that against Pace on Saturday. Chistopher Ais ran for 136 yards, Justin Felder for 89 and Zaon Laney for another 72 while all three men found the endzone. The trio averaged 12, 12 and eight yards per carry respectively.
PAIGE GILLETTE
School: Assumption
Sport: Field Hockey
Position: Goalie
Class: Senior
Hometown: Andover, Mass.
The NCAA Quarterfinals didn't go Assumption's way and Gillette did allow three goals ... however ... she also make a career-best 21 saves and helped give the Greyhounds a chance to make it back to the national finals. The game marked the best save total for any keeper in the country this fall (that doesn't play at Saint Michael's) and ranked fifth overall.
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 11 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
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