Olivia Bart, Hartwick College swimming and diving
This former Bristol Eastern standout earned the Empire 8 Conference’s swimming and diving athlete of the week honor after a strong tri-meet against Springfield College and Union College.
Bart, a senior, won both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle races in Hartwick’s losses to Springfield (191-97) and Union (146-138). She swam the 50 freestyle in 24.70 seconds and the 100 freestyle in 54.74 seconds. Bart also swam in two relays for Hartwick. She swam the anchor leg of the second place 200 medley relay in 24.01, and that time put her into the Top 10 in program history for 50-yard splits. Bart’s 54.41 in the opening 100 yards of the 400 freestyle relay was the fastest split of the day and helped her relay team finish second.
Bart was named athlete of the week in the Empire 8 for the second time this season, having also done it back in October 2019.
Raheem Solomon, Niagara University basketball
This former Sacred Heart High School standout picked up the first double-double of his career in a tight 70-69 victory for the Purple Eagles against the Iona Gaels on Sunday.
Solomon, a sophomore, started for Niagara, scored 17 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds in 36 minutes. He shot 6-of-10 from the field, including a sizzling 5-of-5 from three-point range. Solomon also had three assists and a blocked shot. His 3-pointer with 4:08 remaining in the second half gave the Purple Eagles a 67-65 lead. Just 43 seconds before that, Solomon assisted on a Nick MacDonald 3-pointer that put Niagara ahead, 64-63.
After a layup by former Simsbury High standout E.J. Crawford (22 points) gave the lead back to Iona, 65-64, Solomon knocked down his clutch 3-pointer to put Niagara ahead.
It hasn’t been an easy season for the Purple Eagles (4-11), but Solomon helped give his team something to celebrate with his effort on Sunday.
Christopher LeBeau, Southern Connecticut State track and field
This former Bristol Eastern standout was lauded by the Northeast-10 Conference for his effort at St. Thomas Aquinas College’s Spartan Invite last Friday.
LeBeau, a junior, made the weekly honor roll after a great run in the 3,000 meters. He finished third in a time of 8:38.59, which made him the fastest Division II runner in the field. Only two runners from Division I Wagner College, Robert Guidicipietro (first, 8:29.60) and Ben Finnigan (second, 8:31.64), finished ahead of LeBeau.
Legend Johnson, Western Connecticut State basketball
This former Sacred Heart standout has been a steady presence off the bench for the Colonials (10-5) this season.
Johnson, a junior, has played in all 15 games (two starts) and is averaging 9.1 points per game in 20.7 minutes. He has connected on 44.4% of his two-point attempts (40-90), 40.5% of his three-point tries (15-37), and 79.2% of his foul shots (42-53).
On Jan. 9, Johnson had a season-high 18 points in 16 minutes (6-of-10 shooting, 5-of-5 free throws) in an 89-70 win over Rhode Island College.
D.J. Jarrett, Post University basketball
This former Kennedy standout has been a dependable player off the bench for the Eagles in his senior season.
Jarrett has played in all 15 games for Post (11-4) and is averaging 8.7 points in 15.5 minutes. He has made 39.5% of his three-point attempts (30-76) and 94.4% of his free throws (17-18). Jarrett averages 2.8 rebounds per game and has 14 steals on the season.
Jarrett’s best effort to date came on Nov. 10, 2019, when he scored 27 points in 20 minutes in a 90-87 victory over the University of Bridgeport. He was 7-of-13 from the floor, including 5-of-7 on three-point attempts. Jarrett made eight of his nine foul shots, pulled in four rebounds and claimed three steals.
Headshots and statistics are compiled from the college websites of each athlete.
