ALFRED, N.Y. – Ana Ion (Bucharest, Romania/Episcopal School of Jacksonville) was named the 2020-21 Empire 8 Women's Outdoor Track & Field Rookie of the Year on Monday after an official announcement by Associate Commissioner, Joe Venniro, after tallying up the votes from the conference coaches.
 
"I am very excited for Ana. To be voted as the rookie of the year by the league coaches shows just how much of an impression she has made in her first year in the Empire 8 Conference for track & field," Head Coach Dr. Angie Taylor said. "There were some outstanding rookies this year and to come out on top as number one is fantastic. Before the season begun, Ana expressed how she wanted to break the school record in the heptathlon. So, we put a plan together to help her achieve her goal. She worked very hard and was dedicated giving 100 percent effort for every event all season. It was so rewarding to see her break the record at the AARTFC championships as it came down to the grueling 800 meters where she ran a personal best."
 
Ion was named the Co-Field Athlete of the Meet during the Empire 8 Outdoor Championships at St. John Fisher College after earning a spot on the podium in all seven of her events, including two All-Empire 8 Second Team finishes in the 100-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 16.71 and another personal best distance in the javelin with a toss of 29.35m. Ion also broke a personal best in the long jump with a mark of 5.06m for fourth place. She was Top-5 in all of her events.
 
In the following outing, Ion finished sixth in the heptathlon during the All-Atlantic Regional Track & Field Championships (AARTFC) also at Fisher, scoring a school record mark of 3,745 points, just three points away from taking fifth place and joining fellow Saxon, Madison Palmer (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) as a member of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III All-Regional athlete, as Palmer finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 12.63m.
 
Ion also qualified for the finals in the triple jump during AARTFC with a personal best hop-skip-jump of 10.99m but due to having to compete across the street in the heptathlon shot put, couldn't compete in the finals and settled for ninth place.
 
Out of Ion's events, she finished ranked in the Empire 8 in the following:

• 200-meter dash – 20^th (29.21)
• 800-meter run – 19^th – (2:39.10)
• 100-meter hurdles – 3^rd (16.40)
• High jump – 4^th (1.51m – 4'11.5")
• Long jump – 6^th (5.06m – 16'7.25")
• Triple jump – t2^nd (10.99m – 36'0.75")
• Shot put – 9^th (10.77m – 35'4")
• Javelin – 3^rd (29.35m – 96'3")
• Heptathlon – 2^nd (3,745 points)

 
Ion also was 59^th in the country in heptathlon and 91^st in the triple jump for all of NCAA Division III.

In addition, Holly Passetti (Tioga, N.Y./Tioga Central) and Kyle Jenkins (Marcellus, N.Y./West Genesee) were both named as the Empire 8 Outdoor Track and Field Sportswoman and Sportsman of the year, respectively. The Empire 8 Conference 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. Passetti and Jenkins have distinguished themselves, consistently exhibiting the critical traits as an outstanding sportspeople.