GNAC Sports

Saturday, Oct. 22

Cross Country: Seawolves, Keino, Chelimo Win GNAC


Chelimo	Keino

Micah Chelimo and Ruth Keino won individual titles to lead defending champion Alaska Anchorage to the men's and women's team titles Saturday in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference cross country championships at the Apple Ridge Run Cross Country Facility near Yakima.

Chelimo won the men's 8,000 meters in a time of 24:24, finishing seven seconds ahead of second-place Barak Watson of Northwest Nazarene.

The Seawolves placed five runners in the Top 10 to win their fifth men's team title in the 11-year history of the meet with a total of 27 points. Western Washington placed second with 63 points.

Keino won the women's 6,000 meters in a time of 21:26, becoming just the seventh woman in the history of the GNAC to earn all-conference honors (with a Top 10 finish) four times.

Alaska Anchorage, which won its third straight women's team title outpointing Simon Fraser 31-76, placed three runners in the top four including Miriam Kipng'eno and Ivy O'Guinn who finished third and fourth, respectively.

SFU broke up the UAA domination getting a second place finish from Jessica Smith in a time of 21:39 and a fifth from Lindsey Butterworth.

Tyler Cannon of Western Washington and Dylan Anthony of Alaska Anchorage earned GNAC Male Newcomer and Freshman-of-the-Year honors by finishing fifth and seventh, respectively.

Former soccer player Heidi Laabs-Johnson of Seattle Pacific, who placed eighth, and Bryn Haebe of Alaska Anchorage, who finished 13th, received the GNAC Female Newcomer and Freshman-of-the-Year award, respectively.

By virtue of their first-place finishes, Chelimo and Keino were crowned the GNAC Male and Female Athletes-of-the-Year.

In addition to Keino, eight other athletes were repeat all-conference selections.

On the women's side, Kipng'eno, Natty Plunkett of Seattle Pacific and Lauren Breihof of Western Washington finished in the Top 10 for the third time. Plunkett placed seventh and Breihof finished ninth.

On the men's side, Chelimo, Watson, Kyle Van Santen of Saint Martin's (3rd) and Alfred Kangogo of Alaska Anchorage (4th) each earned their third Top 10 finish.

SMU's Spencer Hunt, who placed eighth, finished in the Top 10 for the second year in a row.

GNAC Championships (Oct. 22 at Yakima): Men - Alaska Anchorage 27, Western Washington 63, Western Oregon 80, Northwest Nazarene 139, Saint Martin's 151, Seattle Pacific 161, Simon Fraser 193, Central Washington 203, Montana State Billings 220, Alaska Fairbanks 228. All-Conference (8,000 Meters) - 1. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 24:24; 2. Barak Watson, NNU, 24:31; 3. Kyle Van Santen, SMU, 25:00; 4. Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 25:13; 5. Tyler Cannon, WWU, 25:18; 6. Yonatan Yilma, UAA, 25:18; 7. Dylan Anthony, UAA; 25:32; 8. Spencer Hunt, SMU; 25:38; 9. Isaac Kangogo, UAA, 25:41; 10. Dak Riek, WWU, 25:44. Women - Alaska Anchorage 31, Simon Fraser 76, Western Washington 87, Alaska Fairbanks 97, Seattle Pacific 110, Northwest Nazarene 173, Western Oregon 196, Montana State Billings 234, Saint Martin's 236, Central Washington 269. All-Conference (6,000 Meters) - 1.Ruth Keino, UAA, 21:26; 1. Jessica Smith, SFU, 21:39; 3. Miriam Kipng'eno, UAA, 22:12; 4. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 22:24; 5. Lindsey Butterworth, SFU, 22:36; 6. Theresia Schnurr, UAF, 22:44; 7. Natty Plunkett, SPU, 22:44; 8. Heidi Laabs-Johnson, SPU, 22:44; 9. Lauren Breihof, WWU, 22:45; 10. Whitney Mickelsen, MSU, 22:51.

Volleyball: Contenders All Win in GNAC Race

Wodrich

Lindsay Wodrich had 14 kills leading No. 23 Seattle Pacific to a 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 sweep of Western Oregon Saturday.

The win kept the Falcons (16-5, 10-2) tied for first place in the GNAC with Alaska Anchorage, which defeated Simon Fraser, 25-17, 25-14, 22-25, 25-13.

Western Washington (12-5, 10-3) and Northwest Nazarene (14-5, 9-3) stayed on the heals of the co-leaders with wins. The Vikings remained one-half match back with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-19 win at Alaska Fairbanks.

The Crusaders stayed just one back defeating Central Washington, 25-21, 25-16, 25-21 for its seventh consecutive win. In another match Saturday, Saint Martin's (5-14, 4-9) swept Montana State Billings, 25-22, 25-16, 25-19.

Seattle Pacific, which also got 12 kills from Cailin Fellows, has won six straight matches against Western Oregon (9-8, 8-5), the last four of them in sweeps.

The Falcons outhit Western Oregon .238 to .171. Setter Shelby Swanson had 32 assists and 15 digs. Nikki Lowell had nine kills and Anna Herold had 24 digs.

Danielle Reese led the Wolves with 11 kills. Samantha Ward was also in double figures with 10.

Jackie Matthisen and Robyn Burton combined for 35 kills in Alaska Anchorage's victory. Matthisen had 18 kills and also contributed 14 digs, while Burton had 17 kills and four blocks.

Burton hit for a .556 percentage (17-2-27), while Matthisen had a .357 attack rate (18-3-42). Setter Kimya Jafroudi had 45 assists and three service aces,

Kelsey Robinson and Kristjana Fridfinnson each had seven kills for Simon Fraser (1-16, 1-12). Fridfinnson and Madeline Hait had four blocks each.

Marlayna Geary had 13 kills to lead Western Washington to its sweep of Alaska Fairbanks. Emily Jepsen chipped in with eight kills and had a match high five blocks.

The Vikings also got nine kills from Kelsey Moore and eight from Breanne Graham, who had no errors in 16 attempts.

Keri Knight led the Nanooks (2-18, 2-10) with 12 kills and Karlee Skalla had nine kills.

Becky Flores had 10 kills, five blocks and a team-best .364 percentage in its victory against Central Washington (11-9, 5-7). Haley Abbott matched Flores for most points with 13. She had nine kills and eight assisted blocks.

Carly Dranginis also had nine kills as NNU outhit the Wildcats .242 to .144. Jordan Offutt accounted for 42 percent of CWU's kills with a match-high 16.

Kristyn Ross had 14 kills to lead Saint Martin's past MSU Billings (9-12, 3-9). Katy Ferguson had eight kills and five blocks.

The Yellowjackets were led by Monica Grimsrud with 12 kills and Melissa Porter with 11.

Men's Soccer: Seattle Pacific Topples Saint Martin's 3-0

Schultz

Tyler Schultz posted his second straight multi-goal game and Zach Johnson got his sixth consecutive shutout as Seattle Pacific defeated Saint Martin's 3-0 Saturday at the SMU Soccer Field.

The win kept the 20th ranked Falcons (11-2-2, 5-1-1) just five points back of top-ranked Simon Fraser (14-0-0, 7-0-0) in the GNAC race prior to their game this Thursday at Interbay Stadium.

Simon Fraser stayed unbeaten Saturday with a 1-0 home win against Montana State Billings. Meanwhile, Northwest Nazarene (6-9-1, 1-8-0) earned its first conference victory by defeating Western Washington 2-1 at Orca Field.

Johnson stopped three shots en route to his 10th shutout of the season. He has not surrendered a goal in the last 577 minutes.

Schultz scored on the game's first shot after just 1:51 had ticked off the clock. He directed an eight-yard strike into the left side of the goal off the league-leading eighth assist from Drew Williams.

In the second half, Schultz capped the scoring with 3:15 left to play, converting a penalty kick after being fouled in the box. Schultz leads the league with 13 goals and five of them came during the last three outings.

Kyle Smurdon found the goal for the second straight game, slipping a 15-yard shot in at 37:37 after a pass from Evan Robicheau.

Goalkeeper JJ Olson made five saves for the Saints (4-9-2, 3-3-1), who were outshot 16-6.

Michael Winter scored the game's only goal in Simon Fraser's victory. Winter scored in the 11th minute taking a cross from Matt Besuschko and heading the ball into the back of the net for his third goal of the season.

Cory Champney had an opportunity in the 38th minute to even the match, but Clan keeper Sheldon Steenhuis came up with the save.

The Clan, who had their string of games in which they had scored four or more goals ended at six, outshot MSUB 18-5.

Steenhuis had two saves in recording the shutout. Eoin Hurley had six saves for the Yellowjackets (6-8-2,. 2-5-2), who had a six-game unbeaten streak snapped.

Chris Voth scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime in Northwest Nazarene's victory against Western Washington.

Western held a 1-0 lead at halftime, but Voth headed home a Daniel Starbuck free kick less than two minutes into the second half.

Voth then won the game in the fourth minute of overtime, taking a pass from Nate Hamm into the penalty area then finishing from 10 yards with the outside of his right foot.

The Vikings (5-8-0, 3-4-0) grabbed the early lead in the 13th minute as Tye Hastings got a pass from Jin Dangvan and drove a shot from 18 yards into the lower right corner.

Western Washington outshot Northwest Nazarene 19-6, but NNU's Zander Engeman made eight saves to set up Voth's late-game heroics.

Women's Soccer: SPU Closes In On Conference Title

Zakrzewski

Kellie Zakrzewski scored a pair of first-half goals starting Seattle Pacific on its way to a 3-0 win at Western Oregon Saturday.

The Falcons (13-2, 10-1) need just one win in their final three games to capture their third consecutive GNAC championship and clinch their eighth consecutive NCAA Division II playoff berth.

Montana State Billings and Western Washington also posted victories Saturday. The Yellowjackets moved back into second place with a last-second 2-1 win at Simon Fraser.

Western Washington scored twice in each half in a 4-0 home win over Northwest Nazarene.

Zakrzewski posted her third multi-goal performance in the last five games. She also tallied two goals against Western Washington (Oct. 15) and Central Washington (Oct. 7).

Zakrzewski scored SPU's first goal at 27:05 off a GNAC-leading eighth assist from Kelsey Jenkins.

A quick give-and-go pass set up a one-on-one situation with the WOU goalkeeper and Zakrzewski capitalized by slipping the ball inside the left post.

An unassisted goal at 37:26 was Zakrzewski's eighth, tying her with Megan Lindsay for the team lead. She gathered a loose ball in the goalmouth and pushed it in from six yards out.

Mackenzie Laird got the lone second-half goal. She first-timed a curving, 17-yard shot into the upper right corner at 67:37 for her third score of the season. Brandi Hamre was credited with an assist.

Goalkeeper Brooke Yokers registered her fourth consecutive shutout. She recorded three of her four saves in the first half for the Falcons, who blanked their 10th opponent.

Brittney Rigtrup had seven saves for the Wolves (5-7-3, 4-5-2), who were outshot 17-10.

All three goals in Montana State Billings' win at Simon Fraser came in the final 86 seconds of the contest in heavy fog.

The Jackets broke through at 88:34 when Kristen Kastelic got her head on the ball and beat SFU keeper Amelia Ng.

Simon Fraser, however, quickly leveled the contest, as Lia Marining scored on a corner kick with 14 seconds left in regulation.

MSUB then just barely beat the game clock as Whitney Siler sent a perfect ball into Jaucelyn Richter and Richter blasted a shot past Ng with just one second remaining. It was her eighth goal of the season.

The Yellowjackets controlled the shot count with a 15-10 edge. They also took seven of the nine corner kicks. MSUB goalie Danielle Gordon had three saves, while Ng had seven.

Freshman forward Taylor Abrass scored her first collegiate goal and had an assist in Western Washington's victory.

WWU, which had a 26-9 advantage in shots, ran its unbeaten streak against the Crusaders to 17 (16-0-1) and upped its series advantage to 23-1-1. The Vikings' only loss to NNU came in 2003.

Katie Stauffer opened the scoring in the 18th minute, putting a shot inside the far post after taking a cross from Brian Sych.

Less than 12 minutes later, Joanna Houplin tapped the ball in from 10 yards. Kim Cooper earned the assist.

In the 73rd minute, Abrass got a through ball from Kelly Cates at midfield and scored after a long run.

Megan Chapin scored in the final minute as Brianna Jones connected on a long pass to Abrass, who crossed to Chapin for the tap-in goal.

WWU goalkeeper Jamie Arthurs made four saves in registering her eighth shutout of the season.