Monday, March 18, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. - Thirteen GNAC athletes have earned GNAC Red Lion (@redlionhotels) Player of the Week honors for the Week of Mar. 10-17. 

Among the honorees is McKayla Fricker of Seattle Pacific who ran a Division II-leading time of 2:09.90 to win the 800 meters at the Oregon Preview Saturday.

The honorees included:

Men’s Track & Field: Track – Andrew Venema, Central Washington (Sr. Bickleton, WA) finished second in the 110 hurdles at the Oregon Preview Saturday in the second quickest time in GNAC history.  His time of 14.77 was just .23 seconds off the GNAC record.   Field - Michael Davis, Saint Martin’s (So., Seattle, WA) and Cody Thomas, Alaska Anchorage (So., Blenheim, New Zealand) ... Davis won the triple jump at the Oregon Preview with a school record and provisional national qualifying leap of 48-1 ¼. His mark ranks sixth in GNAC history and seventh on the current NCAA Division II performance list.  Thomas won the decathlon at the Cal State Northridge Multi-Events with a total of 6,781 points.  That’s the second highest point total in GNAC history and currently ranks third nationally on the NCAA Division II performance list. Honorable Mention – Jeff Howard, Western Oregon; Frank Krause, Saint Martin’s. 

Women’s Track & Field: Track – McKayla Fricker, Seattle Pacific (Jr., Canby, OR) ran a Division II-leading time of 2:09.90 to win the 800 meters at the Oregon Preview. At the finish line, she was more than two seconds in front of runner-up Megan Patrignelli of Oregon. Fricker shattered her previous personal best of 2:11.57, set last April 21 at the Beach Invitational in Norwalk, Calif. She also ran the anchor leg on SPU's victorious 4x400 relay team. Her time ranks ninth in GNAC history.  Field -  Amanda Schumaker, Western Oregon (Sr., Gladstone, OR) won the javelin at Oregon with an automatic qualifying mark of 154-9.  That assures her of her fourth straight national meet appearance.  The three-time All-American placed sixth in 2010, eighth in 2011 and 3rd last year in the national meet. Honorable Mention – Tanya Bjornsson, Western Washington; Laura Tesch, Saint Martin’s; Ivy O’Guinn, Alaska Anchorage

Softball: Player – Jill McDaniels, Central Washington (2B, 5-8, Jr., Walla Walla, WA – WWCC) had eight hits in 12 at bats, including four home runs and 11 RBI as the Wildcats won three of four conference games. Seven of her RBI came in Sunday’s 15-14 win over Western Oregon, tying a CWU single-game record.  Pitcher - Sam Munger, Saint Martin’s (5-6, So., Everett, WA) and Kelsey Hawkins, Simon Fraser  (5-8, Jr., Victoria, BC) ... Munger made three appearances including one in relief recording two wins and a 0.45 ERA.  In 15 2/3 innings she allowed 11 singles and  three runs (one earned).  She walked two and fanned nine.  In Saturday’s 2-1 win over Central Washington, she gave up three hits and a run in the first inning, but went on to retire 17 of the next 18 batters before giving up a two-out single to a pinch hitter in the bottom of seventh.   Hawkins allowed just two hits in pitching the Clan to a 7-0 shutout of Western Washington.  She didn’t walk a batter and fanned 10.  Honorable Mention – Taviah Jenkins, Saint Martin’s; Alex Baylak, Simon Fraser; Maria Gau, Central Washington.

Baseball: Player - Ethan Sterkel, Central Washington (OF, 6-2, Jr., Ellensburg, WA) had nine hits in 15 at bats, including a double and triple leading the Wildcats to a four-game sweep of Saint Martin’s. He also scored a team-best five runs as the Wildcats outscored the Saints 27-9 hitting .364 in the series. Pitcher – Travis Vincent, MSU Billings (6-1, 235, Sr., McMinnville, WA – Linn-Benton) allowed just two hits and did not give up a run in two relief appearances covering 4 1/3 innings.  In Friday’s 13-11 win over Northwest Nazarene, he pitched the final two innings allowing one hit earning the victory when the Yellowjackets rallied from a 11-5 deficit.  He then pitched two more scoreless innings, in Saturday’s 4-2 loss, lowering his season ERA to 1.20.  In 11 appearances, covering 15 innings, he has allowed just 11 hits and has a 2-0 record.    

Men’s Golf: Gage Huft, MSU Billings (So., Kimberly, Idaho) and Ben Fosnick, Saint Martin’s (So., Lakewood, WA) ... Huft won the Yellowjacket Spring Invitational, defeating North Idaho College's Austin Westphal on the first playoff hole after the two tied with 36-hole totals of 148. Huft finished the tournament with seven birdies and was four-under on par-five holes.  He currently ranks second in the GNAC in scoring with a 73.0 average.  Fosnick finished fourth in the Notre Dame de Namur Invitational with a 54-hole total of 222, firing a two-under par 70 in the final round to lead the Saints to a second-place team finish.  The Saints were the only team to break 300 in the third round finishing with a team score of 290 as SMU came back from a 14-shot deficit to Dallas Baptist to edge the Texas school  by two shots for second place.

Women’s Golf: Katie Fish, MSU Billings (So., Great Falls, MT)  shot a pair of six-over par rounds of 79 to finish third with a 36-hole total of 158 and lead the Yellowjackets to a team title in the MSUB Yellowjacket Spring Invitational.  Fish ranks fourth in the GNAC in scoring this season with a 81.6 average.