Tuesday, September 6, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – A number of big-time performances against Division I-FCS competition on the football field leads the first list of selections for Great Northwest Athletic Conference Players of the Week for the 2016-17 academic year.

Wide receiver Jesse Zalk and defensive back Jackson Huerta of Central Washington were tapped for football offensive and defensive awards for their roles in the Wildcats’ hard-fought 43-26 loss at No. 17 Portland State. Zalk caught three touchdown passes and finished with 181 receiving yards, the fourth best single game total in school history. Huerta came up with 15 tackles, including 14 solo tackles, and had a forced fumble.

Zalk shared Offensive Player of the Week honors with Humboldt State’s Robert Webber, who completed 24 of 33 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns in the Lumberjacks’ high-flying 52-45 win on Thursday over Carson-Newman.

Western Oregon’s Paul Revis was selected as the Special Teams Player of the Week for his work in the Wolves’ 38-30 upset at Division I-FCS Sacramento State. After scoring the game’s first touchdown on a 19-yard scoring pass in the first quarter, he proceeded to return a punt 74 yards for the touchdown to put the visitors up 14-0. Revis finished with 175 all-purpose yards, including 111 yards on a pair of punt returns. In the process, Revis became the GNAC career leader in punt return touchdowns (3) and moved up to fifth on the GNAC career list for punt return yardage.

Northwest Nazarene’s Logan Wood and Western Washington’s Tyler Visten earned selection as the Men’s Soccer Players of the Week. Wood earned the offensive honor for his two goals and two assists in the Crusaders’ 1-0-1 week, which included a goal and two assists in their 4-2 win on Saturday over Dominican. Visten registered a clean sheet for the weekend to earn the defensive honor, recording nine saves over two matches. He had a high nine saves in Western Washington’s 1-0 shutout at Chico State on Thursday.

Simon Fraser’s Emma Pringle and Seattle Pacific’s Molly Stinson earned the Women’s Soccer Player of the Week awards. Pringle, playing in her first collegiate match, scored both of the Clan’s goals in their 2-0 shutout of Academy of Art on Thursday. Stinson, meanwhile, did not allow a goal in 199 minutes while making nine saves as the Falcons opened the season with 1-0 neutral site victories over Humboldt State on Thursday and Dixie State on Saturday.

Montana State Billings outside hitter Ashlynn Ward was named Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week after she finished with 67 kills, a .369 hitting percentage, 21 digs and 10 blocks in four matches. She had a weekend high of 21 kills in the Yellowjackets’ four-set match at Chaminade on Friday. Northwest Nazarene’s Shayli Siegfreid earned the volleyball defensive honor after she finished with 83 digs in three matches as the Crusaders went 3-0 at the Dixie State Tournament. Siegfreid had a weekend high of 34 digs and two aces in a five-set win over the Trailblazers on Friday.

Both of the first Cross Country Athletes of the Week were individual race champions. Western Oregon’s David Ribich earned the men’s honor after he posted an 11-second victory against Division I competition at the John Frank Oregon State Invitational. Saint Martin’s Shannon Porter earned the women’s award after she won the Logger Invitational on Saturday by 58 seconds. It was her first ever collegiate cross country meet.

Week one of the GNAC’s Player of the Week awards recognized 12 athletes from nine member schools. Central Washington, Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon each had two selections apiece.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 1
FOOTBALL
Offensive: Robert Webber (Humboldt State, QB, 5-9, 180, Jr., Corona, Calif. – Corona Centennial): Webber completed 24 of 33 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns to lead Humboldt State to a 52-45 season-opening road win at Carson-Newman on Thursday. It was Webber’s second-best career performance as he threw his touchdown passes to three different receivers and hit eight different targets in all.

Jesse Zalk (Central Washington, WR/KR, 5-8, 164, Sr., Battle Ground, Wash. – Prairie): In a hard-fought 43-26 loss to No. 17 (Division I-FCS) Portland State, Zalk finished with 271 all-purpose yards. He went off for a career-high 181 receiving yards, the fourth best individual performance in school history, and caught three touchdown passes, including one 63-yard reception. Zalk also returned five kicks for 90 yards. Also Nominated: Kurt Scoby (Azusa Pacific), Malik Braxton (Western Oregon).

Defensive: Jackson Huerta (Central Washington, DB, 5-10, 194, Sr., Covington, Wash. – Kentwood): Huerta finished with 15 tackles, including 14 solo tackles, and had a forced fumble (which resulted in an eventual touchdown) in the Wildcats 43-26 loss to Portland State. Also Nominated: Bo Highburger (Western Oregon), Mykal Walker (Azusa Pacific), Jordan Herdman (Simon Fraser).

Special Teams: Paul Revis (Western Oregon, WR/KR, 5-9, 165, Jr., Scappoose, Ore. – Scappoose): Revis returned two punts for 111 yards, including a first quarter punt 74 yards for a touchdown to help lead the Wolves past Division I-FCS Sacramento State, 38-30, and set the GNAC career record for punt return touchdowns (3). The junior scored the first two touchdowns of the game as he also caught a 19-yard scoring pass with 4:41 left in the first quarter. Revis finished with 175 all-purpose yards, including 60 receiving yards on seven catches. Also Nominated: James Clark (Humboldt State), Jamie Cacciatore (Azusa Pacific).

MEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Logan Wood (Northwest Nazarene, F, 6-0, 165, So., Maple Valley, Wash. - Tahoma): Wood finished with two goals and two assists as the Crusaders went 1-0-1 on the opening weekend. He scored the game-tying goal in Thursday’s 2-2 tie with Hawaii Pacific and netted a goal and two assists in NNU’s 4-2 win on Saturday over Dominican. Also Nominated: Kyle Witzel (Saint Martin’s), Kiernan McMinn (Concordia), Ryan Dhillon (Simon Fraser).

Defensive: Tyler Visten (Western Washington, GK, 5-11, 185, Jr., Mount Vernon, Wash. – Skagit Valley CC): Visten registered a pair of clean sheets in two matches, recording nine saves in the process. He turned away nine shots in Thursday’s 1-0 shutout of Chico State and added two saves as the Vikings fought to a 0-0 tie on Saturday with Sonoma State. Also Nominated: Steven Garcia (Northwest Nazarene), Griffin Small (Saint Martin’s), Grant Alcorn (Concordia).

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Emma Pringle (Simon Fraser, F, 5-8, Fr., North Vancouver, B.C. – Windsor): Pringle had a great start to her collegiate career, scoring both goals for Simon Fraser in their 2-0 shutout of Academy of Art on Thursday. Both goals came in the second half as the Clan outshot the Urban Knights 27-2. Also Nominated: Ashley Cook-Cox (Northwest Nazarene), Kelli Bannerman (Saint Martin’s), Hailey Berg (Western Oregon), Sydney Van Steenberge (Concordia), Jessica Haga (Central Washington).

Defensive: Molly Stinson (Seattle Pacific, GK, 6-0, Jr., Woodinville, Wash. – Woodinville): Stinson posted a pair of shutouts as the Falcons went 2-0-0 in neutral site matches in Portland over the weekend. She made four saves in 109 minutes of action in Thursday’s 1-0 double-overtime win over Humboldt State and added four stops in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Dixie State. Stinson has now run her streatk of consecutive regular season shutouts to five. Also Nominated: Ashley Homer (Western Washington), Daniele Ortiz (Northwest Nazarene), Taylor Gersch (Saint Martin’s), Caitlyn Kastelic (Western Oregon), Ana Delgadillo (Concordia), Lili Delgadillo (Montana State Billings), Emily Holt (Central Washington).

VOLLEYBALL
Offensive: Ashlynn Ward (Montana State Billings, OH, 6-1, Sr., Rexburg, Idaho – Madison): Ward finished the four-match with 67 kills, a .369 hitting percentage, 21 digs and 10 blocks. She finished with no fewer than 14 kills in any of the four matches, topped by a 21-kill performance in Friday’s four-set match at Chaminade. Also Nominated: Brenna Huwe (Concordia), Kendra Bodine (Northwest Nazarene), Abby Phelps (Western Washington), Tamara Nipp (Simon Fraser), Alisha Bettinson (Western Oregon), Amberly Jeane (Alaska), Gabby Oddo (Seattle Pacific), Morgan Hooe (Alaska Anchorage).

Defensive: Shayli Siegfreid (Northwest Nazarene, L, 5-5, So., Highland Ranch, Colo – Highland Ranch): Siegfreid finished with 83 digs in three matches as the Crusaders went undefeated to win the Dixie State Tournament. She averaged 6.92 digs per set and had a weekend-high of 34 digs and two service aces in Northwest Nazarene’s five-set win over Dixie State on Friday. Also Nominated: Colby Barnette (Concordia), Christie Colasurdo (Western Oregon), Rachel Nichols (Alaska).

CROSS COUNTRY
Men: David Ribich (Western Oregon, Jr., Enterprise, Ore. – Enterprise): Against Division I competition, Ribich opened the season with a victory at Friday’s John Frank Oregon State Invitational. He covered the 6-kilometer course in 18:21.6 (4:56 per mile pace). Ribich won by 11 seconds over Logan Orndorf of Portland. Also Nominated: Edwin Kangogo (Alaska Anchorage), Skyler Larson (Saint Martin’s), Judd Lewis (Concordia), Godfrey Kemboi (Northwest Nazarene).

 Women: Shannon Porter (Saint Martin’s, Sr., Vancouver, Wash. – Treasure Valley CC): Porter posted a 58-second victory at the Puget Sound Invitational, covering the 6,000-meter course in a time of 20:35.17 (5:31 per mile pace). She led the Saints to the team title with a score of 29 points. It was first collegiate cross country meet for the talented track distance performer. Also Nominated: Caroline Kurgat (Alaska Anchorage) Nicole Maurmann (Western Oregon), Nicole Pederson (Concordia), Sierra Manzer (Northwest Nazarene).