Monday, September 16, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – Northwest Nazarene’s Rikki Myers accomplished a scoring feat never before seen in conference history, earning her spot both in the record books and in the honor roll of GNAC Player of the Week award winners.

The junior forward was named the Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after she scored four goals in the Nighthawks’ 6-2 rout of Cal State East Bay on Saturday. That set a record for goals in a single match, surpassing the three goals that had been accomplished 60 times. For the week, Myers scored five goals in a pair of wins as the Nighthawks improved to 3-1 on the season.

Western Washington junior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx earned the Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week award after she posted her third shutout of the season with a 1-0 defeat of Sonoma State on Thursday. She made three saves against 13 shots in the match. In the three matches, Dierickx has yet to allow a goal in 270 minutes played.

Montana State Billings swept the men’s soccer weekly awards after going 1-1 in their own Rimrock Classic. Sophomore forward/midfielder Andres Perez earned Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honors after he came off the bench to score a pair of goals in Sunday’s 4-0 shutout of South Dakota Mines. Freshman goalkeeper Jessy Martin repeated as the Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week after he made eight saves in two matches and recorded his first career shutout against the Hardrockers.

Western Washington senior middle blocker Kayleigh Harper provided the Vikings their second-straight Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week award. Harper finished the week with a .520 hitting percentage and averaged four kills and 1.43 blocks per set as the Vikings swept their matches in the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase. Named to the All-Tournament Team, Harper finished with highs of 23 kills and eight blocks in Saturday’s five-set win over Hawaii Hilo and had a .500 or better hitting percentage in all four matches.

Central Washington senior libero Kyla Morgan earned the Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week honor after she averaged 6.50 digs per set as the Wildcats went 3-1 in the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase. Named to the All-Tournament Team, Morgan had 33 digs and six assists in a five-set win over Cal State LA on Friday and then had her tournament high of 35 digs in a five-set loss to Azusa Pacific, also on Friday.

Western Oregon picked up two of the three football weekly awards after its close 34-27 loss at home to No. 12 Texas A&M Commerce. Senior quarterback Ty Currie was named the Football Offensive Player of the Week after he completed 16 of 32 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown and also rushed eight times for 27 yards and a touchdown. His scoring pass was a 78-yard strike to Thomas Wright in the fourth quarter.

Junior kicker Andrew Gross was named the Football Special Teams Player of the Week after he went 3 of 3 on point-after attempts, kicked off six times for an average of 62.6 yards per kick and punted four times for an average of 37.8 yards per punt.

Central Washington junior linebacker Hamilton Hunt earned the school’s second-straight Football Defensive Player of the Week award after finishing with 11 tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble in the Wildcats’ 62-28 loss to No. 2 Ferris State.

Both Cross Country Athletes of the Week came from the CWU Invitational, held Saturday in Yakima, Washington. Simon Fraser senior Carlos Vargas earned the men’s award after he finished second with a time of 19:06.74 over 6,000 meters to lead the Clan to the team title. Western Washington junior Jane Barr was the women’s winner after she placed third in a time of 15:14.7 over 4,000 meters, leading the Vikings to a second-place team finish.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 3
FOOTBALL
Offensive: Ty Currie (Western Oregon, QB, 6-2, 205, Sr., Yreka, Calif. – Yreka): Currie completed 16 of 32 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 27 yards on eight carries in the Wolves’ close 34-27 loss to No. 12 Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday. His rushing touchdown came on a fourth-down play in the second quarter while his passing touchdown came on a 78-yard strike to Thomas Wright in the fourth quarter that put the Wolves up 27-20. Also Nominated: Brandon Jackson (Azusa Pacific), Michael Roots (Central Washington), Ethan Beselt (Simon Fraser).

Defensive: Hamilton Hunt (Central Washington, LB, 6-0, 230, Jr., Salem, Ore. – Oregon State Univ.): Hunt finished with a strong all-around defensive game in the Wildcats’ 62-28 loss to No. 2 Ferris State. Hunt finished with 11 tackles (6 solo, 5 assisted) to go along with a sack, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. The Wildcats converted the fumble into a touchdown on the very next play. Also Nominated: Lucas Oligati (Azusa Pacific), Griffin Barrett (Simon Fraser), Derek Parnell (Western Oregon).

Special Teams: Andrew Gross (Western Oregon, K/P, 6-1, 180, Jr., Gladstone, Ore. – Corban Univ.): Gross converted on all three point-after attempts for Western Oregon against Texas A&M-Commerce. He also punted four times, averaging 37.8 yards per punt with a 50-yard long punt and one inside the 20-yard line. Gross also kicked off five times, averaging 62.6 yards per kick. Also Nominated: Ramzee Jardily (Azusa Pacific), Eric Wilkes (Central Washington).

MEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Andres Perez (Montana State Billings, F/M, 5-8, So., Pittsburg, Calif. – Pittsburg): Perez was the prime mover in the Montana State Billings defense against South Dakota Mines on Sunday, scoring two goals in the Yellowjackets’ 4-0 shutout to close the Rimrock Classic. Perez had a total of four shots in the team’s two matches last week, all coming in reserve roles. Also Nominated: Brendan Luan (Concordia), Brandon Madsen (Saint Martin’s).

Defensive: Jessy Martin (Montana State Billings, GK, 5-11, Fr., Chateauroux, France – Blaise Pascal): Martin allowed two goals in two matches and finished with eight saves in the Rimrock Classic. He made five saves in Friday’s 2-0 loss to Humboldt State on Friday and made three as he recorded his first shutout on Sunday in a 4-0 blanking of South Dakota Mines. Also Nominated: Dylan Shaw (Saint Martin’s).

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Rikki Myers (Northwest Nazarene, F, 5-7, Jr., Mill Creek, Wash. – Henry M. Jackson): Myers finished with five goals in a pair of home wins over Hawaii Hilo on Thursday and Cal State East Bay on Saturday. Myers scored the opening goal in the seventh minute on Thursday. She then proceeded to score a GNAC single-match record four goals in the Nighthawks’ 6-2 rout of Cal State East Bay on Saturday. Myers surpassed the conference record of three goals, which had been accomplished 60 times before. Also Nominated: Olivia Sloan (Central Washington), Kyra Radcliffe (Concordia), Kiersten Madsen (Saint Martin’s), Jenna Killman (Western Washington).

Defensive: Natalie Dierickx (Western Washington, GK, 5-7, Jr., Kirkland, Wash. – Colorado State Univ.): Dierickx made three saves against 13 shots as Western Washington improved to 3-0 with a 1-0 shutout of Sonoma State on Thursday. In three matches this season, Dierickx has played all 270 minutes and has yet to yield a goal. Also Nominated: Megan Fox (Central Washington), Erinn Harder (Montana State Billings), Alexis Montoya (Northwest Nazarene), Sophie Mendoza (Saint Martin’s), Nicole Anderson (Simon Fraser).

VOLLEYBALL
Offensive: Kayleigh Harper (Western Washington, MB, 6-3, Sr., Oak Harbor, Wash. – Oak Harbor): Harper was named to the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase All-Tournament Team after she finished with a .520 hitting percentage, 56 kills and 20 blocks as Western Washington improved to 8-0 on the year. She averaged four kills and 1.43 blocks per set. Harper finished with highs of 23 kills and eight blocks in Saturday’s five-set win over Hawaii Hilo. She added 12-kill efforts against both Cal Poly Pomona and Chaminade and had a .500 hitting percentage in all four matches. Also Nominated: Eve Stephens (Alaska Anchorage), Makala Swart (Central Washington), Katelyn Brandenburg (Concordia), Abbey Blum (Northwest Nazarene), Kylie Coon (Saint Martin’s), Julia Tays (Simon Fraser), Sianna DeCarli (Western Oregon).

Defensive: Kyla Morgan (Central Washington, DS/L, 5-4, Sr., Graham, Wash. – Bethel): Morgan was named to the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase after she finished 104 digs in four matches, averaging 6.50 digs per set, as the Wildcats went 3-1 in the tournament. She finished with 33 digs and six assists in Friday’s five-set win over Cal State LA and then notched her week’s high of 35 digs in a five-set loss to Azusa Pacific later in the day. Morgan closed the tourney with 24 digs in a three-set sweep of Hawaii Pacific on Saturday. Also Nominated: Vera Pluharova (Alaska Anchorage), Callie Wilkins (Concordia), Brooke Foster (Northwest Nazarene), Kylie Alos (Saint Martin’s), Allie Spear (Western Oregon), Calley Heilborn (Western Washington).

CROSS COUNTRY
Men: Carlos Vargas (Simon Fraser, Sr., Brossard, Que. – College Jean de la Mennais): Vargas averaged 5 minutes, 7 seconds per mile as he finished second in the men’s 6,000-meter race at the CWU Invitational on Saturday. Vargas finished in a time of 19:06.74 to lead three top-five finishes for the GNAC in the meet. He led Simon Fraser to the team title with 26 points. Also Nominated: Donovan Barnhart (Central Washington), Logan Straus (Montana State Billings), Godfrey Kemboi (Northwest Nazarene), Andrew Oslin (Saint Martin’s), Macauley Franks (Western Washington).

Women: Jane Barr (Western Washington, Jr., Seattle, Wash. – Roosevelt): Barr placed third at the women’s 4,000-meter race at the CWU Invitational on Saturday. She finished in a time of 15:14.7, averaging 6 minutes, 8 seconds per mile to lead three top-five GNAC finishers. Barr led the Vikings to a second-place team finish with 44 points. Also Nominated: Lily Tyrrell (Central Washington), Bethany Danner (Northwest Nazarene), Elaina Hansen (Saint Martin’s), Olivia Willett (Simon Fraser).