Monday, March 14, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – In a week where Mother Nature was clearly the top performer, indoor track and field All-Americans topped this week’s list of GNAC Player of the Week selections.

Co-Athlete of the Week selections were made for both men’s and women’s track. Dominik Notz of Alaska Anchorage was selected for his two fourth place finishes in the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships, earning All-American honors in both. Notz’s time in the 5,000 meters of 14:09.26 moves the senior to No. 2 on the GNAC all-time list. Western Oregon’s David Ribich shared the honor after he placed fourth and earned All-American honors in the mile with a time of 4:14.22. His time of 4:06.36 in the preliminaries is a GNAC indoor record.

Seattle Pacific’s Lynelle Decker was one of two Women’s Track Athlete of the Week selections, ending her collegiate indoor career with three All-American trophies. She placed second in the 800 meters at the Division II Championships with a lifetime best time of 2:07.52, moving to No. 3 on the GNAC all-time list. She also ran the second leg on the Falcons’ third place 4x400 relay team and the leadoff leg on their fourth place distance medley relay team. Joyce Chelimo of Alaska Anchorage shared the award after placing second in the 5,000 meters and sixth in the 3,000 meters, earning All-American honors in both events.

Saint Martin’s Mikel Smith was named the Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after he placed second in the high jump at the national indoor meet. He was part of a three-way tie at 6 feet, 11 inches, but emerged as the second place performer based on fewer misses at previous heights. In the process, he became the first Saint Martin’s athlete to become a three-time All-American. Karolin Anders of Alaska Anchorage earned the women’s field honor after she placed sixth in the high jump and seventh in the pentathlon at nationals. Her score of 3,806 points in the pentathlon was just five points off of her lifetime best.

Luke Reinschmidt of Montana State Billings was selected as the Baseball Player of the Week after he finished with six hits in the Yellowjackets’ four-game series with Northwest Nazarene. He became the first MSUB player to have multiple five-hit games as he went 5 for 6 in their 11-2 win on Saturday. Western Oregon’s Brady Miller was the Baseball Pitcher of the Week after he allowed two hits and four walks while striking out eight in seven innings as the Wolves beat Saint Martin’s 9-0 on Saturday.

Concordia swept the softball honors. Meghan Luebbert was named Softball Player of the Week for the second week in a row after she went 9 for 16 with five runs and eight RBI in four games, highlighted by a two-out, two-run game-winning homer against Carroll on Tuesday. Jessica Lambourn was named the Pitcher of the Week after winning three games and allowing one run on 19 hits in 15.1 innings of work.

In women’s golf, Western Washington’s Jenn Paul earned her second straight Player of the Week award. The individual medalist at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout, Paul shot a 1-under-par 143 in the two-round tournament. She is Western Washington’s first regular season tournament winner since 2011.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 28
BASEBALL PLAYER
Luke Reinschmidt (Montana State Billings, OF, 5-11, Sr., Billings, Mont. – Wayland Baptist Univ.): Reinschmidt finished with six hits, six RBI, a double, four runs scored and 13 total bases in the Yellowjackets’ four-game series with Central Washington. He topped his series by going 5 for 6 with a home run, a double and four RBI in an 11-2 win over the Crusaders on Saturday. Reinschmidt also had a .444 on-base percentage in the series and was 2 for 2 in stolen base attempts. Also Nominated: Jonathan Dailey (Central Washington), Adam Helmstadter (Northwest Nazarene), Brandon Witherspoon (Saint Martin’s).

BASEBALL PITCHER
Brady Miller (Western Oregon, P, 6-2, 175, So., Gilbert, Ariz. – Camp Verde): Miller allowed just two hits and four walks and struck out eight in seven innings of work, earning his third win of the season in the Wolves’ 9-0 shutout of Saint Martin’s on Friday. Also Nominated: Jaramy Jacobs (Northwest Nazarene), Mickey Walker (Saint Martin’s), Jared Winslow (Montana State Billings).

SOFTBALL PLAYER
Meghan Luebbert (Concordia, OF, 5-4, Jr., Sandy, Ore. - Sandy): Luebbert won her second straight award by going 9 for 16 with five runs and eight RBI. She had three hits in both games against Northwest Nazarene on Friday, including a run, three RBI and a pair of doubles. She also had two hits, two RBI and three runs in the second game of their Tuesday doubleheader sweep of Carroll, which included a game-winning two-out, two-run homer in the nightcap. Also Nominated: Cori Gammon (Montana State Billings), Lily Paschal (Northwest Nazarene).

SOFTBALL PITCHER
Jessica Lambourn (Concordia, P, 6-0, Fr., Mukilteo, Wash. - Kamiak): Lambourn went 3-0 for Concordia, allowing 1 run on 19 hits in 15.1 innings of work. She picked up both wins in Tuesday’s doubleheader with Carroll, allowing five hits in four innings in the opener and allowing one run on seven hits in the nightcap. Lambourn then allowed seven hits while going the distance in the Cavs’ 7-0 shutout of Northwest Nazarene. Also Nominated: Brooke Bonsen (Northwest Nazarene), Cameron Cassinelli (Montana State Billings).

MEN’S TRACK
Dominik Notz (Alaska Anchorage, Sr., Dettingen, Germany): Notz picked up two All-American trophies at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. He placed fourth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:24.81, just over a second behind national champion Sydney Gidabuday, and also placed fourth in the 5,000 mrters in a time of 14:09.26, moving him to No. 2 on the GNAC all-time list.

David Ribich (Western Oregon, So., Enterprise, Ore. – Enterprise): Ribich broke out after being boxed in for most of his race to place fourth in the mile final at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in a time of 4:14.22. Ribich ran a time of 4:06.36 in the preliminaries, which bettered the GNAC record by just under a second. Also Nominated: Kyle McLaughlin (Northwest Nazarene).

MEN’S FIELD
Mikel Smith (Saint Martin’s, Jr., Muskogee, Okla. - Muskogee): Smith was the national runner-up in the high jump at the NCAA Division II indoor Track and Field Championships with his clearance of 6 feet, 11 inches. Smith emerged from a three-way tie at the height on fewest misses, clearing on his first attempt at the three previous heights. The finish makes Smith Saint Martin’s first three-time All-American. Also Nominated: Cole Hoberg (Northwest Nazarene), Robert Watson (Concordia).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Lynelle Decker (Seattle Pacific, Sr., Vancouver, Wash. – Mountain View): In her final collegiate indoor meet, Decker earned All-American honors with her second place finish in the 800 meters at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships with a lifetime best time of 2:07.52. The performance moves Decker to No. 3 on the GNAC all-time list. Decker also earned All-American trophies as the second leg of the Falcons’ third place 4x400 relay team and the leadoff leg on the their fourth place distance medley relay team.

Joyce Chelimo (Alaska Anchorage, Sr., Kapsowar, Kenya – American International): Chelimo ended her collegiate indoor career with a pair of All-American trophies. She was the runner-up in the 5,000 meters, placing second in 16:10.32 and was just over a second behind champion Amanda Farrough of Lewis. She finished the meet with a sixth place finish in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:35.09. Also Nominated: Shannon Porter (Saint Martin’s), Taylor Deskins (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Karolin Anders (Alaska Anchorage, Sr., Berlin, Germany – Werner-Seelenbinder): Anders closed her collegiate indoor career by winning two All-American trophies at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. She finished tied for sixth in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 6.5 inches, and placed seventh in the pentathlon with a score of 3,806 points, just five points off of her lifetime best. Also Nominated: Lauren Duval (Northwest Nazarene), Jasmine McMullin (Western Washington), Miranda Osadchey (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S GOLF
Jenn Paul (Western Washington, So., Bellingham, Wash. - Bellingham): Paul was individual medalist at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout, carding a 1-under-par 143 for 36 holes. She shot a final round of 3-under-par 69 to overtake the lead and win the title, the first regular season win for a WWU individual since 2011. Also Nominated: Lysine Furuya (Concordia), Jennifer Liedes (Saint Martin’s).