Monday, March 27, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of standout hitting performances for Northwest Nazarene’s Billy King and Central Washington’s Savannah Egbert lead the honorees for GNAC Players of the Week.

King was named the Baseball Player of the Week for the second consecutive week as he went 11 for 24 with six home runs in six games for the Crusaders. He had four hits and a pair of home runs in two games against NAIA power Lewis-Clark State and then proved the hero for NNU in Saturday’s finale against Montana State Billings as his ninth inning homer scored the winning run in a 7-6, extra-innings victory.

Egbert led Central Washington to a six-win week by going 11 for 16 with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs. She opened scoring in Saturday’s opener at home against Western Oregon with a home run and finished the nightcap by going 3 for 3. She then had five hits in Sunday’s games against Concordia, including 3 for 3 in the opener.

Western Oregon’s Craig Grubbe was named the Baseball Pitcher of the Week after he allowed just five hits over seven innings to lead the Wolves to a 1-0 win over Central Washington on Monday. Northwest Nazarene’s Brooke Bonsen was selected as the Softball Pitcher of the Week after she earned two wins as the Crusaders took three of four games at Simon Fraser. In 11.2 innings, she allowed two runs on eight hits with three strikeouts.

The track award winners are led by a pair of record setters. Montana State Billings’ Sam Zook was named the Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after he set school records in both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the Bobcat Invitational. He won the 100 in a time of 10.87 seconds, moving into No. 10 on the GNAC All-Time List, and won the 200 in a time of 21.61 seconds.

Concordia’s McKenzie Warren was named the Women’s Field Athlete of the Week for the second time this outdoor season after she shattered her own GNAC record in the shot put at the Willamette Invitational. She won with a mark of 56 feet, 7.5 inches, a mark that ranks No. 5 in Division II history and bettered her previous record by almost two feet. Warren also won the hammer with a mark of 175 feet, 6.25 inches, and placed second in the discus with a mark of 157 feet, 1 inch.

Western Washington’s Brandon Pless was selected as Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after he moved onto the GNAC All-Time List in the shot put. His second place mark of 52 feet, 5.5 inches, is No. 10 on the GNAC list and No. 5 on the WWU all-time list. Simon Fraser’s Valda Kabia earned Women’s Track Athlete of the Week after she won both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the Achilles Cup in Burnaby, both in GNAC-leading times.

The Vikings’ Jeffrey Marcum and the Clan’s Chris Crisologo shared the Men’s Golf Player of the Week award after the two players tied for fourth at the CBU Men’s Invitational with scores of 2-over-par 218. Concordia’s Shantel Antonio was named the Women’s Golf Player of the Week after she led the GNAC with a tie for 17th place at the Otter Invitational.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 30
BASEBALL PLAYER
Billy King (Northwest Nazarene, 1B/OF, 6-2, Sr., Anacortes, Wash. – Oregon State Univ.): King went 11 for 24 with six home runs and 10 RBIs in six games to earn his second straight weekly award. He had four hits and a pair of home runs in two games against NAIA power Lewis-Clark State. He then had two home runs in Saturday’s series finale with Montana State Billings, including a two-run shot in the ninth that allowed the Crusaders the 7-6 win. Also Nominated: Brock Pradere (Western Oregon), Zach Robinson (Montana State Billings).

BASEBALL PITCHER
Craig Grubbe (Western Oregon, P, 6-1, Jr., San Diego, Calif. – Grossmont JC): Grubbe threw seven shutout innings of five-hit baseball, which included three strikeouts, allowing the Wolves to take a 1-0 win over Central Washington in the opener of Monday's doubleheader. He threw 108 pitches, 67 of which were strikes. Also Nominated: Jake Levin (Central Washington), Brady Baker (Northwest Nazarene).

SOFTBALL PLAYER
Savannah Egbert (Central Washington, 3B, 5-7, So., Connell, Wash. – Connell): Egbert batted .688 for the Wildcats in six games (11 for 16) with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs. She opened scoring in Saturday’s opener against Western Oregon with a two-run homer and went 3 for 3 in the nightcap, which included a pair of RBI doubles. Egbert also went 3 for 3 in Sunday’s opener against Concordia and went 2 for 3 in the second game. Also Nominated: Meghan Luebbert (Concordia), Kylie Orr (Northwest Nazarene), Zoe Clark (Western Oregon).

SOFTBALL PITCHER
Brooke Bonsen (Northwest Nazarene, P, 5-10, Sr., Lynden, Wash. – Bellevue Coll.): Bonsen picked up two wins for Northwest Nazarene in its four-game series with Simon Fraser, allowing two runs on eight hits with three strikeouts in 11.2 innings. She went the distance in Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Clan, allowing one run on five hits. She then allowed one run on three hits in 4.2 innings of work as the Crusaders won 6-5 in Saturday’s opener. Also Nominated: Sammi Cadwallader (Western Oregon), Maddy Lincoln (Montana State Billings), Kiana Wood (Central Washington).

MEN’S TRACK
Sam Zook (Montana State Billings, Jr., Casper, Wyo. – Kelly Walsh): Zook won both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the Bobcat Invitational in school record times. He ran 10.68 seconds in the 100, breaking the previous MSUB record of 10.87, and moved into No. 10 on the GNAC All-Time List. He then won the 200 meters in 21.61 seconds to better the former school record of 21.74 seconds. Also Nominated: AJ Holmberg (Western Oregon), Isaac Derline (Western Washington), Jared Seckel (Concordia).

MEN’S FIELD
Brandon Pless (Western Washington, Sr., Sedro-Woolley, Wash. – Sedro-Woolley): Pless posted an outdoor personal best and a NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark in the shot put at the Doris Heritage Distance Festival, finishing second with a mark 52 feet, 5.5 inches. The performance ranks fifth on the WWU top-10 list and also places him No. 10 on the GNAC All-Time List. Also Nominated: Alani Troutman (Western Oregon).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Valda Kabia (Simon Fraser, So., Surrey, B.C. – Regent Christian Academy): Kabia won both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the Achilles Cup in a pair of GNAC-leading times. She captured the 100 meters in 12.21 seconds and took the 200 meters in 24.78 seconds. The performances helped lead the Clan to a 67-51 win over British Columbia in the annual dual meet between the two schools. Also Nominated: Grayson Burke (Western Oregon), Katelyn Eastburn (Montana State Billings), Brittany Grant (Western Washington), Lexi Tubbs (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN’S FIELD
McKenzie Warren (Concordia, Sr., Sandy, Ore. – Sandy): Warren added two more feet to her GNAC record in the women’s shot put, winning the Willamette Invitational with a mark of 56 feet, 7.5 inches. The mark is the fifth best in Division II history. She also won the hammer with a mark of 175 feet, 6.25 inches, and placed second in the discus with a mark of 157 feet, 1 inch, that improves her to No. 3 on the GNAC All-Time List. Also Nominated: Amanda Short (Western Oregon), Anna Paradee (Western Washington).

MEN’S GOLF
Chris Crisologo (Simon Fraser, Jr., Richmond, B.C. – Vancouver Coll.) and Jeffrey Marcum (Western Washington, Sr., Richland, Wash. – South Mountain CC): The two players tied for fourth at the CBU Men’s Invitational, carding three-round scores of 2-over-par 218. Crisologo tied the tournament low round with a 4-under-par 68 on the final round while Marcum had a low round of 1-over-par 73 on the final round. Also Nominated: Dylan Cramer (Concordia).

WOMEN’S GOLF
Shantel Antonio (Concordia, So., Hilo, Hawaii – Kamehameha-Hawaii): Antonio was the top GNAC finisher at the Otter Invitational, finishing in a tie for 17th place as she carded a score of 12-over-par 156. She shot 6-over-par 78 on both days. Also Nominated: Jenn Paul (Western Washington).