Tuesday, May 9, 2017
PORTLAND, Ore. -- GNAC Insider hit the airwaves for the final time of the 2016-17 academic year on Tuesday at 7 p.m. PST with the 124th episode in five seasons. Host Rob Lowery talked with two veteran administrators in the GNAC that are moving on to life's next challenges in Western Oregon's Barb Dearing and Alaska Anchorage's Nate Sagan. The show also focused on two GNAC Championships this weekend with Montana State Billings baseball's centerfielder Zach Robinson and Seattle Pacific women's track and field distance runner Mary Charleson.
Dearing is wrapping up her fourth year as the director of athletics at Western Oregon and will head into retirement at the end of June. During her time at Western Oregon she has helped bring two cross country regionals to Monmouth as well as the 2016 NCAA Division II West Region men's basketball tournament which was won by Western Oregon. This spring has been very successful for the Wolves after the softball team reached the GNAC Championship game and the baseball team won the regular season title. The Wolves also enter the GNAC Track and Field Championships among the favorites as they host the event at McArthur Field.
Sagan graduated from Alaska Anchorage in 1997 and returned to his alma mater two years later as the sports information director. After 18 years, he is wrapping up his time at UAA as the assistant director of athletics for media relations. He is the longest-serving sports information director in the conference and has grown the profile of athletics at Alaska Anchorage, which is among the most successful athletic departments in NCAA Division II.
Robinson joined GNAC Insider a day ahead of the start of the GNAC Baseball Championships. The Yellowjackets will play No. 1 seed Western Oregon in the first round. The Yellowjackets enter the tournament as the hottest team in the conference having won eight of their last 10 games. Robinson has scored a program record 51 runs this year and has tied the program record for stolen bases with 17. The first-team all-conference selection tied a GNAC record earlier this year by stealing four bags in a single game.
Charleson will be competing this weekend in the GNAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, running in the 1,500 and the 5,000. She has recorded the conference's best time in the 5,000 as the only athlete to finish in under 17 minutes, stopping the clock at 16:41. She also enters the 1,500 as one of the favorites in the conference after finishing in third place at the event last year. Seattle Pacific women's track and field is looking to pull off the indoor-outdoor double after winning the GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships in February.