Monday, March 10, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - Ten Great Northwest Athletic Conference athletes, including University of Alaska Anchorage sprinter Jamie Ashcroft who set a conference record in the women's 100 meters, and Northwest Nazarene pitcher Noelle Wright who pitched a two-hitter in a hard-luck 1-0 loss to Saint Martin's, have been selected GNAC Red Lion Players of the Week.

This week's honorees:

Men’s Track & Field:  Track – Bobo Camara, Alaska Anchorage (So., Cologne, Germany) won the 400 hurdles in a provisional national qualifying time of 53.14 at the UNLV Track Classic.  His time ranks eighth in GNAC history.  He also won the 110 hurdles in a GNAC automatic qualifying time of 15.07.  Field – Franz Burghagen, Alaska Anchorage (Jr., Berlin, Germany) automatically qualified for the NCAA national meet in the javelin, finishing first at Las Vegas with a throw of 216-10.  Honorable Mention – Shane Brooks, Western Oregon (So., Pleasant Hill, OR); Kody Rhodes, Western Oregon (Sr., Wilsonville, OR).

Women’s Track & Field:  Track – Jamie Ashcroft, Alaska Anchorage (Fr., Shawnigan Lake, BC) had two of the fastest sprint times in GNAC history at the UNLV Track Classic.  She won the 100 meters in a GNAC-record time of 11.84, then finished sixth in the 200 in a time of 24.27.  The latter time was the third quickest in GNAC history.  Both marks provisionally qualified her for the NCAA national meet in May.  Field – Seabre Church, Western Oregon (Sr., Florence, OR - Siuslaw) won the javelin at the Oregon State Invitational with an automatic national qualifying mark of 155-9.  That toss ranks second in WOU school history and is seventh on the GNAC All-Time Top 10 list.  She joins Bethany Drake of Western Washington (156-11) as automatic qualifiers for the NCAA national meet.  Honorable Mention – Rochelle Pappel, Western Oregon (So., Venata, OR – Churchill).

Softball: Player – Melanie Pfeiffer, Western Oregon (SS, 5-3, Sr., Reno, NV - Wooster) had 11 hits in 19 at bats and reached base 15 times posting a .652 on-base percentage as the Wolves won five of six games, including a four-game sweep of Montana State Billings.  Pfeiffer accounted for eight runs – 22 percent of WOU’s total – scoring six times and driving in two.  Pitcher – Noelle Wright, Northwest Nazarene (5-9, Sr., Irrigon, OR) pitched a two-hitter, but was the hard-luck loser in a 1-0 loss at Saint Martin’s Friday.  She struck out four and the lone run was unearned.  Honorable Mention – Taviah Jenkins, Saint Martin’s (OF, 5-8, Jr., Castle Rock, WA); Sam Munger, Saint Martin’s (P-SS, 5-6, Jr., Everett, WA – Cascade); Kelli Demianew, Western Oregon (P, 5-10, Jr., Pendleton, OR); Kiana Wood, Central Washington (P, 5-6, Fr., Aloha, OR); Maikala Galusha, Central Washington (1B, 5-10, Sr., Battle Ground, WA);  Alexie Levin, Western Washington (OF-P, 5-7, So., Everett, WA).

Baseball: Player – Alex Bielaski, Saint Martin’s (OF/1B, 6-0, Sr., Bellevue, WA - Bellevue) batted .688 (11-for-16) in a four-game set against Dixie State, including four doubles and eight RBI. Bielaski totaled 15 bases and a slugging percentage of .938, and did not strikeout on the weekend. In SMU’s lone victory, Bielaski went 4-for-5 with two doubles and five RBI in a 14-3 result over DSU. The senior left fielder handled all 12 of his chances flawlessly, with 11 put outs and an assist. Pitcher – Brandon Williams, Central Washington (RHP, 6-0, Jr., Auburn, WA – Mount Hood CC) tossed eight stellar innings and earned a victory to help Central Washington to a split with Northwest Nazarene. In the opening game of the series, Williams was untouchable with 15 strikeouts and no walks in CWU’s 6-1 triumph. The junior allowed just six hits and one unearned run in the dominant performance as he improved his season record to 3-1 and lowered his season ERA to 2.51. Honorable Mention – Chris Bradshaw, Western Oregon (OF, 6-1, Sr., Medford, OR – Oral Roberts); Tate Glasgow, Northwest Nazarene (C/OF, 6-0, Jr., Portland, OR – Westview); Jaykob Sells, Central Washington (OF, 6-2, Sr., Mountlake Terrace, WA – Everett CC); Brody Miller, Montana State Billings (2B, 5-8, Jr., Missoula, MT – Sentinel); Aaron Vaughn, Northwest Nazarene (RHP, 5-11, Sr., Tucson, AZ – Pusch Ridge Christian Academy); Bryon Baker, Montana State Billings (RHP, 6-2, Fr., Butte, MT – Butte); Spenser Watkins, Western Oregon (RHP, 6-1, Sr., Scottsdale, AZ – Glendale CC).

Golf: Men - Ryan Pickthorn, Saint Martin’s (So., Damascus, OR - Clackamas) won the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout hosted by Cal State East Bay on March 3-4. Pickthorn opened with a 75 before notching a season-low 68 in his second round. The sophomore followed with a 76 in his final round to total a 3-over par 219 and finish in first place by two strokes. Women - Samantha Miller, Northwest Nazarene (Fr., Hillsboro, OR - Liberty) was the individual medalist Friday in a dual match against The College of Idaho, shooting a 5-over 77 at Ridgecrest Golf Club. Miller won by five strokes and led the Crusaders to their first team win over the Coyotes, 332-338, in the program’s brief history.