Monday, April 17, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. – Conference track and field athletes performed well at the biggest meets they will compete in outside of nationals last weekend, topping the list of the 10 selections for GNAC Players and Athletes of the Week.

Western Oregon collected both of the men’s track and field honors. Junior David Ribich was named the Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after he reset his own GNAC record in the 1,500 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational. His time of 3:42.21 placed 17th out of the field of 269 athletes in the event and ranks as the top time in Division II this season. Ribich was the top non-Division I or open competitior in the race.

Teammate Wesley Gray was honored as the Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after he won the triple jump at the Bryan Clay by over eight inches. His NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark of 48 feet, 8.75 inches leads the GNAC, is 24th in Division II and moves him to sixth on the GNAC All-Time List.

Simon Fraser’s Katherine Lucas was named the Women’s Track Athlete of the Week after she moved onto the GNAC all-time list in both the 100 meters and 200 meters. Lucas ran 11.82 seconds in the 100 meters at the Beach Invitational, which is second on the conference all-time list, and ran 24.42 seconds in the 200 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational, ranking her fifth on the all-time list.

Western Washington’s Bethany Drake was selected as the Women’s Field Athlete of the Week after she automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the women’s javelin. Drake was first of 33 competitors in the primarily Division I field in the event at the Bryan Clay Invitational with a mark 162 feet, 4 inches, which currently ranks No. 2 in Division II this season.

For the second time this season, Central Washington swept the weekly softball honors. Julia Reuble was named the Softball Player of the Week after she went 5 for 12 in a series sweep of Montana State Billings. Four of her hits were home runs, including a three-run shot and a grand slam in Friday’s opener. Reuble finished with 11 RBIs, a .562 on base percentage and a 1.417 slugging percentage.

Kiana Wood earned her third straight Softball Pitcher of the Week award after she went 2-0 and picked up two saves in the four games, compiling a 1.00 earned run average in 14 innings. She allowed just one run in each of her wins, an 11-1, five-inning victory on Friday and a 10-1, six-inning win on Saturday. Wood then earned saves in the final game on both days. The saves were her third and fourth of the season as Wood improved to 16-1 on the season.

The Wildcats’ Chris Dalto was named the Baseball Player of the Week after he went 11 for 16 with two doubles, a home run, eight runs and six RBIs in a four-game series split with Saint Martin’s. Dalto had multiple hits in all four games and had three hits in each of the first three games of the series.

Montana State Billings’ Cody Cooper earned his second straight Baseball Pitcher of the Week award for his second nine-inning complete game of the season in an 18-2 win over Western Oregon on Saturday. He allowed one earned run on seven hits with a walk and six strikeouts as he threw 134 pitches in the contest.

Concordia’s Dylan Cramer earned the final Men’s Golf Player of the Week award of 2016-17 after he tied for fifth place at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational. Cramer shot 2-over-par 218 to lead the Cavaliers to a second place team finish. Western Washington’s Jenn Paul was the final Women’s Golf Player of the Week selection of the season, tying for seventh at the Mustang Intercollegiate with a score of even-par 144. She led the Vikings to a fifth place team finish.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 33
BASEBALL PLAYER
Chris Dalto (Central Washington, IF/P, 5-10, Jr., Valencia, Calif. – LA Mission JC): Dalto had a big week offensively for Central Washington, going 11 for 16 with two doubles, a home run, eight runs and six RBIs in a four-game split with Saint Martin’s. He went 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs in Friday’s opener and 3 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs in the nightcap, a 12-3 win. Dalto then had three hits, three runs and two RBIs in Saturday’s opener before finishing with two hits in the nightcap. Also Nominated: Zach Robinson (Montana State Billings), Austin Feist (Saint Martin’s), Torreahno Sweet (Western Oregon), Andrew Helmstadter (Northwest Nazarene).

BASEBALL PITCHER
Cody Cooper (Montana State Billings, P, 6-4, Sr., Bozeman, Mont. – Bozeman): Cooper earned his second consecutive selection with his second nine-inning complete game of the season in an 18-2 victory over Western Oregon on Saturday. He allowed just one earned run on seven hits with a walk and six strikeouts. Cooper threw 134 pitches in the game and produced 13 groundouts. Also Nominated: JJ Asinas (Central Washington), Scott Schepige (Concordia), Bryan Black (Northwest Nazarene), Benjamin Wadowski (Saint Martin’s), Trey Smith (Western Oregon).

SOFTBALL PLAYER
Julia Reuble (Central Washington, IF, 5-8, Fr., Edmonds, Wash. - Meadowdale): Reuble excelled in the power categories, going 5 for 12 with four home runs, four runs, 11 RBIs, a .562 on base percentage and a 1.417 slugging percentage in the Wildcats’ four-game sweep of Montana State Billings. She hit two home runs in Friday’s opener, a three-run shot in the first and a grand slam in the second. She finished the series on Saturday by going 2 for 3 in the nightcap with a solo home run in the second inning. Also Nominated: Jackie Schmaeling (Saint Martin’s), Destiny Kuehl (Western Oregon), Cassidy Fifield (Northwest Nazarene), Shearyna Labasan (Western Washington).

SOFTBALL PITCHER
Kiana Wood (Central Washington, P/OF, 5-6, Sr., Aloha, Ore. – Aloha): The senior made it three selections in a row as she went 2-0 and registered two saves in four appearances in the sweep of Montana State Billings, allowing three runs, two earned, on 13 hits in 14 innings. She allowed one unearned run on four hits in Friday’s opener, an 11-1, five-inning victory, and then allowed one run on six hits and two walks in five innings in Saturday’s opening game 10-1, six-inning win. Wood then threw the final inning of Friday’s 3-1 win and the final three innings of Saturday’s 5-3 win to earn her third and fourth saves of the season. Also Nominated: Kim Nelson (Saint Martin’s), Chandler Bishop (Western Oregon), Alli Byron (Northwest Nazarene), Anna Kasner (Western Washington).

MEN’S TRACK
David Ribich (Western Oregon, Jr., Enterprise, Ore. – Enterprise): Ribich reset his own GNAC record in the 1,500 meters, placing 17th out of 269 athletes in the event at the Bryan Clay Invitational with a time of 3:42.21. He was the top non-Division I or open competitor in the event. Ribich continues to own the best time in Division II this season. Also Nominated: Cody McCranie (Western Washington), Austin Lindquist (Montana State Billings), Ebu Camara (Northwest Nazarene).

MEN’S FIELD
Wesley Gray (Western Oregon, Sr., Portland, Ore. – Benson): Gray won the triple jump at the Bryan Clay Invitational with a GNAC leading mark of 48 feet, 8.75 inches. He won the event by over eight inches and earned a NCAA Championships provisional qualifier and moves into No. 6 on the GNAC All-Time List. Gray currently ranks 24th in Division II. Also Nominated: Alex Barry (Western Washington), Chuck Carr (Montana State Billings), Blaine Kruetz (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Katherine Lucas (Simon Fraser, Fr., Vancouver, B.C. – West Point Grey): Lucas finished 12th in the 100 meters at the Beach Invitational with a NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time of 11.82 seconds, which moves her to No. 2 on the GNAC All-Time List and ranks as the 12th in Division II this season. Lucas also ran a lifetime best of 24.42 seconds in the 200 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational, which ranks her No. 5 on the GNAC All-Time List. Also Nominated: Brittany Grant (Western Washington), Josie Smiedala (Montana State Billings), Olivia Woods (Western Oregon), Lexi Tubbs (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Bethany Drake (Western Washington, Sr., Sandy, Ore. – Sandy): Drake notched a NCAA Championships automatic qualifying mark in the javelin to win at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Her mark of 162 feet, 4 inches, was first out of 33 competitors (mostly Division I athletes) and is currently No. 2 in Division II this season. Also Nominated: Kassadee Kuoha (Montana State Billings), Rachael Huffman (Western Oregon), Jackie Mahowald (Northwest Nazarene).

MEN’S GOLF
Dylan Cramer (Concordia, Sr., Bend, Ore. – Utah State Univ.): Cramer led the Cavaliers by tying for fifth place at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational, carding a three-round score of 2-over-par 218. He led Concordia to a second place finish with a score of 12-over-par 876, one stroke behind champion Sonoma State. Also Nominated: Andrew Raab (Saint Martin’s), Jack Strickland (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN’S GOLF
Jenn Paul (Western Washington, Jr., Bellingham, Wash. – Bellingham): Paul was the top GNAC finisher at the Mustang Intercollegiate, tying for seventh place with a two-round score of even-par 144. She shot 1-under-par 71 in the tournament’s opening round. Paul led the Vikings to a fifth place team finish with a two-round score of 597. Also Nominated: Kortney McNeil (Montana State Billings), Hailey Warren (Saint Martin’s), Samantha Miller (Northwest Nazarene), Lynsie Furuya (Concordia).