Monday, October 14, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – After winning the individual titles in the last big regular-season meet before the GNAC Cross Country Championships, Alaska Anchorage’s Felix Kemboi and Nancy Jeptoo headline the list of GNAC Athlete of the Week selections.

Kemboi was named the Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week after he won the men’s race at the Western Washington Classic for the second year in a row. The junior covered the 10,000-meter course in a time of 31:37.6, finishing three seconds ahead of runner-up Trad Berti of Chico State.

Jeptoo earned Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week accolades for her first collegiate win at the Western Washington Classic. The junior covered the 6,000 meters in a time of 21:36.1 to finish just ahead of teammate and defending GNAC champion Emmah Chelimo.

Central Washington sophomore quarterback Christian Moore repeated as the Football Offensive Player of the Week after he completed 26 of 37 passes for 423 yards and five touchdowns in his first collegiate start. He also carried the ball 11 times for 70 yards to finish with 493 yards of total offense in the Wildcats’ 44-6 home win over Azusa Pacific.

Western Oregon junior defensive back Curtis Anderson earned his second Defensive Player of the Week award of the season for his second two-interception game in the Wolves’ 26-14 road win at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Anderson picked the two passes for a total of 30 return yards. His third-quarter interception led to one of three WOU touchdowns in the period. Anderson also finished with four tackles.

The Wolves also earned the Special Teams Player of the Week award with the performance of sophomore wide receiver Marquis Sampson. Sampson returned Texas A&M-Kingsville’s first kickoff 67 yards, which set up the Wolves’ first touchdown of the game and set the pace for the offense in the win.

Western Washington swept the women’s soccer awards as the Vikings continue to post some impressive offensive performances. Senior forward/midfielder Karli White earned the offensive award for her four assists and a goal. She had assists in both matches last week and scored her lone goal of the week in the Vikings’ 5-0 shutout at Western Oregon on Saturday.

Senior defender Emily Nelson was named the Defensive Player of the Week as she keyed a WWU defense that allowed just one shot to Saint Martin’s on Thursday and just one shot on goal (four total) to Western Oregon on Saturday.

The Vikings also netted the Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week in senior defender Jeremiah Lee, who played all 90 minutes and keyed a defensive effort that handed Concordia its first shutout loss of the season, 2-0, on Saturday.

Montana State Billings sophomore midfielder/forward Andres Perez was named the Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after he scored two goals and had an assist in the Yellowjackets’ 5-1 win over Saint Martin’s on Thursday. He was also involved in setting up what proved to be the game-winning penalty kick in MSUB’s 1-0 win at Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

Simon Fraser senior outside hitter Betsie de Beer earned Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week honors after she had 27 kills, four aces and 21 digs in two Clan wins. She finished with a double-double of 18 kills and 14 digs with four aces in Thursday’s five-set win over Seattle Pacific and then added nine kills, seven digs and a .643 hitting percentage in Saturday’s three-set sweep of Saint Martin’s.

Central Washington senior libero Kyla Morgan was named the Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week for her 48 digs in two matches, including 27 at Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday and 21 to go with five assists and two aces in Saturday’s three-set sweep of Montana State Billings.

The conference’s top players at last Tuesday’s Concordia Invitational earned the golf weekly honors. The Cavaliers’ Cammie Decker was named the Women’s Golf Player of the Week after she earned medalist honors over Dominican’s Claire Shubin in a two-hole playoff. The senior turned in a two-round score of 5-over-par 149.

Saint Martin’s sophomore Max Turnquist earned Men’s Golf Player of the Week honors after he finished second with a three-round score of 3-under-par 210. He was two strokes behind champion Julius Kreutzer of Academy of Art and shot a pair of 2-under-par 69 scores in the first and third rounds.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 7
FOOTBALL
Offensive: Christian Moore (Central Washington, QB, 6-5, So., Puyallup, Wash. – Bellarmine Prep): Making his first collegiate start, Moore finished with 493 yards of total offense in Central Washington’s 44-6 win over Azusa Pacific. He completed 26 of 37 passes for 423 yards and five touchdowns and also carried the ball 11 times for 70 yards. Moore has finished with more than 300 yards of passing offense in each of the last two games. Also Nominated: Rysen John (Simon Fraser), Ty Currie (Western Oregon).

Defensive: Curtis Anderson (Western Oregon, DB, 6-2, Jr., Klamath Falls, Ore. – Mazama): Anderson posted his second two-interception game of the season in the Wolves 26-14 road win at Texas A&M-Kingsville. The second of those interceptions was converted into a critical third-quarter touchdown. Anderson also finished with four tackles in the win. Also Nominated: Jeremiah Vasquez (Central Washington), Griffin Barrett (Simon Fraser).

Special Teams: Marquis Sampson (Western Oregon, WR, 5-7, So., Portland, Ore. – Madison): Sampson had just one kickoff return in Saturday’s game at Texas A&M-Kingsville, but it was huge. Sampson returned the Javelinas’ first kickoff 67 yards. That set up the Wolves’ first touchdown three plays later and set the momentum for the 26-14 road win. Also Nominated: Michael Roots (Central Washington).

MEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Andres Perez (Montana State Billings, M/F, 5-8, So., Pittsburg, Calif. – Pittsburg): Perez led the Yellowjackets as he scored two goals and assisted on a third goal in MSUB’s 5-1 win over Saint Martin’s on Thursday. He was also involved in the play that led to the game-winning penalty kick in the Yellowjackets’ 1-0 win at Seattle Pacific on Saturday. All four of Perez’s shots on the week were on goal. Also Nominated: Nicholas Denley (Concordia), Jason Fairhurst (Saint Martin’s), Connor Glennon (Simon Fraser), Ryan Schaefer (Western Washington).

Defensive: Jeremiah Lee (Western Washington, D, 6-4, Sr., Marysville, Wash. – Grace Academy): Lee played the full 90 minutes and played a critical role in holding Concordia to just four shots on goal in Western Washington’s 2-0 shutout of Concordia on Saturday. It marked the first time that the Cavaliers have been shut out this season. Also Nominated: Klaus Huovila (Concordia), Samuele Folla (Montana State Billings), Brandon Kam (Saint Martin’s).

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Karli White (Western Washington, F/M, 5-5, Sr., North Bend, Wash. – Seattle Univ.): White led the red-hot Vikings with six points, tallying four assists and a goal as Western Washington outscored its opponents 11-0 last week. White assisted on the first two goals of the match in Thursday’s 6-0 win at Saint Martin’s. She then assisted on two of the first three goals of the match and tallied her goal in the 86th minute to cap a 5-0 win at Western Oregon on Saturday. Also Nominated: Sydney Lowe (Central Washington), Kyra Radcliffe (Concordia), Summer Miles (Montana State Billings), Hollis Roeske (Simon Fraser), Jacky Beristain (Western Oregon).

Defensive: Emily Nelson (Western Washington, D, 6-0, Sr., Puyallup, Wash. – Bellarmine Prep): Nelson started in both matches and played a key role in the defensive performance for Western Washington in both wins last week. Nelson and the Vikings allowed Saint Martin’s just one shot in Thursday’s 6-0 shutout and held Western Oregon to just one shot on goal in Saturday’s 5-0 win. Also Nominated: Emily Thomson (Central Washington), Amanda Hemmen (Montana State Billings), Jacky Beristain (Western Oregon).

VOLLEYBALL
Offensive: Betsie de Beer (Simon Fraser, OH, 6-1, Sr., West Vancouver, B.C. – West Vancouver): de Beer led the Clan with 27 kills, four aces and 21 digs at Simon Fraser improved to 5-3 in conference play with two home wins. de Beer finished with a double-double of 18 kills and 14 digs to go along with four aces and two blocks in Thursday’s five-set win over Seattle Pacific. She then posted totals of nine kills and seven digs with a .643 hitting percentage in Saturday’s three-set sweep of Saint Martins. Also Nominated: Cate Whiting (Alaska), Kayla McGlathery (Alaska Anchorage), Makala Swart (Central Washington), Saige Weaver (Concordia), Bayli Monck (Montana State Billings), Sianna DeCarli (Western Oregon), Gabby Gunterman (Western Washington).

Defensive: Kyla Morgan (Central Washington, DS/L, 5-4, Sr., Graham, Wash. – Bethel): Morgan paced the Wildcats defensively with 48 digs in a split of matches last week. At Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday, Morgan finished with 27 digs to go with three assists. In Saturday’s three-set sweep of Montana State Billings, Morgan finished with 21 digs to go with five assists and a pair of aces. Morgan’s six digs per set led all conference players last week. Also Nominated: Anjoilyn Vreeland (Alaska Anchorage), Callie Wilkins (Concordia), Kalyn Hartmann (Simon Fraser), Allie Spear (Western Oregon), Mae Thungc (Western Washington).

CROSS COUNTRY
Men: Felix Kemboi (Alaska Anchorage, Jr., Eldoret, Kenya – Saint Patrick’s): For the second year in a row, Kemboi was the winner of the men’s 10,000-meter race at the Western Washington Classic. Kemboi cruised with a winning time of 31:37.6, three seconds ahead of Trad Berti of Chico State. Kemboi averaged 5 minutes, 5 seconds per mile. Also Nominated: Trevor Allen (Central Washington), Andrew Oslin (Saint Martin’s), Thomas Gallagher (Simon Fraser), Andy Muha (Western Oregon), Eric Hamel (Western Washington).

Women: Nancy Jeptoo (Alaska Anchorage, Jr., Eldoret, Kenya – St. Josephs Chepterit): Jeptoo won her first collegiate career race, taking the women’s 6,000-meter race at the Western Washington Invitational in a time of 21:36.1. She finished four seconds ahead of teammate Emmah Chelimo while averaging 5 minutes, 48 seconds per mile. Also Nominated: Lily Tyrrell (Central Washington), Elaina Hansen (Saint Martin’s), Olivia Willett (Simon Fraser), Grace Knapp (Western Oregon), Jane Barr (Western Washington).

GOLF
Men: Max Turnquist (Saint Martin’s, So., Yakima, Wash. – West Valley): Turnquist finished as the runner-up at the Concordia Invitational, carding a three-round score of 3-under-par 210. He finished two strokes behind the champion, Julius Kreutzer of Academy of Art. Turnquist shot a pair of under-par 18-hole scores, turning in scores of 69 in the first and third rounds. Also Nominated: Jorgen Viken (Concordia), Ethan Casto (Western Washington).

Women: Cammie Decker (Concordia, Sr., Keizer, Ore. – McNary): Decker survived a two-hole playoff to earn medalist honors at the Concordia Invitational. After carding a two-round score of 5-over-par 149, Decker bested Dominican’s Claire Shubin in the playoff for her first tournament win of the season. She led Concordia to a third-place team finish. Also Nominated: Kathryn Crimp (Saint Martin’s), Lacy Overstreet (Western Washington).