Tuesday, September 5, 2017
PORTLAND, Ore. – A trio of solid gridiron performances on the opening week of the season leads the list of the first selections of GNAC Players of the Week for the 2017-18 season.
In a rare situation where a player from a losing team is honored, Simon Fraser’s Miles Richardson was the selection for GNAC Football Offensive Player of the Week. Richardson accounted for all of the scoring in the Clan’s 34-28 loss at Arizona Christian on Saturday. He completed 28 passes for 434 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for a pair of touchdowns. His 434 passing yards is the 12th best single game performance in GNAC history and the most by a SFU quarterback since Trey Wheeler threw for 482 yards against Dixie State on Oct. 27, 2012.
Central Washington’s Jackson Huerta earned Football Defensive Player of the Week after he came up with 12 tackles and an interception return for 96 yards in the Wildcats’ 34-10 road win at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Azusa Pacific’s Jacob Hall was named the Football Special Teams Player of the Week after he kicked a 25-yard field goal, went 3 for 3 on PAT attempts and punted five times for 41.2 yards per punt in the Cougars’ 24-13 win at West Texas A&M.
Northwest Nazarene’s Madi Farrell and Western Oregon’s Mackenzie Bowen earned the conference’s first volleyball honors of the season. Farrell was named the Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week after she led the Crusaders to a 4-0 start with 64 kills, 17 blocks and a .469 hitting percentage at the Cal State Monterey Bay Spring Hill Suites Classic. She was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Bowen was selected as the Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week after she led the Wolves with an average of 5.73 digs per set in three matches. She was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Concordia-Portland Labor Day Tournament.
Western Washington, the defending Division II champions, swept the women’s soccer awards. Gabriela Pelogi was named the Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after she scored four goals in two road matches, including the 52nd hat trick in GNAC history in a 7-1 rout of Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday. Annaliese Laurila was named the Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, leading a WWU defense that allowed just six shots on goal in two matches.
Seattle Pacific’s Gabe Kellum was tabbed as the Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after he scored two goals and an assist in two matches, topped by his two-goal effort in the Falcons’ 4-1 win over Sonoma State on Saturday. Montana State Billings’ goalkeeper Javier Hernandez was named the Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week for his 13 saves in a pair of overtime losses.
Concordia’s Judd Lewis earned the first Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week award of the season after he won the Linfield Harrier Classic on Saturday. He covered the 6,000-meter course in 19:58.36. Defending GNAC and West Region champion Caroline Kurgat of Alaska Anchorage was named the Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week for her fifth place finish at the University of San Francisco Invitational. She ran 21:39.3 for 6,000 meters and was bettered by four Division I athletes.
GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 1
FOOTBALL
Offensive: Miles Richardson (Simon Fraser, QB, 6-3, 220, Jr., Burien, Wash. – Pima CC): Richardson put up career-high numbers for the Clan in a 34-28 loss at Arizona Christian on Saturday. He completed 28 of 55 passes for 434 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a pair of touchdowns on five-yard and 10-yard runs, accounting for all four SFU touchdowns. His 434 yards passing was the 10th best effort in Division II last weekend. Also Nominated: Weston Carr (Azusa Pacific), Paul Revis (Western Oregon).
Defensive: Jackson Huerta (Central Washington, DB, 5-10, 194, Sr., Covington, Wash. – Kentwood): Huerta led Central Washington defensively with 12 tackles (6 solo, 6 assists) and had a fourth quarter interception return for 96 yards that set up a touchdown in the Wildcats’ 34-10 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Also Nominated: Adrian Shocks (Azusa Pacific), Tyler Johnson (Western Oregon).
Special Teams: Jacob Hall (Azusa Pacific, K/P, 6-2, 195, Jr., Greenville, Ill. – Greenville): Hall connected on a 25-yard field goal and went 3 of 3 on PAT attempts in the Cougars’ 24-13 win at West Texas A&M on Saturday. He also punted five times for an average of 41.2 yards per punt, which included one inside the 20-yard line. The field goal capped APU’s opening drive that opened scoring as the Cougars never trailed in the contest. Also Nominated: Jonathan Kuhn (Central Washington).
MEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Gabe Kellum (Seattle Pacific, F, 6-0, Sr., Rennes, France – Basch): Kellum finished with two goals and an assist to lead the Falcons to a 1-1-0 week. He notched his second career multi-goal game in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Sonoma State, scoring in the 15th and 67th minutes. He also assisted on SPU’s lone goal in Thursday’s season-opening 2-1 loss to Chico State. Also Nominated: Reggie Reyes (Concordia), Marcello Polisi (Simon Fraser), Christian Rotter (Western Washington).
Defensive: Javier Hernandez (Montana State Billings, GK, 5-8, Fr., Pittsburg, Calif. – Pittsburg): Hernandez opened his collegiate career with 13 saves in a pair of overtime losses. He had eight saves in Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Westminster (Utah) and also had five saves in a 2-1 neutral-site loss to Dixie State on Saturday. Also Nominated: Magnus Christensen (Simon Fraser), Tyler Visten (Western Washington).
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Gabriela Pelogi (Western Washington, F, 5-4, Jr., Federal Way, Wash. – Federal Way): Pelogi notched the 52nd hat trick in GNAC women’s soccer history to top a four-goal week. She had the three-goal performance in the Vikings’ season-opening 7-1 at Holy Names on Saturday. Pelogi opened the season by scoring the winning goal in the Vikings’ 3-1 victory at Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday as the defending Division II champions opened with a 2-0-0 record. Also Nominated: Quinn Williams (Concordia), Alexa Iacolucci (Montana State Billings), Madi Taylor (Northwest Nazarene), Kasey Reeve (Seattle Pacific), Emma Pringle (Simon Fraser), Kennedy Clay (Western Oregon).
Defensive: Annaliese Laurila (Western Washington, 6-0, So., Portland, Ore. – Grant): Laurila played 159 of a possible 180 in the Vikings’ opening two matches of the season as WWU allowed just six shots on goal in season-opening victories at Notre Dame de Namur (3-1) and Holy Names (7-1). Also Nominated: Dana Jacobs (Western Oregon).
VOLLEYBALL
Offensive: Madi Farrell (Northwest Nazarene, MB, 6-2, Sr., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – Lake City): Farrell was named the Most Valuable Player of the Cal State Monterey Bay Spring Hill Suites Classic as the Crusaders opened the season 4-0. She finished the week with a .469 hitting percentage in the four matches with 64 kills and 17 blocks. Her best effort came in Saturday’s four-set victory over Dixie State where Farrell finished with 20 kills, a .563 hitting percentage, three digs and eight blocks. Also Nominated: Markie Miller (Alaska), Maggie McTaggart (Central Washington), Lindsey Dorsey (Concordia), Bayli Monck (Montana State Billings), Alisha Bettinson (Western Oregon), Abby Phelps (Western Washington).
Defensive: Mackenzie Bowen (Western Oregon, DS, 5-9, Jr., Olympia, Wash. - Tumwater): Bowen was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Concordia-Portland Labor Day Tournament as she finished with 5.73 digs per set. She finished with a high of 35 digs in a four-set win over Lubbock Christian on Friday. Bowen also had a 15-dig performance in Saturday’s three-set sweep of Westminster (Utah). Also Nominated: Jenna Hickel (Alaska), Sabrina Wheelhouse (Central Washington), Anna Dols (Concordia), Izela Alvarez (Montana State Billings), Kendra Bodine (Northwest Nazarene), Michaela Hall (Western Washington).
CROSS COUNTRY
Men: Judd Lewis (Concordia, Sr., Wenatchee, Wash. – Spokane CC): Lewis opened the season by winning the Linfield Harrier Classic on Friday, covering the 6,000-meter course in a time of 19:58.36. He finished seven seconds ahead of second place Christian Parr of George Fox. Lewis led Concordia to a third place team finish, just six points behind champion Western Oregon. Also Nominated: Felix Kemboi (Alaska Anchorage), Parker Marson (Western Oregon).
Women: Caroline Kurgat (Alaska Anchorage, Sr., Eldoret, Kenya - Kapkenda): The defending GNAC and West Region champion opened the season by placing fifth at the University of San Francisco Invitational in a time of 21:39.3 for 6,000 meters. She trailed only four Division I runners in the race, all from USF, which finished sixth at last year’s Division I Championships. Also Nominated: Bailey Fjelstul (Concordia), Kennedy Rufener (Western Oregon).