Monday, September 17, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of high-caliber scoring performances on the soccer pitch leads the list of recipients of GNAC Player of the Week awards.

Simon Fraser sophomore forward Connor Glennon was selected as the Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after he finished with 10 points in the Clan’s two shutouts. He finished with two goals and two assists in Simon Fraser’s 5-0 blanking of Mary on Thursday and followed that up with two more goals in Saturday’s 6-0 shutout of Oklahoma Baptist.

Northwest Nazarene forward Rikki Myers picked up Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week accolades after the sophomore scored the equalizer and the game-winner in the Nighthawks’ 6-1 win over Saint Martin’s on Saturday. She also had a second-half assist as Northwest Nazarene improved to 5-0-1 on the season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Concordia defender McKenna Stocker was named the Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts in leading the Cavaliers in a 1-0 shutout of Western Washington on Saturday. Vikings’ defender Jeremiah Lee earned Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week honors in his efforts to lead Western Washington to a split in a pair of home matches. He also scored the game-winner in Saturday’s 1-0 shutout of Hawaii Pacific.

Central Washington picked up two of this week’s three football awards. Senior running back Cedric Cooper was named the Football Offensive Player of the Week after he carried 11 times for 178 yards and a touchdown to lead the Wildcats to a 49-0 shutout of Humboldt State. The Wildcats’ Chaz McKenzie was named the Special Teams Player of the Week for the second week in a row after he blocked another field goal. Teammate Tyler Hasty ran back the blocked kick 79 yards for a touchdown.

Western Oregon senior linebacker Bo Highburger was named the Football Defensive Player of the Week. He finished with 11 tackles, four for loss, a half-sack and a pair of forced fumbles, one of which later resulted in a WOU score, in Saturday’s loss to Azusa Pacific.

A pair of freshmen winners at the CWU Invitational took the weekly cross country honors. Central Washington freshman Turlan Morlan was named the Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week after he won with a time of 22:37 over the 7,000-meter course. Seattle Pacific freshman Kaylee Mitchell earned the Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week award after she won the meet’s 5,000-meter women’s race in 18:03.

Alaska Anchorage freshman middle blocker Eve Stephens earned the Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week award after she finished with 55 kills and a .427 hitting percentage in three victories. Her week was topped by a 21-kill performance against Alaska on Tuesday. Her .656 hitting percentage ranks No. 6 in GNAC history for hitting percentage with a minimum of 18 kills. Seattle Pacific’s Shaun Crespi earned the Defensive Player of the Week award for her 11 blocks in victories over Concordia and Western Oregon.

Concordia swept the Golf Player of the Week awards after sweeping the first tournament of the season. Jaxson Daskalos was named the Men’s Golf Player of the Week and Shantel Antonio earned Women’s Golf Player of the Week honors as the duo took medalist honors at last Tuesday’s Yellowjacket Fall Invitational.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 4
FOOTBALL
Offensive: Cedric Cooper (Central Washington, RB, 5-11, 185, Sr., Seattle, Wash. – Southwestern Oklahoma State Univ.): Cooper led the Central Washington offense as he rushed 11 times for 178 yards to lead the Wildcats to the 49-0 shutout of Humboldt State. The tally also included a 60-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Cooper also caught one pass for 12 yards to finish 190 all-purpose yards. Also Nominated: Weston Carr (Azusa Pacific), Rysen John (Simon Fraser), Omari Land (Western Oregon).

Defensive: Bo Highburger (Western Oregon, LB, 6-0, 220, Sr., Veneta, Ore. – Elmira): Highburger led the WOU defense with 11 tackles, including four for loss, a half-sack and a pair of forced fumbles in the Wolves 28-17 loss to Azusa Pacific. One of those forced fumbles led to a WOU score. The Western Oregon defense held Azusa Pacific to 374 yards of total offense, well below the Cougars’ average of 449 yards per game. Also Nominated: Weston Carr (Azusa Pacific), Tyler Hasty (Central Washington), Isaac Evans (Simon Fraser).

Special Teams: Chaz McKenzie (Central Washington, DB, 5-7, 166, So., Federal Way, Wash. – Todd Beamer): For the second straight week, McKenzie blocked a field goal in the Wildcats’ 49-0 shutout of Humboldt State. The blocked kick was returned 79 yards for a touchdown by Tyler Hasty. McKenzie also added six tackles in the victory. Also Nominated: Jacob Hall (Azusa Pacific), Kees Metselaar (Simon Fraser).

MEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Connor Glennon (Simon Fraser, F, 5-10, So., Vernon, B.C. – WL Seaton): Glennon scored four goals and had two assists as the Clan won two more matches to finish non-conference play at 6-0-0. He accounted six points in Simon Fraser’s 5-0 shutout of Mary on Thursday, scoring two goals to go along with two assists. Glennon then added two more goals in a 6-0 blanking of Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday. Also Nominated: Kieran McGinn (Concordia), Dana Kowachek (Montana State Billings), Sebastian Navarro (Saint Martin’s), Alden Massey (Seattle Pacific), Georg Cholewa (Western Washington).

Defensive: Jeremiah Lee (Western Washington, D, 6-4, Jr., Marysville, Wash. – Grace Academy): Lee helped anchor a Western Washington defense in a split of a pair of home matches. He scored the game-winning goal in Saturday’s 1-0 shutout of Hawaii Pacific while also playing a key role in keeping HPU off the scoreboard despite playing a man down for 78 minutes. Also Nominated: Brandon McCurtain (Concordia), Samuele Folla (Montana State Billings), Luciano Trasolini (Simon Fraser).

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Rikki Myers (Northwest Nazarene, F, 5-7, So., Mill Creek, Wash. – Henry M. Jackson): Myers started Northwest Nazarene’s conference schedule and the Nighthawks’ impressive 5-0-1 start with two goals in a 6-1 defeat of Saint Martin’s on Saturday. After Saint Martin’s scored in the seventh minute, Myers scored the equalizer in the 10th minute and the game-winner in the 34th minute. She later added an assist on Maddy Parton’s goal in the 50th minute. Also Nominated: Madison Bradley (Central Washington), Gabrielle Ewing (Concordia), Cassidy O’Dell (Montana State Billings), Kylee Sarchett (Saint Martin’s), Jenna-lee Baxter (Simon Fraser), Kennedy Clay (Western Oregon).

Defensive: McKenna Stocker (Concordia, D, 5-6, Sr., Liberty Lake, Wash. – Central Valley): Stocker anchored a Concordia defense that limited Western Washington to four shots on goal in the Cavaliers’ 1-0 win over the Vikings in the re-match between last year’s two GNAC champions. The defender played all 90 minutes as Concordia limited WWU to only one shot on goal in the first half. Also Nominated: Emily Thomson (Central Washington), Natalie Dierickx (Western Washington).

VOLLEYBALL
Offensive: Eve Stephens (Alaska Anchorage, MB, 6-1, Fr., Palmer, Alaska – Colony): Stephens led Alaska Anchorage to a trio of wins with 55 kills and a .427 hitting percentage. She led the Seawolves with 21 kills in Tuesday’s four-set win over Alaska. Her .656 hitting percentage in the match is among the best in GNAC history. Stephens finished with 23 kills in Thursday’s victory at Rocky Mountain and had 11 kills on Friday at Montana State Billings, including the go-ahead kill to break the 25-25 tie in the third set. Also Nominated: Makala Swart (Central Washington), Livia Standberg (Concordia), Megan Vernoy (Saint Martin’s), Tessa May (Simon Fraser), Mariella Vandenkooy (Western Oregon), Michaela Hall (Western Washington).

Defensive: Shaun Crespi (Seattle Pacific, MB, 6-2, Sr., Camarillo, Calif. – Westlake): Crespi finished with 11 blocks to go along with 11 kills as the Falcons swept the Oregon schools. She finished with seven blocks and two kills in a three-set sweep of Western Oregon on Thursday and then finished with four blocks and nine kills in a sweep of Concordia on Saturday. Also Nominated: Anjoilyn Vreeland (Alaska Anchorage), Kyla Morgan (Central Washington), Elyssa Rose (Concordia), Izela Alvarez (Montana State Billings), Courtney Misner (Saint Martin’s), Aubrey Stephens (Western Washington).

CROSS COUNTRY
Men: Turlan Morlan (Central Washington, Fr., Spokane, Wash. – Spokane Prep): Running in his first collegiate meet, Morlan took advantage of the home course to win the CWU Invitational against almost exclusively GNAC competition. He covered the 7,000-meter course in 22:37, averaging 5:11 per mile. Also Nominated: Ivan Colmenero (Montana State Billings), Rowan Doherty (Simon Fraser), Eric Hamel (Western Washington).

Women: Kaylee Mitchell (Seattle Pacific, Fr., Salem, Ore. – Sprague): Mitchell started her collegiate career with a victory, winning the CWU Invitational on Saturday. She covered the 5,000-meter course in 18:03, beating veteran Alexa Shindruk of Central Washington by 22 seconds. Mitchell averaged 5:48 per mile as she led the Falcons to the team title. Also Nominated: Nikki Aiken (Montana State Billings), Talia Dreicer (Western Washington).

GOLF
Men: Jaxson Daskalos (Concordia, Jr., Albany, Ore. – West Albany): Daskalos opened the season by earning medalist honors at the Yellowjacket Fall Invitational last Monday and Tuesday. He finished with a 9-under-par 207, which included a 6-under-par 66 in the opening round. Daskalos finished two strokes ahead of teammate Riley Killip as the Cavaliers took the team title with a score of 856. Also Nominated: Caleb Trost (Montana State Billings).

Women: Shantel Antonio (Concordia, Sr., Hilo, Hawaii – Kamehameha): Antonio started her senior season by winning the Yellowjacket Fall Invitational, finishing with a two-round score of 9-over-par 153. She played consistent golf, carding a 5-over-par 77 in the opening round and 4-over-par 76 in the second round. Antonio led the Cavaliers to the team title with a score of 621, 22 strokes better than second-place Montana State Billings. Also Nominated: Tierney Messmer (Montana State Billings).