Monday, October 8, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – Of all the impressive performances by Central Washington players in Saturday’s 45-31 win over Azusa Pacific on Saturday, sophomore running back Michael Roots shined above the rest to lead the list of honorees as GNAC Players of the Week.

Roots was named the Football Offensive Player of the Week after he compiled 186 all-purpose yards and scored three touchdowns in the victory, which was streamed on ESPN3 as part of the Division II Football Showcase. He rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, which included a 76-yard run for a touchdown in the third quarter. Roots also caught one pass for a 34-yard touchdown reception as he accounted for three of the Wildcats’ five trips to the end zone.

Western Oregon senior Adrian Saldana was named the Special Teams Player of the Week after he set a GNAC record with a 55-yard field goal in the Wolves’ 13-7 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville. The effort broke one of the conference’s longest-standing records, which was 54 yards by Western Washington’s Michael Koenen on Aug. 30, 2001. Saldana scored seven of the Wolves’ 13 points and opened the game with a 43-yard field goal in the first quarter.

Humboldt State sophomore linebacker Demetrick Watts was named the Defensive Player of the Week to give the Lumberjacks their first honoree of the season. Watts finished with eight tackles, one sack and one tackle for loss and recovered a fumble at the goal line for what ended up as the winning touchdown in the 23-18 win over Simon Fraser.

The volleyball weekly awards went to a pair of players helping their teams make strides to end the first half of the conference season. Alaska sophomore setter Cate Whiting was named the Offensive Player of the Week after finishing with 75 assists, 10 blocks, 12 kills and 20 digs as the Nanooks extended their win streak to four matches with a five-set win at Seattle Pacific on Thursday and a three-set win at Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

Montana State Billings’ sophomore libero Izela Alvarez earned the Defensive Player of the Week award after she had 55 digs in a pair of five-set wins over Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Central Washington on Saturday. She had 28 of those digs in the victory over the second-place Wildcats.

Simon Fraser earned a sweep of the cross country awards as the Clan women finished second and the men third at the Division II Conference Crossover in Romeoville, Ill. Senior Rowan Doherty earned the Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week award after he placed ninth in the 8,000-meter race with a time of 24:59.40. Freshman Sophia Kaiser earned the Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week honor after placing 10th in a time of 22:21.90 over 6,000 meters.

Concordia, meanwhile, swept the women’s soccer awards after the Cavaliers’ extended their unbeaten streak to 10 matches. Senior forward Kyra Radcliffe was named the Offensive Player of the Week with her three goals, two in Thursday’s 3-0 shutout of Western Oregon and one in Saturday’s 1-1 tie of Simon Fraser on Saturday. Midfielder Kasey Ames was named the Defensive Player of the Week as she anchored a Concordia defense that allowed just one goal and five shots on goal in the two matches. She also scored the game-winning goal against Western Oregon.

Simon Fraser sophomore forward Matteo Polisi earned the Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week award for his four goals and two assists in the Clan’s 5-0 shutout of Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and 6-1 victory over Seattle Pacific on Saturday. His effort included a hat trick and an assist against the Falcons. Western Washington freshman Brandon Wolter earned the Defensive Player of the Week honor after he allowed just one goal and made nine saves in a tie with Montana State Billings on Thursday and a 6-0 shutout of Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

On the links, Concordia junior Cammie Decker was selected as the Women’s Golf Player of the Week. Decker opened the week by tying for 15th place at the Rose City Collegiate, tying with teammate Shantel Antonio as the top non-Division I finishers in the three-round tournament with a score of 227. Decker then won the Saint Martin’s Invitational on Saturday by five strokes with a two-round score of 5-over-par 151.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 7
FOOTBALL
Offensive: Michael Roots (Central Washington, RB, 5-11, 200, So., Seattle, Wash. – Southern Utah Univ.): Roots finished with 186 all-purpose yards in the Wildcats’ 45-31 win over No. 24 Azusa Pacific in Saturday’s national-streamed game. He rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, which included a 76-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. He also caught one pass for 34 yards and a touchdown as he scored three of CWU’s five touchdowns. Also Nominated: Tyree Manzetta (Humboldt State), Miles Richardson (Simon Fraser), Omari Land (Western Oregon).

Defensive: Demetrick Watts (Humboldt State, LB, 6-0, 225, So., Riverside, Calif. – Hillcrest): Watts finished with eight tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack in the Lumberjacks’ 23-16 victory at home over Simon Fraser. He also recovered a fumble at the goal line for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the third quarter. Also Nominated: Adrian Shocks (Azusa Pacific), Tevin Gray (Central Washington), Brad Lyons (Simon Fraser), Nathaniel Proctor, Jr. (Western Oregon).

Special Teams: Adrian Saldana (Western Oregon, K, 5-10, 175, Sr., West Covina, Calif. – Cerritos JC): Saldana accounted for seven of the team’s 13 points in the Wolves’ 13-7 non-conference road win at Texas A&M-Kingsville. He set a GNAC record with a 55-yard field goal in the third quarter, bettering the previous record of 54 yards kicked by Michael Koenen of Western Washington in 2001. Saldana opened the game with a 43-yard field goal and made the extra point after the Wolves’ third-quarter touchdown to go 19 for 19 on PAT attempts. Also Nominated: Quinn Murdy (Humboldt State).

MEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Matteo Polisi (Simon Fraser, F, 5-10, So., Coquitlam, B.C. – Charles Best): Polisi scored four goals and had two assists as the No. 1-ranked Clan won its 10th and 11th straight matches. Polisi scored a goal and assisted on Joost Mangert’s goal in Thursday’s 5-0 shutout of Northwest Nazarene. He then scored a hat trick, which included two unassisted strikes, and assisted on the Clan’s opening goal in Saturday’s 6-0 win at Seattle Pacific. Also Nominated: Dana Kowachek (Montana State Billings), Alexis Lopez (Saint Martin’s), Georg Cholewa (Western Washington).

Defensive: Brandon Wolter (Western Washington, GK, 6-1, R-Fr., Vancouver, Wash. – Union): Wolter allowed just one goal and played 200 minutes as the Vikings went 1-0-1 last week. Wolter made four saves in a 1-1 tie with Montana State Billings on Thursday. He then made five saves on each Northwest Nazarene shot on goal in a 6-0 shutout on Saturday in Nampa. Also Nominated: Ludvig Rhodin (Montana State Billings), Eric de Graaf (Simon Fraser).

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Kyra Radcliffe (Concordia, F, 5-3, Sr., Sandy, Utah – Jordan): Radcliffe scored three goals as the Cavaliers scored a 3-0 win over Western Oregon on Thursday and tied Simon Fraser 1-1 on Saturday. Radcliffe scored a pair of second-half goals in the victory over the Wolves and tallied the Cavs’ only goal in the 48th minute in the eventual tie with the Clan. Radcliffe has now scored four goals in Concordia’s last three matches. Also Nominated: KK Wallace (Central Washington), Jordan Devoto (Montana State Billings), Kylee Sarchett (Saint Martin’s), Christina Dickson (Simon Fraser), Hannah Cabral (Western Oregon), Gabriela Pelogi (Western Washington).

Defensive: Kasey Ames (Concordia, M, 5-9, Sr., Liberty Lake, Wash. – Central Valley): Ames anchored a Concordia defense that allowed just four shots on goal as the Cavaliers extended their unbeaten streak to 10 matches. She also contributed the game-winning goal in the 31st minute of the Cavaliers’ 3-0 shutout of Western Oregon on Thursday in a match where the Cavaliers allowed just five total shots. Also Nominated: Emily Thomson (Central Washington), Taylor Hallquist (Western Washington).

VOLLEYBALL
Offensive: Cate Whiting (Alaska, S, 5-10, So., Rapid City, S.D. – Rapid City Stevens): Whiting finished with 75 assists, 10 blocks, 12 kills and 20 digs to lead the Nanooks to two road wins and extend the team’s winning streak to four matches. Whiting finished with a double-double of 47 assists and 11 digs to go with six kills and four blocks in Thursday’s five-set win at Seattle Pacific. She then finished with 28 assists, nine digs, six kills and six blocks in the Nanooks’ three-set sweep at Saint Martin’s on Saturday. Also Nominated: Eve Stephens (Alaska Anchorage), Shelby Mauritson (Central Washington), Elyssa Rose (Concordia), Maddi Vigil (Montana State Billings), Michaela Hall (Western Washington).

Defensive: Izela Alvarez (Montana State Billings, DS/L, 5-2, So., Dumas, Texas – Dumas): Alvarez finished with 55 digs in the two five-set matches as the Yellowjackets beat Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Central Washington on Saturday. On Thursday, Alvarez finished with 27 digs to go along with three assists and two aces. She then added 28 digs and two aces in Saturday’s win over the Wildcats. Also Nominated: Taylor Noga (Alaska Anchorage), Kyla Morgan (Central Washington), Callie Wilkins (Concordia), Aubrey Stephens (Western Washington).

CROSS COUNTRY
Men: Rowan Doherty (Simon Fraser, Sr., West Vancouver, B.C. – West Vancouver): Doherty led all GNAC athletes in the men’s 8,000-meter race at the Division II Conference Crossover in Romeoville, Ill. Doherty finished in ninth place in a time of 24:59.40 to lead the Clan to a third-place team finish with 127 points. Also Nominated: Tyler Jones (Western Oregon), Eric Hamel (Western Washington).

Women: Sophia Kaiser (Simon Fraser, Fr., Karlsruhe, Germany - Univ. of Mannheim): Kaiser was the top GNAC runner in the 6,000-meter race at the Division II Conference Crossover. She finished in 10th place with a time of 22:21.90 as she led the Clan to a second-place team finish with 146 points. Also Nominated: Sophia Galvez (Western Washington).

GOLF
Women: Cammie Decker (Concordia, Jr., Keizer, Ore. – McNary): Decker had a pair of top-20 finishes as the Cavaliers played in two tournaments last week. Competing against primarily Division I competition, Decker opened the week by tying for 15th place at the Rose City Collegiate with a three-round score of 227. She tied with teammate Shantel Antonio as the pair were the top non-Division I finishers. Decker returned to the course to win the Saint Martin’s Invitational on Saturday, carding a two-round score of 5-over-par 151. Also Nominated: Shealyn Hafer (Montana State Billings), Katherine Swor (Saint Martin’s), Jaya Rampuri (Simon Fraser), Lacy Sheldon (Western Washington).