Monday, October 6, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - Dani Eggleston of Central Washington was the top collegiate finisher Saturday in the Willamette Charles Bowles Invitational cross country meet at Salem, Ore.

She is one of 15 GNAC athletes to earn GNAC Player/Athlete of the Week honors for the Week of Sept. 29-Oct. 5.

Following is a recap of the honorees:

Cross Country

Men – Isaac Mitchell, Northwest Nazarene (Fr., Sandy, OR) had the best finish by a GNAC male athlete in the Willamette Charles Bowles Invitational covering the 8,000-meter course in a time 25:32.2, shaving 61 seconds off his previous collegiate-best time at that distance. 

Women – Dani Eggleston, Central Washington (Jr., Longview, WA – R.A. Long) was the top collegiate women's finisher placing second overall in the Willamette Charles Bowles Invitational and leading the Wildcats to a third-place team finish.  Eggleston covered the 5,000-meter layout in a time of 17:55.1. 

Honorable Mention - Robert Peterson, MSU Billings (Jr., Billings, MT); Nocona Frame, MSU Billings (Sr., Glendive, MT); Rebecca Hook, Northwest Nazarene (Jr., Meridian, ID – Rocky Mountain HS).

Women’s Soccer

Offense - Delanee Nilles, Western Washington (M, 5-10, Jr., Poulsbo, WA – North Kitsap HS) scored the game-winning goal in the 96th minute against Simon Fraser as the Vikings (9-0-1) stayed unbeaten with a pair of 1-0 victories versus the Clan and Montana State Billings.

Defense - Kayla Lipston, Central Washington (GK, 5-11, Sr., Federal Way, WA – Decatur) and Amanda Rose Johnson, Western Oregon (GK, 5-8, Sr., Montrose, CA – Crescent Valley) each recorded 17 saves in two shutouts last week. Lipston had a career high 11 saves in a 1-0 victory against Seattle Pacific on Thursday while Johnson made 13 stops in a 0-0 draw against the Wildcats.

Honorable Mention – Ashely  Marra, Montana State Billings (M, 5-6, So., Las Vegas, NV – Valley HS); Lexi Fresenbek, Northwest Nazarene (F, 5-4, Jr., Olympia, WA – Olympia HS); Daniele Ortiz, Northwest Nazarene (GK, 5-8, Fr., Sunnyvale, CA – Homestead).

Men’s Soccer

Offense - Bryson Pavel, Seattle Pacific (D, 6-0, Jr., Boise, ID) led the Falcons to their sixth and seventh consecutive victories. On Thursday he earned an assist on the Falcon’s game-winning goal before scoring an insurance tally in the 71st minute in a 3-1 win against Western Washington. On Saturday he recorded an assist in the Falcons' 3-1 win over Simon Fraser. In addition to his offensive contributions, he also helped limit WWU and SFU to five total shots-on-goal in the two wins.

Defense - Tom Lohmann, MSU Billings (GK, 6-2, So., Berlin, Germany – Nyack College) recorded eight saves in two victories. Lohmann recorded his second shutout of the season Saturday in a 2-0 win over South Dakota Mines and made five crucial saves in a 2-1 win over the University of Mary Thursday.

Honorable Mention -  David Loeung, MSU Billings (M, 5-9, Jr., Mill Creek, WA – Highline CC); Erik Anderson, Northwest Nazarene (F, 5-8, Jr., Boise, ID); Alfredo Ontiveros, Northwest Nazarene (GK, 6-2, Sr., La Puente, CA – Arroyo); Jovan Blagojevic, Simon Fraser (M, 6-0, Sr., Coquitlam, BC – Centennial Secondary); Jeremy Wentzel, Western Washington (D, 5-5, Jr., Edmonds, WA – Shoreline).

Volleyball

Offense – Julia Mackey, Alaska Anchorage (RS, Jr., Fairbanks, AK - West Valley HS) and Riley Podowicz, Alaska (MB, 6-0, Fr., Olympia, WA – Timberline) ... Mackey had 24 kills and hit for a .340 percentage as the Seawolves moved into first-place with a pair of 3-0 victories.  She had her third straight double-double (10 kills, 14 digs) in Thursday’s win over Saint Martin’s, then was credited with 14 kills, seven digs, two blocks and three assist and hit .440 in a sweep of Western Oregon ... Podowicz hit for a .414 percentage (14-2-29) and also had a team-high eight blocks leading the Nanooks to their first two wins of the season.  She also had a team-high six service aces and had only two attack errors in the two matches.

Defense -  Kayla Erickson, Western Washington (MB, 6-0, Sr., Gig Harbor, WA – Peninsula) had the GNAC’s top two block totals of the season as the Vikings earned 3-1 wins over Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene.  She had a GNAC season-high 11 blocks in Thursday’s win over the Wildcats, then added 10 blocks, equaling the second most this fall in the GNAC, in a 3-1 win against Northwest Nazarene.  She also had 25 kills.

Honorable Mention – Quinn Barker, Alaska Anchorage (L, 5-4, Sr., Mission Viejo, CA); Alaina Gentili, MSU Billings (MB, 6-2, Fr., Spokane Valley, WA); Elayna Rice, Northwest Nazarene (OH, 6-3, Jr., Billings, MT); Taylor Roberts, Northwest Nazarene (L, 5-5, Sr., Nampa, ID - Vallivue); Julia Wabinga, Saint Martin’s (OH, 5-8, Jr., Olympia, WA); Hannah Neumann, Saint Martin’s (OH, 5-8, Fr., Sandpoint, ID); Rachel Roeder, Western Washington (OH, 6-1, Jr., Sammamish, WA – Issaquah).

Football

Offense – Terrell Watson, Azusa Pacific (RB, 6-2, 240, Sr., Oxnard, CA) rushed for 256 yards, including a school-record 199 in the opening half, leading the Cougars to a 27-20 win at Central Washington.  Watson leads NCAA Division II in rushing with 881 yards, an average of 176.2 per game.  He has rushed for nine touchdowns, including two in the first half Saturday as APU built a 27-7 lead at halftime. 

Defense – Jordan Herdman, Simon Fraser (LB, 6-2, 231, So., Winnipeg, MB) had 10 tackles, including 2 ½ for losses of four yards.  He also forced a fumble, which was picked up by his brother Justin and returned 27 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to give the Clan a 19-6 lead on the way to a 29-19 victory.  Jordan leads the GNAC in tackles with 60, and ranks 12th nationally with an average of 12 tackles per game. 

Special Teams – Chris Campbell, Humboldt State (P, 5-11, 175, Sr., Granite Bay, CA) averaged 48.4 yards on five punts, three times pinning South Dakota Mines inside its 20-yard line. He had a season-long of 61 yards.  Campbell now leads the GNAC in punting averaging 42.3 yards.

Honorable Mention – Na’im Colbert, Azusa Pacific (LB, 6-0, 235, Jr., Chino, CA); Nick Ricciardulli, Humboldt State (RB, 5-8, 180, Sr., Poway, CA); Alex Markarian, Humboldt State (DE, 6-4, 275, Sr., Chino Hills, CA); Kraig Akins, Western Oregon (DE, 6-2, 290, Sr., Springfield, OR); Jesse Correa, Western Oregon (K, 5-10, 180, Jr., Mililani, HI)

Golf

Men - Jake Hedge, MSU Billings (Sr., Billings, MT) eagled the third playoff hole after finishing in a three-way tie with teammate Gage Huft and Hunter Anderson of Rocky Mountain to win medalist honors at the MSUB Yellowjacket Fall Invitational.  Hedge shot rounds of 69 and 74 to finish with a one-under par total of 143. 

Women -  Kristen Hansen, Western Washington (Jr., Spokane, WA – Mead) had rounds of 72, 71 and 75 to finish with a five-over par 218 total and finish seventh in the Golfweek Division II Fall Invitational at Sunriver, Ore. 

Honorable Mention – Kyle Schrader, Western Washington (Sr., Olympia, WA – Tumwater); Haley Schackelford, MSU Billings (So., Gillette, WY - Campbell County); Jennifer Liedes, Saint Martin’s (Jr., Olympia, WA).