Monday, September 13, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – It was a historical moment that was a long time in coming for Simon Fraser sophomore kicker Kristie Elliott, which also resulted in a historical GNAC Player of the Week award.

Elliott was named the Football Special Teams Player of the Week after she became the first Canadian female to play and score in an NCAA football game, converting a pair of extra points in Simon Fraser’s 56-20 loss at Linfield. Elliott converted on her historic kick with 16 seconds left in the first half.

Simon Fraser also received the Offensive Player of the Week award as well as freshman wide receiver Caelin Johnson caught nine passes for 193 yards and scored all three of the team’s touchdowns. That included a 63-yard touchdown reception from Justin Sieber with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Western Oregon junior linebacker Jaylin Parnell was named the Defensive Player of the Week after he came up with nine tackles, including six solo tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, in the Wolves’ 24-10 loss at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Simon Fraser also earned a sweep of the cross country awards after performing well in the team’s first cross country meet since 2019. Senior Olivia Willett was named the Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week, winning the SF State Invitational in a time of 21:57.6 over 6,000 meters. The two-second victory helped lead SFU to the team title with a score of 36 points.

Senior Aaron Ahl received Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week accolades after he won the men’s 8,000-meter race in a time of 24:30.6. He registered a nearly eight-second victory and led SFU to a second-place team finish.

Simon Fraser was also recognized on the pitch with senior goalkeeper Aidan Bain named Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week. Bain did not allow a goal in two neutral-site wins in Lacey, Washington, making five saves in a 2-0 win over Sonoma State on Thursday and seven saves in a 1-0 victory over Chico State on Saturday.

Northwest Nazarene sophomore forward Sebastian Cotrau was named the Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week as he provided all of the Nighthawks’ offense last week. Cotrau netted the game-winner in Thursday’s 1-0 win over Westminster (Utah) and tallied the equalizer in an eventual last-minute 2-1 loss to No. 16 Colorado Mesa on Saturday.

Montana State Billings freshman forward Liberty Palmer earned Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honors for her two goals and an assist in a 2-0-1 week. Palmer assisted on the equalizer in last Monday’s 1-1 tie at Mary. Her first collegiate goal was the game-winner in Thursday’s 3-0 win over MSU Moorhead. Palmer then provided an insurance goal in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Mary in Billings.

Western Washington senior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx was named the Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week after she made six saves against 15 shots in the Vikings’ 2-1 home win over No. 5 ranked Sonoma State on Sunday.

The Vikings also earned a volleyball weekly honor with sophomore outside hitter Calley Heilborn winning Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week honors. Heilborn averaged 4.75 digs per set in the Division II Colorado Premier Challenge. She had a double-double of 27 digs and 17 kills in a five-set win over Lynn on Saturday and then posted 29 digs and 15 kills in a five-set loss to No. 6 ranked Cal State San Bernardino.

Northwest Nazarene junior outside hitter Natalie Sullivan received the Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week award after she averaged 3.67 kills and 3.33 digs per set in the SoCal Freeway Challenge. She posted a double-double of 18 kills and 15 digs in a five-set loss at Concordia Irvine on Thursday and closed the tourney with 17 kills and 16 digs in Saturday’s three-set sweep of Fresno Pacific.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 3
FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE
Caelin Johnson (Simon Fraser, WR, 6-2, Fr., Seattle, Wash. – Ballard): Johnson caught nine passes 193 yards and scored all three of Simon Fraser’s touchdowns in a 56-20 loss at Linfield. Also Nominated: Omari Land (Western Oregon).

FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE
Jaylin Parnell (Western Oregon, LB, 6-0, Jr., Medford, Ore. – South Medford): Parnell led the Western Oregon defense with nine tackles, including six solo tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, in the Wolves’ 24-10 loss at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Also Nominated: Donte Hamilton (Central Washington), Griffin Barrett (Simon Fraser).

FOOTBALL SPECIAL TEAMS
Kristie Elliott (Simon Fraser, K, 5-8, So., North Vancouver, B.C. - Windsor): Elliott became the first Canadian woman to play in and score in an NCAA football game, converting on two-point after conversions in Simon Fraser’s 56-20 loss at Linfield. Also Nominated: Curtis Anderson (Western Oregon).

MEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE
Sebastian Cotrau (Northwest Nazarene, F, 5-10, So., Aurskog, Norway – Bjørjelangen Vidregående Skole): Cotrau provided for all of the Nighthawks’ scoring as NNU went 1-1 at home. Cotrau netted the game-winner in the 39th minute in Thursday’s 1-0 win over Westminster (Utah). He then netted the equalizer in the 55th minute against No. 16 Colorado Mesa, which ended in a 2-1 loss on a Colorado Mesa goal in the final 30 seconds. Also Nominated: Jason Fairhurst (Saint Martin’s), Connor Glennon (Simon Fraser).

MEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE
Aidan Bain (Simon Fraser, GK, 6-3, Sr., Port Coquitlam, B.C. – Terry Fox): Bain did not allow a goal in a pair of neutral-site wins in Lacey, Washington. Bain made five saves in Thursday’s 2-0 shutout of Sonoma State. He then stopped all seven Chico State shots on goal in the 1-0 shutout on Saturday. Also Nominated: Stephen Murray (Saint Martin’s).

WOMEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE
Liberty Palmer (Montana State Billings, F, 5-6, Fr., Maple Valley, Wash. – Tahoma): Palmer scored a pair of goals and had an assist at the Yellowjackets posted a 2-0-1 record last week. On Monday, Palmer assisted on the equalizer in the 74th minute in a 1-1 tie with Mary. She contributed the game-winner on her first collegiate goal in the 54th minute of Thursday’s 3-0 shutout of MSU Moorhead and tallied a 58th-minute insurance strike in Saturday’s 2-0 shutout of Mary. Also Nominated: Bella Brown (Central Washington), Madison Grande (Northwest Nazarene), Sophia Chilczuk (Seattle Pacific), Jada Foster (Western Oregon), Tera Ziemer (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE
Natalie Dierickx (Western Washington, GK, 5-7, Sr., Kirkland, Wash. – Colorado State Univ.): Dierickx made six saves against 15 total Sonoma State shots as Western Washington scored a 2-1 victory over the No. 5 ranked Seawolves in Bellingham. Also Nominated: Kassandra Jaggard (Central Washington), Hailee Gertsch (Montana State Billings), Ali Campigotto (Saint Martin’s), Darien Walton (Western Oregon).

VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE
Natalie Sullivan (Northwest Nazarene, OH, 6-0, Jr., Boise, Idaho – Bishop Kelly): Sullivan posted averages of 3.67 kills and 3.33 digs per set in the Nighthawks’ four matches in Southern California. She posted a double-double of 18 kills and 15 digs in Thursday’s five-set loss at Concordia Irvine. Sullivan then added 15 kills and two aces against Cal Poly Pomona on Friday and closed with 17 kills and 16 digs in Saturday’s three-set sweep of Fresno Pacific. Also Nominated: Tia Andaya (Central Washington), Bayli Monck (Montana State Billings), Tia Allen (Saint Martin’s), Julia Tays (Simon Fraser), Bailee Hartsook (Western Oregon), Olivia Fairchild (Western Washington).

VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE
Calley Heilborn (Western Washington, OH, 6-1, So., Auburn, Wash. – Auburn Riverside): Heilborn averaged 4.75 digs per set to lead the Vikings defensively at the Division II Colorado Premier Challenge. She had double-doubles in three of the four matches. Heilborn’s biggest totals came on Saturday, registering 27 digs, 17 kills and four blocks in a five-set win over Lynn before adding 29 digs and 15 kills in a five-set loss to No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino. Also Nominated: Hannah Stires (Central Washington), Caroline McMahon (Northwest Nazarene), Kylie Alos (Saint Martin’s), Hannah Hair (Seattle Pacific), Makenzie York (Western Oregon).

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Aaron Ahl (Simon Fraser, Sr., Calgary, Alta. – William Aberhart): Ahl was a nearly eight-second winner in his first cross country meet since 2019. He won Friday’s SF State Invitational in a time of 24:30.6 over 8,000 meters to finish just ahead of Chico State’s Brayden McLaughlin. Ahl averaged 4:46 per mile and led SFU to a second-place team finish with 49 points. Also Nominated: Ty Savely (Central Washington), Keanu Daos (Western Oregon), Kaleb Korta (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Olivia Willett (Simon Fraser, Sr., Coquitlam, B.C. – Riverside): Willett won the women’s 6,000-meter race at Friday’s SF State Invitational. She covered the course in a time of 21:57.6 to finish two seconds ahead of Concordia Irvine’s Jori Paradis. Willett averaged 5:53 per mile to lead Simon Fraser to the team title with 36 points, 24 points ahead of Chico State. Also Nominated: Kay Lester (Central Washington), Luz Garcia (Western Oregon), Eugenia Palko (Western Washington).