Monday, September 9, 2013
PORTLAND, Ore. - A total of 11 Great Northwest Athletic Conference athletes including cross country runners Robert Peterson of Montana State Billings and McKayla Fricker of Seattle Pacific have been selected the GNAC Red Lion Athletes of the Week (@redlionhotels) for the Week of Sept. 2-8.
The honorees include:
Cross Country
Male - Robert Peterson, MSU Billings (So., Billings, MT – Skyview) won a pair of races and led the Yellowjackets to their first perfect score in 25 years. On Thursday, Peterson won the Alaska Fairbanks Invitational in a 8,000-meter time of 26:12.8 as MSUB swept the first five places. Two days later, Peterson repeated his victory winning the UAF Short-Course Invitational in a 4,000-meter time of 12:40.9 as the Yellowjackets won the team title with a team score of 17.
Female - McKayla Fricker, Seattle Pacific (Sr., Canby, OR) posted her first two collegiate cross country victories leading the Falcons to a pair of team victories at Fairbanks. On Thursday, the 2012 Indoor 800 meter All-American was clocked in a 6,000-meter time of 22:58.3 to finish 15 seconds ahead of teammate Anni Patti. She posted another 15-second win Saturday in a 4K time of 15:09.4 as Renae Hepfner of MSUB finished second in 15:224.8.
Honorable Mention – Susan Tanui, Alaska Anchorage; Dylan Anthony, Alaska Anchorage; Lillianna Stelling, Western Washington; Rudy Spencer, Central Washington; Connie Morgan, Central Washington; Natalie Evans, Northwest Nazarene; Chase Cunningham, Northwest Nazarene; Renae Hepfner, MSU Billings.
Football
Offense – Ryan Stanford, Simon Fraser (QB, 6-3, 199, So., Phoenix, AZ) threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns as the Clan upset Humboldt State 41-27 at the Redwood Bowl handing the Lumberjacks just their third home loss in the past four seasons. Stanford completed 33 of 46 passes. His yardage total is the fifth highest single-game total in GNAC history.
Defense – Casey Chin, Simon Fraser (LB, 5-10, 214, Sr., Port Moody, BC – New Westminster) had 10 tackles, including one for a loss of two yards, and a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions in the Clan’s victory. His first interception, which he returned 70 yards, came on a first down from the Clan 19 with 2:51 left. He then sealed the victory with another interception with 48 seconds remaining.
Special Teams – Chris Campbell, Humboldt State (P, 5-11, 175, Jr., Granite Bay, CA) averaged 47 yards on six punts, including five that went inside the 20. His longest punt was 63 yards.
Honorable Mention – Terrell Watson, Azusa Pacific; Sean Barber, Azusa Pacific; Jordan Todd, Central Washington.
Men’s Soccer
Offense – Lucas Ferrito, Simon Fraser (F, 5-6, Sr., Hamilton, ON – St. Jean De Brebeuf) scored twice helping the Clan to a pair of tight victories to open the season. The senior forward scored No. 3 SFU’s first goal of the season on Thursday in the 10th minute of a 2-1 victory over Cal State East Bay, and then doubled his season tally with the go-ahead goal in a 4-3 win against Holy Names on Saturday.
Defense – Juan Perez, Northwest Nazarene (D, 6-0, Jr., Los Angeles, CA - LA Harbor College), anchored the Crusaders’ back line for 110 minutes and scored the game-tying goal with six minutes remaining in regulation in a 1-1 draw against Cal State Stanislaus on Thursday. "Juan was exceptional defensively and he showed great leadership,” NNU coach Coe Michaelson said. “To add in a game-tying goal on top of that late in the game definitely makes him deserving of this honor."
Honorable Mention – Andrew Weishaar, Western Washington; Bailey Martin, Western Washington.
Women’s Soccer
Offense – Laura Moore, Seattle Pacific (F, 5-3, So., Kent, WA – Kentwood) scored the Falcons’ lone goal in a tough 2-1 loss to No. 3 UC San Diego on Thursday, and scored again on Saturday as SPU shut out Point Loma Nazarene 3-0. “Laura was fantastic in both games getting our team off to early leads,” said head coach Chuck Sekyra, adding, “two goals in two games is no easy task on the road against those two programs.”
Defense – Ashton Griffen, Western Washington (M, 5-4, Sr., Duvall, WA – Cedarcrest) played 90 minutes of solid defense against UC San Diego to help the Vikings to a 1-0 upset of the No. 3 team in the country on Saturday. Griffen was instrumental in maintaining organization for 12th-ranked WWU, as head coach Travis Connell commented, “it looked like there were two of her out there.”
Honorable Mention – Jessica Bertucci, Western Washington; Allison Frost, Western Oregon.
Volleyball
Offense – Kayla Erickson, Western Washington (MB, 6-0, Jr., Gig Harbor, WA) hit for a phenomenal .542 percentage (50-5-83) and also had a team-high 15 blocks as the Vikings cruised to four 3-0 victories in the Western Oregon Invitational. With Erickson leading the way, WWU outhit its four opponents .390 to .120.
Defense – Nikki Lowell, Seattle Pacific (MB, 5-10, Sr., Claremont, CA) had 26 blocks as the Falcons split four matches in the Coyote Classic. Eight of her blocks came in a 3-2 victory over 14th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino as SPU overcome a 2-0 set deficit to beat the Coyotes for the first time in eight all-time tries. Lowell also had 12 kills and a career-high eight digs. SPU had won just one set in its previous seven contests with San Bernardino.
Honorable Mention - Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington; Ellie Britt, Seattle Pacific; Catie Fry, Central Washington; Kristyn Ross, Saint Martin’s; Halee Hernandez, Saint Martin’s; Andrea Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene; Taylor Roberts, Northwest Nazarene; Chelsey Walter, MSU Billings.