Tuesday, October 20, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. – Episode 71 of GNAC Insider aired Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT. Joining the program was Western Washington head cross country coach Pee Wee Halsell, Montana State Billings cross country runner Robert Peterson, Alaska Anchorage forward Megan Mullings and Western Oregon forward Andy Avgi.

Halsell is in his 29th year as the head cross country and track and field coach at Western Washington. He has earned 32 Coach of the Year honors in his career, including 15 from the GNAC. This season, Halsell has coached both the men’s and women’s teams into top-25 rankings in the USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll. The women’s team is ranked No. 12 while the men are ranked No. 21. This year, Western Washington will host the GNAC Cross Country Championships at Lake Padden Park on Saturday, Oct. 24. Halsell spoke about his career with WWU, the cross country championships and the runners on his team this season.

Peterson is a senior cross country runner at Montana State Billings. He has won four races this season and finished in the top-five in every race he has competed in. Peterson started his season with back-to-back wins at the Moda Health Alaska Invitational on Sept. 3 in the men’s 8,000-meter race and on Sept. 5 in the men’s 5,000-meter race. Peterson also finished first at the Montana State Invite on Sept. 19, a race that included Division I and II athletes. He has been named the GNAC Runner of the Week twice this season. Peterson spoke about his reasoning to attend school in his hometown of Billings, his season heading into the championship and his expectations for the GNAC Championships. 

Mullings is a senior forward for the Alaska Anchorage women’s basketball team. Heading into the season, Mullings was selected to Division II Bulletin’s Preseason Super 16 List. Last season, Mullings earned the GNAC Newcomer of the Year award after transfering from Arizona’s South Mountain Community College. She led the Seawolves with 13.6 points and 1.5 blocks per game, while shooting 60.4 percent from the field, which ranked fourth in Division II. The Seawolves were picked No. 1 in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving 10 of 11 first place votes. Mullings spoke about her preseason award, how the team compares from last season with four returning starters and how she enters the season in her second year in the GNAC.

Avgi is a senior forward for the Western Oregon men’s basketball team. He was the GNAC Player of the Year as a junior, leading Western Oregon to a first place regular season finish. Avgi led the Wolves with 18.5 points per game, and was second on the team with 5.9 rebound per game and 15 blocks. Heading into his senior season, the Wolves are picked second in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll, while Avgi has received two preseason awards. He was named to The Sporting News’ 2015-16 Division II Preseason All-American First Team as well as the Division II Bulletin’s Preseason Super 16 list along with Mullings. Avgi spoke about playing football this season during the fall, being named a preseason All-American and what the team expects for this season with four returning senior starters. 

GNAC Insider is hosted by Rob Lowery airing live at 7 p.m. Pacific every Tuesday and is produced by the conference office. All episodes become available as free podcasts via iTunes. To listen to archived episodes go to GNAC.TV.