Monday, February 27, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – Coming off his victory in the 800 meters at the GNAC Indoor Championships on Tuesday, Western Washington junior Drew Weber made the most of his last chance to improve his NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time on Saturday.

Weber was named the GNAC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after he became just the fourth GNAC athlete to run under 1 minute, 50 seconds for the indoor 800 meters, clocking a time of 1:49.84 at the Ken Shannon Last Chance Invite. Weber placed fourth and now has the No. 12 time in Division II this season and is No. 4 on the GNAC all-time list.

Seattle Pacific senior David Njeri earned Men’s Field Athlete of the Week honors after he improved his NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark in the triple jump in Seattle. Njeri placed fourth with a mark of 48 feet, 11 inches that ranks No. 24 in Division II this season.

Central Washington junior E’lexis Hollis collected Women’s Track Athlete of the Week honors after placing 16th in the 60 meters. She was top non-Division I finisher with a time of 7.57 seconds. Western Oregon senior Jenelle Hurley took Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors for placing 16th in the long jump with a mark of 18 feet, 0.25 inches.

On the courts, CWU guard Camron McNeil was named the final Men’s Basketball Player of the Week of the season after he averaged 27 points per game to help lead the Wildcats to the No. 4 seed in the GNAC Championships. McNeil led all scorers with 25 points on 11 of 17 from the field and 3 of 7 from three-point range in Thursday’s 77-75 upset win at Saint Martin’s. He then poured in 29 points to lead CWU to the 75-73 win at Western Oregon on Saturday.

Western Oregon junior guard Cali McClave averaged 26 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in two wins to earn Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honors. McClave led all scorers with 29 points in Thursday’s 77-63 win over Northwest Nazarene, connecting on 8 of 19 from the field, 4 of 8 from three-point range and 9 of 9 from the free-throw line. She added 23 points in Saturday’s 83-72 win over Central Washington, adding three rebounds and three steals.

In an abbreviated week, Simon Fraser picked up its third Softball Player of the Week award of the season. Freshman Cassidy Affeldt picked up the honor after she went 4 for 7 with two runs, a double, a home run, three RBIs and six walks in four games in Hawaii. Her week included a 2 for 2 performance in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to Chaminade and a two-run homer in Thursday’s 3-2 loss at Hawaii Pacific.

Northwest Nazarene junior Sidney Booth was selected as the Softball Pitcher of the Week after she picked up the victory in Saturday’s 1-0 shutout of Central Washington. Booth threw 5.1 innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out seven.

The Nighthawks swept the baseball weekly honors as NNU hosted No. 6 Colorado Mesa in a four-game series. Senior utility player Shane Jamison was named the Baseball Player of the Week after he batted .375 in the four games. He had hits in all four games and went 2 for 3 with two runs and three RBIs in Friday’s 11-6 win. Senior Brock Moffitt earned the Pitcher of the Week award for his starting performance in the win, allowing two runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts in six innings.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 27
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Camron McNeil (Central Washington, G, 6-5, Jr., Raleigh, N.C. – Radford Univ.): McNeil averaged 27 points per game and shot 62.9% from the field and 61.5% from three-point range to lead the Wildcats to two critical road wins that earned CWU the No. 4 seed in the GNAC Championships. McNeil led all scorers with 25 points in Thursday’s 77-75 upset at Saint Martin’s. He connected on 11 of 17 from the field and 3 of 7 from three-point range. McNeil was once again the leading scorer with 29 points in Saturday’s 75-73 win at Western Oregon. He made 11 of 18 from the field and 5 of 6 from long range to go with three rebounds and two steals. Also Nominated: Dathan Satchell (Alaska Anchorage), Bilal Shabazz (Montana State Billings), Shaw Anderson (Seattle Pacific), Jahmal Wright (Simon Fraser), Lucas Holden (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Cali McClave (Western Oregon, G, 5-9, Jr., Corvallis, Ore. – Crescent Valley): McClave averaged 26 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and was a perfect 12 of 12 from the free-throw line as Western Oregon closed the season with two wins. McClave led all scorers with 29 points in Thursday’s 77-63 win over Northwest Nazarene, connecting on 8 of 19 from the field, 4 of 8 from the free-throw line and 9 of 9 from the free-throw line to go with eight rebounds. She posted a 23-point performance in Saturday’s 83-72 win over Central Washington to go with three rebounds and three steals. Also Nominated: Vishe’ Rabb (Alaska Anchorage), Samantha Bowman (Central Washington), Aspen Giese (Montana State Billings), Clare Eubanks (Northwest Nazarene), Jessica Wisotzki (Simon Fraser), Carley Zaragoza (Western Washington).

BASEBALL PLAYER
Shane Jamison (Northwest Nazarene, UT, 5-9, Sr., Lummi Island, Wash. – Seattle Univ.): Jamison batted .375 in a four-games series against No. 6 Colorado Mesa, going 6 for 14 with four runs, five RBIs, a double and three walks. He had hits in each game of the series, going 2 for 3 with two runs and three RBIs in Friday’s 11-6 victory. He went 2 for 4 with an RBI double in Saturday’s 6-3 loss. Also Nominated: Sam Lauderdale (Central Washington), Payton Flynn (Montana State Billings), Damon Ingram (Saint Martin’s).

BASEBALL PITCHER
Brock Moffitt (Northwest Nazarene, P, 6-0, Sr., Valley Center, Calif. – UC Davis): Moffitt picked up the win in the Nighthawks’ 11-6 win over No. 6 Colorado Mesa on Friday. In six innings, Moffitt allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. He threw 88 pitches, 53 for strikes, and improved to 2-0 on the season. Also Nominated: Alex Brady (Central Washington), Jackson Betancourt (Montana State Billings), Justice Yamashita (Saint Martin’s).

SOFTBALL PLAYER
Cassidy Affeldt (Simon Fraser, IF/P, 5-7, Fr., Mission, B.C. – Thomas Haney): Affeldt led the offensive production for Simon Fraser in its four games in Hawaii, going 4 for 7 with two runs, a double, a home run and three RBIs. She also drew six walks for a .769 on base percentage. Affeldt went 2 for 2 with a double and a run scored in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss at Chaminade. Her two-run homer accounted for all of SFU’s runs in Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Hawaii Pacific. Also Nominated: Harlee Carpenter (Central Washington), Emily Paulson (Western Washington).

SOFTBALL PITCHER
Sidney Booth (Northwest Nazarene, P/UT, 5-4, Jr., Puyallup, Wash. – Puyallup): Booth earned the win in Saturday’s 1-0 shutout of Central Washington in the first game of the doubleheader between the two teams. In 5.1 innings, she allowed two hits and one walk and struck out seven for her third win of the season. Also Nominated: Isabel Womack (Central Washington), Shaneika Hollingworth (Simon Fraser), Hanako Hirai (Western Washington).

MEN’S TRACK
Drew Weber (Western Washington, Jr., Vancouver, Wash. – Fort Vancouver): Weber solidified his chances for a Division II Indoor Championships berth, placing fifth in the 800 meters at the Ken Shannon Last Chance Invite. His time of 1:49.84 ranks fourth on the GNAC all-time list and is No. 12 in Division II this season. Weber became just the fourth athlete in GNAC indoor history to run under 1:50 in the 800 meters. Also Nominated: Johan Correa (Central Washington).

MEN’S FIELD
David Njeri (Seattle Pacific, Sr., Tacoma, Wash. – Wilson): Njeri improved his season-best and NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark in the triple jump at the Ken Shannon Last Chance Invite, placing fourth with a mark of 48 feet, 11 inches. The performance ranks 24th in Division II this season.

WOMEN’S TRACK
E’lexis Hollis (Central Washington, Jr., Ellensburg, Wash. – Ellensburg): Hollis was the top non-Division I qualifier in the 60-meter dash at the Ken Shannon Last Chance Invite, placing 16th in a time of 7.57 seconds. Also Nominated: Ila Davis (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Jenelle Hurley (Western Oregon, Sr., Grants Pass, Ore. – Hidden Valley): Hurley was the top non-Division I finisher in the long jump at the Ken Shannon Last Chance Invite, placing 16th with a mark of 18 feet, 0.25 inches.