Tuesday, September 13, 2016

This week, GNAC Insider invited four guests to the show as Alaska Anchorage volleyball head coach Chris Green, Western Washington women’s soccer forward Caitlyn Jobanek, Central Washington football linebacker Kevin Haynes and Western Oregon cross country runner David Ribich join the weekly live show Tuesday, 7 p.m. Pacific, to talk about the latest in the conference.

Green is in his eighth season with the Seawolves. Despite losing the 2015 GNAC Player of the Year to graduation, Alaska Anchorage has put together an impressive start to its 2016 campaign, wrapping up non-conference play with a 10-1 record. This past week, the Seawolves went 4-0 at the D2 West Region Volleyball showcase defeating four teams ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll to earn Red Lion/GNAC Team of the Week recognition. This week, Alaska Anchorage begins GNAC play against Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific.

Western Washington has started 2016 well after reaching the NCAA Division II semifinals last year. The Vikings at home have won each of their last three contests after tying the season opener at No. 24 Sonoma State. Jobanek, who was named the 2015 GNAC Championships MVP, has been a key part of the Vikings success. Their biggest test so far this season comes on Wednesday when the Vikings take on the top team in the NSCAA West Region rankings, UC San Diego. Jobanek was a freshman the last time Western Washington played UC San Diego. She came off the bench to help the Vikings claim a 1-0 victory.

After earning his 200th career tackle last week against Western Oregon, Haynes ranks third in the GNAC among active players in total tackles. The team captain played a crucial part in holding the Wolves’ offense to just seven rushing yards in Central Washington’s 41-20 victory. Central Washington will play Azusa Pacific this week in a battle for sole possession of first place in the conference. Last year, the Wildcats defeated the Cougars 24-21 and Haynes had a team-high 10 tackles in the win along with a sack and forced fumble.

The GNAC’s first two-time winner of the 2016 season in cross country is Ribich, who won the John Frank Oregon State Invitiational on Sept. 3 and the Ash Creek Invitational last Friday. Ribich won both events by significant margins, beating the second-place runner at the Ash Creek Invitational by 13 seconds and by 9.9 seconds at the John Frank Invitational. As a result, Ribich has twice been named GNAC Men’s Cross Country Male Athlete of the Week for cross country. Ribich is also a standout in track and field, winning three all-American honors last year after being named first team all-GNAC in the fall for cross country.