Tuesday, November 15, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – With the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships this weekend and football and volleyball postseasons rapidly approaching, GNAC Insider talked with Simon Fraser cross country runner Addy Townsend, Azusa Pacific director of athletics Gary Pine and Central Washington volleyball outside hitter Madison Weg at 7 p.m. (Pacific) on Tuesday night.

Weg is a sophomore at Central Washington, which is battling for its fifth consecutive volleyball playoff berth. The Wildcats are ranked No. 7 in the West Region with eight teams advancing to the NCAA West Regional Tournament. Weg and the Wildcats will make their final case for the postseason this week, hosting Western Oregon and Concordia. This year, Weg has tallied 229 kills, 95 blocks and 68 digs. As a team, the Wildcats’ 3.05 blocks per set leads all of Division II. The NCAA Division II Volleyball Selection Show is on Monday at 4:30 p.m. (Pacific).

In his sixth year as the director of athletics at Azusa Pacific, Pine has guided the Cougars in their successful transition into NCAA Division II membership. Under Pine’s leadership, Azusa Pacific has finished in 17th place in the Learfield Sports Director’s Cup standings in its first two years as full NCAA members. Now in its third year of membership, it was announced on Sunday that the Azusa Pacific football team reached its first NCAA postseason as the No. 7 seed in Super Region 3. The Cougars will play at No. 2 Sioux Falls on Saturday after winning their third GNAC title in four years.

Townsend will be among the first GNAC athletes to compete at a national championship in the 2016-17 academic year as she leads a Simon Fraser squad that will compete in the Division II Cross Country National Championships in St. Leo, Fla., this weekend. Simon Fraser qualified for the event as a team with a second-place finish at the NCAA West Regional, hosted by Montana State Billings. In the race, Townsend took 26th place, covering the course in 22:10.11, which was the sixth-best time of any underclassman. The race begins on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern).