Monday, April 26, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of three-win efforts on the track for Alaska Anchorage sophomore Enrique Campbell and senior Elena Cano lead the list of GNAC Athlete of the Week selections.

Campbell was named the Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after he won both short sprints at the Western Oregon Pop-Up Meet on Friday, winning the 100 meters in 10.94 seconds and the 200 meters in a GNAC-leading 21.95 seconds. He added a win in the 400 meters at the Linfield Invitational on Saturday, clocking 49.80 seconds.

Cano won both hurdles races at the Linfield Invitational, taking the 100-meter hurdles in 15.03 seconds and the 400-meter hurdles in 1:04.18. Cano added a third victory in the long jump, leaping a personal-best 18 feet, 3.75 inches.

Montana State Billings senior Beau Ackerman was named the Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after he won the college division javelin at the Drake Relays for the second-straight year. Ackerman won by 26 feet with a mark of 216 feet, 3 inches that would have placed third in the Division I section of the meet.

Northwest Nazarene freshman Kinsey Langin and Western Washington junior Natalie Vetto shared the Women’s Field Athlete of the Week award. Langin placed fourth in the pole vault at the BYU Robison Invitational with a school record mark of 12 feet, 8 inches that moves her into No. 4 on the GNAC All-Time List and ties her for 29th in Division II this year. Vetto won the javelin at the Peyton-Shotwell Invitational with a mark of 139 feet, 11 inches, which ranks No. 27 in Division II this season.

Montana State Billings swept the baseball awards after taking three of four games on the road from Saint Martin’s. Junior Justin Lutz was named the Baseball Player of the Week after he went 4 for 7 in two games. He batted 3 for 4 in Friday’s opener, which included an RBI double and a solo home run.

Senior Blake Tritch was named the Baseball Pitcher of the Week after he went extra innings to win Friday’s finale. He allowed one run on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts to earn his first win of the season in the 4-1 victory.

Saint Martin’s freshman Britney Patrick was named the Softball Player of the Week after she went 10 for 18 with eight runs, five RBI, two doubles and three home runs in the Saints’ road sweep of Montana State Billings. She had two hits in each game, hitting a pair of solo home runs in Saturday’s opener before putting together three-hit performances in both Sunday games.

Northwest Nazarene senior Tori Hensley was named the Softball Pitcher of the Week after she threw a four-hit shutout to beat Western Washington on Friday. She allowed two walks and struck out six to improve to 6-2 on the season. Hensley also appeared in relief in Saturday’s opener, a 9-5 victory, as NNU took three of four games from the Vikings.

Seattle Pacific junior Alden Massey received the Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week award after he scored two goals in 68 minutes in the Falcons’ 3-1 win over Saint Martin’s on Wednesday. He scored the game-winner in the 31st minute off an assist from Travis Swallow and then connected for an unassisted goal in the 49th minute.

Western Washington sophomore Estera Levinte was named the Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after finishing with two goals and an assist in two matches. She assisted on the game-winner in Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Saint Martin’s and then scored a pair of second-half goals in Saturday’s 4-4 tie with Seattle Pacific.

Northwest Nazarene sophomore Makayla Roggow earned Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week accolades as she anchored a defense that limited Western Oregon to just six shots in a 2-0 shutout on Saturday. It was the Nighthawks’ seventh shutout of the season as they closed the year with an 11-0-0 record.

Alaska Anchorage junior Eve Stephens ended her season as the Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week after she averaged 4.05 kills and 2.74 digs per set on the Seawolves’ five-match Hawaii trip. She had double-doubles in three of the matches, paced by her 21 kills, 15 digs, two aces and three blocks in Friday’s five-set win over Hawaii Hilo.

Western Washington sophomore Calley Heilborn was named the Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 4.80 digs, 3.40 kills and 0.50 blocks per set in three matches against Seattle Pacific. She had a double-double of 19 digs and 11 kills in Friday’s three-set win and then notched 14 digs and 14 kills in Saturday’s second-match four-set win.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 16
BASEBALL PLAYER
Justin Lutz (Montana State Billings, C, 6-0, Jr., North Bend, Wash. – Spokane Falls CC): Lutz went 4 for 7 in his two games for the Yellowjackets against Saint Martin’s with four runs, two RBI, a double and a home run. In Thursday’s opener, Lutz went 1 for 4 with an RBI single that proved to score the game-winning run in the 6-5 victory. Lutz opened Friday by going 3 for 4 with an RBI double and a solo home run in the 19-8 opening-game win. Also Nominated: Griffin Williams (Saint Martin’s).

BASEBALL PITCHER
Blake Tritch (Montana State Billings, P, 6-2, Sr., Chaska, Neb. – North Dakota State Univ.): Tritch went extra innings to earn the complete-game win in the 4-1 series finale with Saint Martin’s on Friday. Going eight innings, Tritch allowed one run on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. Also Nominated: Zach Alcos (Saint Martin’s).

SOFTBALL PLAYER
Britney Patrick (Saint Martin’s, IF, 5-8, Fr., Raymond, Wash. – Willapa Valley): Patrick batted .556 as Saint Martin’s swept Montana State Billings to claim a stake in the GNAC Championships race, going 10 for 18 with eight runs, 5 RBI, two doubles and three home runs. Patrick went 2 for 4 in Friday’s opener with a pair of solo home runs and then went 2 for 5 in the nightcap with an RBI single and two runs scored. On Saturday, Patrick went 3 for 5 with two doubles in game one and capped the series by going 3 for 4 with her third solo homer of the weekend. Also Nominated: Brittanee Fisher (Montana State Billings), Maia McNicoll (Northwest Nazarene), Chantelle Shimabukuro (Western Washington).

SOFTBALL PITCHER
Tori Hensley (Northwest Nazarene, P, 5-9, Sr. Kirkland, Wash. – Boise State Univ.): Hensley threw a complete-game shutout in the Nighthawks’ 7-0 second-game win over Western Washington on Friday. She allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out six to improve to 6-2 on the season, Hensley also appeared in relief in Saturday’s 9-5 first-game win, allowing two runs on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts in two innings. Also Nominated: Abby Runyon (Saint Martin’s).

MEN’S TRACK
Enrique Campbell (Alaska Anchorage, So., St. Catherine, Jamaica): Campbell won all three events he competed in at two meets in Oregon. At Friday’s Western Oregon Pop-Up, Campbell won the 100 meters in 10.94 seconds and the 200 meters in a GNAC-leading 21.95 seconds. Both are personal bests and rank on Alaska Anchorage’s top-10 lists. At Saturday’s Linfield Invitational, Campbell won the 400 meters in a time of 49.80 seconds. Also Nominated: Zachary Davis (Central Washington), Carson Jessop (Montana State Billings), Tyler Shea (Northwest Nazarene), Landon Armstrong (Saint Martin’s), Justin Crosswhite (Western Oregon), Cordell Cummings (Western Washington).

MEN’S FIELD
Beau Ackerman (Montana State Billings, Sr., Glendive, Mont. – Dickinson State Univ.): Ackerman won the college division javelin for the second year in a row at the prestigious Drake Relays with a mark of 216 feet, 3 inches. He was the only athlete to throw over 200 feet in the competition, winning by 26 feet. His mark would have finished third in the meet’s university division. Also Nominated: Aidan Cain (Central Washington), Dylan Hendry (Northwest Nazarene), Andrew Schulz (Saint Martin’s), Karsten Collins (Western Oregon), Kacey Provo (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Elena Cano (Alaska Anchorage, Sr., Alpine, Texas - Alpine): Cano won three events, including both hurdles disciplines, at the Linfield Invitational. She captured the 100-meter hurdles in 15.03 seconds, winning by nearly a second, and won the 400-meter hurdles in 1:04.18 with a four-second margin of victory. Cano also won the long jump with a personal-best mark of 18 feet, 3.75 inches. Also Nominated: Kay Lester (Central Washington), Kailee Stoppel (Montana State Billings), Eden Mortensen (Saint Martin’s), Maliyah Thompson (Western Oregon), Karlie Hurley (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Kinsey Langin (Northwest Nazarene, Fr., Meridian, Idaho – The Ambrose School): Langin improved her NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark in the pole vault, placing fourth at the BYU Robison Invitational with a mark of 12 feet, 8 inches. The mark ties her for 29th in Division II this season and ranks No. 4 on the GNAC All-Time List.

Natalie Vetto (Western Washington, Jr., Kirkland, Wash. – Lake Washington): Vetto won the javelin at the Peyton-Shotwell Invitational with a mark of 139 feet, 11 inches. The season-best improved her to No. 27 in Division II this season. Also Nominated: Avery Fisk (Central Washington), Kendall Lynn (Montana State Billings), Jocelyn Saribay (Saint Martin’s), Moana Gianotti (Western Oregon).

MEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE
Alden Massey (Seattle Pacific, F, 6-1, Jr., Duvall, Wash. – Cedarcrest): Massey scored two goals and played 68 minutes in the Falcons’ 3-1 win over Saint Martin’s on Wednesday. He made it a 2-1 contest on his goal off of Travis Swallow’s assist in the 31st minute and added an unassisted insurance strike in the 49th minute. The goals were Massey’s first two of the season and his second career multi-goal match.

WOMEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE
Estera Levinte (Western Washington, F, 5-7, So., Bothell, Wash. – Bothell): Levinte scored a pair of second-half goals in the Vikings 2-2 tie with Seattle Pacific on Saturday. Levinte connected off of a Caylie Etherington assist in the 52nd minute to open scoring for WWU and then scored unassisted in the 74th to give the Vikings a 3-2 lead. Levinte opened the week by assisting on the game-winner in Western’s 1-0 win over Saint Martin’s on Tuesday. Also Nominated: Grace Jackson (Central Washington), McKenzie Buell (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE
Makayla Roggow (Northwest Nazarene, D, 5-8, So., Kelso, Wash. – Kelso): Roggow paced a Northwest Nazarene defense that allowed Western Oregon just six shots as the Nighthawks completed an 11-0-0 season with a 2-0 shutout of the Wolves on Saturday. It was the Nighthawks’ seventh shutout of the season. Also Nominated: Ali Campigotto (Saint Martin’s).

VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE
Eve Stephens (Alaska Anchorage, RS, 6-1, Jr., Palmer, Alaska – Colony): Stephens averaged 4.05 kills and 2.74 digs per set with six aces as the Seawolves ended the season with five matches in Hawaii. She opened the trip with a double-double of 21 kills and 15 digs to go with two aces and three blocks in Friday’s five-set win over Hawaii Hilo. She also notched double-doubles in the final two matches, adding 22 kills, 16 digs, an ace and four blocks on Saturday against the Vulcans before registering 14 kills, 13 digs, an ace and three blocks against Hawaii Pacific on Sunday. In the HPU match, Stephens became the 10th player in UAA history to reach 1,000 career kills. Also Nominated: Maddie Batiste (Seattle Pacific), Malia Aleaga (Western Washington).

VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE
Calley Heilborn (Western Washington, OH, 6-1, So., Auburn, Wash. – Auburn Riverside): Heilborn averaged 4.80 digs, 3.40 kills and 0.50 blocks per set as the Vikings went 2-1 against Seattle Pacific. In Friday’s home match, Heilborn finished with a double-double of 19 digs and 11 kills to go with an ace and three blocks in the three-set win. She just missed a double-double in Saturday’s road opener with 15 digs and nine kills before closing the doubleheader with a double-double of 14 digs and 14 kills with two blocks in the second match. Also Nominated: Talia Leauanae (Alaska Anchorage).