Monday, March 21, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – The outdoor track and field season started off well for Alaska Anchorage senior Elena Cano and sophomore Joshua Wagner, both of whom used NCAA Championships provisional qualifying performances in the hurdles to earn GNAC Athlete of the Week honors.

Cano was named the Women’s Track Athlete of the Week after she won the 400-meter hurdles at the Hornet Invitational in Sacramento on Saturday. Her time of 1:00.86 ranks No. 8 on the GNAC all-time list and is the best in Division II this season. Cano also placed second in the 100-meter hurdles and fifth in the long jump and ran on the Seawolves’ second-place 4x400-meter relay team.

Wagner earned Men’s Track Athlete of the Week honors for his win in the 110-meter hurdles in Sacramento. His time of 14.37 seconds is No. 3 on the GNAC all-time list and is the fifth-best in Division II this season. Wagner went on to finish second in the 400-meter hurdles and ran on the Seawolves’ seventh-place 4x100-meter relay team.

Western Oregon freshman Kaylee Wright improved her NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the javelin to earn Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors. She placed fourth in the event at the OSU PNW Invite on Saturday with a mark of 143 feet that ranks No. 9 in Division II this season.

Saint Martin’s senior Josh Schulz repeated as the Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after he won the long jump at Saturday’s Doris Heritage Track Festival. His mark of 22 feet, 10 inches was a season-best by four inches and leads the conference.

The Saints swept the softball weekly awards for the second straight week after sweeping Simon Fraser in SMU’s start to conference play. Senior Devyn Connolly was named the Softball Player of the Week after she batted .545 in the four games, going 6 for 11 with two doubles, a triple, six runs and eight RBI. Connolly went 3 for 3 with a two-run double and four runs scored in Saturday’s 11-9 opening-game win and had a two-run triple in the second game. Connolly had a single hit in each of Sunday’s games, including a two-run double in the nightcap.

Freshman Chloe Leverington threw two complete-game wins to earn Softball Pitcher of the Week honors. In Saturday’s 9-0, five-inning win, Leverington allowed just three hits and struck out five as she faced just two batters above the minimum. On Sunday, Leverington allowed two runs on seven hits with two strikeouts in Sunday’s 6-2 win in the series finale.

Northwest Nazarene sophomore Grant Kerry was named the Baseball Player of the Week after he batted .385 in the Nighthawks’ series victory over Western Oregon. He had a hit in each game of the series, which included an RBI single to open the scoring in Friday’s 5-3 opening-game victory, a 2 for 4 performance in Saturday’s 5-4 opening-game win and a three-run homer in the 6-5 victory in the nightcap.

Montana State Billings senior Connor Redmond received Baseball Pitcher of the Week honors after allowing four hits and two walks while striking out seven in 5.1 shutout innings of work in Sunday’s 5-0 win over Saint Martin’s.

Simon Fraser swept the golf weekly honors. Sophomore Shirin Anjarwalla was named the Women’s Golf Player of the Week after she placed fourth at the Pack Classic on Sunday. Playing both rounds on the same day, Anjarwalla carded a score of 6-over-par 150 with a low round of 74 on the final 18 holes.

Freshman Bailey Bjornson earned Men’s Golf Player of the Week honors after he tied for 14th place at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout. He carded a three-round score of 3-under-par 213 and shot under par in the first two rounds of the tournament.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 30
BASEBALL PLAYER
Grant Kerry (Northwest Nazarene, UT, 6-3, So., Wynward, England – Boise State Univ.): Kerry batted .385 with a .529 on-base percentage and a .769 slugging percentage to help lead the Nighthawks to a key series victory over Western Oregon. He had a hit in each game of the series, which included an RBI single to open scoring in Friday’s 5-3 opening-game victory. He went 1 for 3 and drew three walks in the nightcap. Kerry went 2 for 4 and scored a pair of runs in Saturday’s 5-4 opening-game win and sparked a rally with his three-run homer in the fifth inning in the 6-5 win in the second game. Also Nominated: Austin Ohland (Central Washington), Carson Green (Montana State Billings), Cody Chavis (Saint Martin’s), Jacob Maiben (Western Oregon).

BASEBALL PITCHER
Connor Redmond (Montana State Billings, P, 6-3, Sr., Danville, Calif. – Cal Poly): Redmond earned a 5-0 win over Saint Martin’s on Sunday, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out seven in 5.1 innings as he improved to 3-3 on the season. Also Nominated: Josh Touhey (Central Washington), Haden Keller (Northwest Nazarene), Justice Yamashita (Saint Martin’s), Mike Peterson (Western Oregon).

SOFTBALL PLAYER
Devyn Connolly (Saint Martin’s, C, 5-8, Sr., Corona, Calif. – Corona): Connolly batted .545 in the Saints’ four-game sweep of Simon Fraser, going 6 for 11 with two doubles, a triple, six runs and eight RBI. Connolly went 3 for 3 with a two-run double and four runs scored in Saturday’s 11-9 opening-game win and then connected for a two-run triple in the nightcap. She had a single hit in each of Sunday’s games, including a two-run double in the nightcap. Also Nominated: Alyssa Benthagen (Central Washington), Brittanee Fisher (Montana State Billings), Abigail Gagnon (Northwest Nazarene), Alex Ogg (Simon Fraser), Logan Carlos (Western Oregon).

SOFTBALL PITCHER
Chloe Leverington (Saint Martin’s, P, 6-0, Fr., Forks, Wash. – Forks): Leverington picked up two wins in the Saints’ four-game sweep of Simon Fraser, amassing a 1.17 earned run average while allowing two runs on 10 hits with seven strikeouts. Leverington allowed just three hits and struck out five in Saturday’s 9-0, five-inning victory as she faced just two batters above the minimum. She also went the distance in Sunday’s 6-2 finale, allowing two runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. Leverington did not allow a walk in the series. Also Nominated: Alyssa Etheridge (Montana State Billings), Gina Skinner (Northwest Nazarene), Reilly Tidwell (Western Oregon).

MEN’S TRACK
Joshua Wagner (Alaska Anchorage, So., Niederahr, Germany): Wagner provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 110-meter hurdles at the Hornet Invitational. He won with a wind-aided time of 14.37 seconds, which is No. 5 in Division II this season and is No. 3 on the GNAC all-time list. Wagner also placed second in the 400-meter hurdles in 54.23 seconds and ran on the Seawolves’ seventh-place 4x100-meter relay team. Also Nominated: Austin Albertin (Central Washington), Bradley Graves (Montana State Billings), Steven Baltz (Saint Martin’s), Aiden Good (Simon Fraser), Justin Crosswhite (Western Oregon), Jeret Gillingham (Western Washington).

MEN’S FIELD
Josh Schulz (Saint Martin’s, Sr., Pe Ell, Wash. – Washington State Univ.): Schulz posted a four-inch season-best to win the long jump at the Doris Heritage Track Festival, winning with a mark of 22 feet, 10 inches. The current GNAC leader in the event, Schulz has won in all three outdoor competitions he has competed in this season. Also Nominated: Collin Sample (Alaska Anchorage), Tre Silva (Central Washington), Forrest Cross (Montana State Billings), Zackary Kuzyk (Simon Fraser), Marlon Harrison (Western Oregon), Beau Sheeran (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Elena Cano (Alaska Anchorage, Sr., Alpine, Texas – Alpine): Racing against a largely Division I field, Cano won the 400-meter hurdles at the Hornet Invitational on Saturday in Sacramento. Her time of 1:00.86 is an NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time, is No. 8 on the GNAC all-time list and leads Division II this season. Cano also placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles (14.76 seconds) and fifth in the long jump (18-5.25) and ran a leg on the Seawolves’ second-place 4x400-meter relay team (4:03.16). Also Nominated: McCall DeChenne (Central Washington), Madeline Severson (Montana State Billings), Naomi Hartley (Saint Martin’s), Olivia Willett (Simon Fraser), Maliyah Thompson (Western Oregon), Sophie Wright (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Kaylee Wright (Western Oregon, Fr., John Day, Ore. – Grant Union): Wright improved her NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark at the OSU PNW Invite, placing fourth with a mark of 143 feet. The performance ranks No. 9 in Division II this season and was the top non-Division I placer in the event. Also Nominated: Avery Fisk (Central Washington), Ryann Moline (Montana State Billings), Eden Mortensen (Saint Martin’s), Sydney Kania (Simon Fraser), Raine Westfall (Western Washington).

MEN’S GOLF
Bailey Bjornson (Simon Fraser, Fr., Surrey, B.C. – Pacific Academy): Bjornson led Simon Fraser to a sixth-place team finish at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout, tying for 14th place with a three-round score of 3-under-par 213. He shot the first two rounds of the tournament under par, carding a 1-under-par 71 on the opening 18 holes and a 2-under-par 70 on the second 18. Also Nominated: Lane Strand (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN’S GOLF
Shirin Anjarwalla (Simon Fraser, So., Nanaimo, B.C. – Dover Bay): Anjarwalla placed fourth at the Pack Classic in Pueblo, Colorado on Sunday. In a tournament shortened to one day due to weather, Anjarwalla carded a 6-over-par 150 with a low round of 74 on the final 18 holes to help led Simon Fraser to a tie for fourth place in the team standings. Also Nominated: Kinsey Irwin (Montana State Billings).