Monday, April 11, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – Making history is a sure way to earn a GNAC Player of the Week award. That is the route that Northwest Nazarene’s Haden Keller took.

The senior was named the GNAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week after he threw just the sixth no-hitter in conference history and the second in NNU’s Division II history in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Central Washington. Keller allowed the unearned run on a three-base error and a groundout in the sixth inning, but otherwise proceeded to walk three batters and strike out 10. Keller also helped his own cause with a fielder’s choice in the fifth that scored the only earned run in the game.

While Keller went with history, Montana State Billings freshman Tyler Godfrey went with dramatics to earn Baseball Player of the Week honors. Godfrey batted .429 in the Yellowjackets’ series split with Western Oregon and had the game-winning hits in both wins. In Friday’s opener, Godfrey hit the game-winning single that scored Hayden Foltz in the ninth for the 8-7 victory. In the nightcap, Godfrey connected on a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to break the tie and secure the 5-4 win.

Northwest Nazarene junior Maia McNicoll, used power to earn the Softball Player of the Week award as she batted .692 with nine hits, seven runs scored, a double, five home runs and 13 RBI in the Nighthawks’ series sweep of Montana State Billings. McNicoll went 3 for 4 with a pair of homers and an RBI double on Friday’s 8-3 opening-game win. She then went 3 for 4 with a two-run homer in Saturday’s 14-2, five-inning opening game win before going 2 for 3 with a two-run homer and a grand slam to win the nightcap 16-9.

Saint Martin’s sophomore Tia Ridings earned Softball Pitcher of the Week honors after she won two of the Saints’ three victories over Central Washington, improving to 7-6 on the season. Riding threw a four-hit shutout in Saturday’s 3-0 series-opening win, allowing two walks and striking out 12. She allowed two runs on three hits with a walk and four strikeouts in six innings in Sunday’s 7-2 opening-game victory.

Simon Fraser swept the Track Athlete of the Week awards. Junior Alison Andrews-Paul earned the Women’s Track Athlete of the Week award for the second straight week after she won the 400 meters at the Emilie Mondor Invitational. Her time of 55.26 seconds is an NCAA Championships provisional qualifier, ranks No. 8 on the GNAC all-time list and is No. 13 in Division II this season.

Junior Aaron Ahl was named the Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after he beat a 40-competitor field to win the 800 meters at the Emilie Mondor Invitational in a time of 1:51.67.

The horizontal jumps provided both of the Field Athlete of the Week awards. Western Washington freshman Damian Mercado earned the men’s award after winning the triple jump at the PLU Invitational with a mark of 44 feet, 6 inches that ranks No. 3 in the GNAC this season. Central Washington sophomore Erica Cabanos was named the Women’s Field Athlete of the Week after she won the triple jump at the Whitworth Peace Meet with a mark of 36 feet, 7 inches, and took second in the long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 3.25 inches.

Montana State Billings senior Riley Kaercher is the final Men’s Golf Player of the Week for the year after he led all GNAC golfers at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic. Kaercher finished in a six-way tie for 10th place with a three-round score of 2-under-par 214, shooting a low round of 3-under-par 69 on the final day.

Simon Fraser sophomore Kassie Muanyam was named the final Women’s Golf Player of the Week for 2021-22 after she tied with two other SFU golfers for 21st place at the Sonoma State Spring Invitational. She shot a two-round score of 157, which included a final-round score of 2-over-par 74.

For the second straight week, Western Washington’s Varsity 4+ was named the Women’s Rowing Crew of the Week after a dominant victory at the Falcon Regatta in Seattle. The Vikings won in a time of 7:50.9, 14 seconds better than host Seattle Pacific and 25 seconds ahead of Cal Poly Humboldt.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 33
BASEBALL PLAYER
Tyler Godfrey (Montana State Billings, IF, 5-10, Fr., Buckeye, Ariz. – Luna CC): Godfrey batted .429 in the Yellowjackets’ series split with Western Oregon and had the game-winning hit in both victories. In Friday’s opener, Godfrey went 2 for 5 with a two-run single in the sixth and the game-winning single that scored Hayden Foltz for the 8-7 victory. The nightcap saw Godfrey go 3 for 4 with a two-run double that opened scored and a game-winning solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in the 5-4 win. On Saturday, Godfrey had a hit in the opener and scored a run and had two walks in the nightcap. For the week, Godfrey went 6 for 14 with two runs scored and seven RBI. Also Nominated: Zach Berryman (Central Washington), Ryan Dearing (Northwest Nazarene), Jackson Holstad (Western Oregon).

BASEBALL PITCHER
Haden Keller (Northwest Nazarene, OF/P, 5-11, Sr., Minden, Nev. – Douglas): Keller threw the second no-hitter in Northwest Nazarene’s Division II history and the sixth in GNAC history in a 3-1 victory over Central Washington on Saturday. Keller allowed the unearned run on three walks with 10 strikeouts while throwing 99 pitches, 64 for strikes. Keller helped his own cause by knocking in the only earned run of the game on a fielder’s choice in the fifth inning. Also Nominated: Nolan Miliman (Central Washington).

SOFTBALL PLAYER
Maia McNicoll (Northwest Nazarene, UT, 5-5, Jr., Kaneohe, Hawaii – Maryknoll): McNicoll led NNU to the four-game sweep of Montana State Billings by batting .692 and going 9 for 14 with seven runs scored, a double, five home runs and 13 RBI. McNicoll went 3 for 4 with a pair of home runs and a RBI double in Friday’s 8-3 opening-game victory before going 1 for 3 in the nightcap, a 6-1 victory. McNicoll opened Saturday’s twinbill by going 3 for 4 with a two-run homer in the 14-2, five-inning victory before closing the series with a 2 for 3 performance in the 16-9 win that included a two-run homer and a grand slam. Also Nominated: Brooke Jordan (Central Washington), Jazlyn Kalehuawehe (Montana State Billings), Malia Pinder (Saint Martin’s), Hannah Boulanger (Simon Fraser), Chantelle Shimabukuro (Western Washington).

SOFTBALL PITCHER
Tia Ridings (Saint Martin’s, P, 5-4, So., Tualatin, Ore. – Tualatin): Ridings was the winner in the circle in two of the Saints’ three victories over Central Washington. Ridings pitched a four-hit shutout in Saturday’s 3-0 series-opening victory, allowing two walks and striking out 12. In Sunday’s opener, Ridings allowed two runs on three hits with a walk and four strikeouts in six innings in the 7-2 victory. For the week, Ridings amassed a 1.08 earned run average as she improved to 7-6 on the season. Also Nominated: Rhaney Harris (Central Washington), Jenna Kister (Montana State Billings), Tori Hensley (Northwest Nazarene), Joie Baker (Western Washington).

MEN’S TRACK
Aaron Ahl (Simon Fraser, Jr., Calgary, Alta. – William Aberhart): Ahl won the 800 meters at SFU’s Emilie Mondor Invitational on Saturday in Burnaby, beating a field of 40 competitors with a time of 1:51.67. The time was just short of his season-best of 1:51.45, which is an NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark. Also Nominated: Bryan Sidor (Central Washington), Bradley Graves (Montana State Billings), Andrew Boyd (Saint Martin’s), Justin Crosswhite (Western Oregon), Bryant Welch (Western Washington).

MEN’S FIELD
Damian Mercado (Western Washington, 5-10, Fr., Maple Valley, Wash. – Tahoma): Mercado won the triple jump at the PLU Invitational on Saturday with a mark of 44 feet, 6 inches that was a foot better than second-place Josh Schulz of Saint Martin’s. The mark ranks No. 3 in the GNAC this season. Also Nominated: Drew Klein (Central Washington), Forrest Cross (Montana State Billings), Josh Schulz (Saint Martin’s), Jarrett Chong (Simon Fraser), Samuel Cole (Western Oregon).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Alison Andrews-Paul (Simon Fraser, Jr., Ohope Beach, New Zealand – Baylor Univ.): Andrews-Paul earned an NCAA Championships provisional qualifier for the second straight week, winning the 400 meters at the Emelie Mondor Invitational. Her time of 55.26 seconds ranks No. 8 on the GNAC all-time list and is No. 13 in Division II this season. Also Nominated: Rose Melville (Central Washington), Madison Thompson (Montana State Billings), Sara Sabra (Saint Martin’s), Jenelle Hurley (Western Oregon), Ila Davis (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Erica Cabanos (Central Washington, So., Puyallup, Wash. – Rogers): Cabanos won the triple jump at Friday’s Whitworth Peace Meet with a mark of 36 feet, 7 inches that ranks No. 4 in the GNAC this season. Cabanos also took second in the long jump with a season-best leap of 17 feet, 3.25 inches. Also Nominated: Dakota Lobmeyer (Montana State Billings), Margaret Zilla (Saint Martin’s), Sydney Kania (Simon Fraser), Ana Popchock (Western Oregon), Jessica Neal (Western Washington).

MEN’S GOLF
Riley Kaercher (Montana State Billings, Sr., Billings, Mont. – Billings West): Kaercher was the top GNAC finisher at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic, tying for 10th place with a three-round score of 2-under-par 214. He shot a low round of 3-under-par 69 on the final day, tying with five other competitors and leading the Yellowjackets to an 11th place team finish. Also Nominated: Lane Strand (Northwest Nazarene), Aidan Thain (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S GOLF
Kassie Muanyam (Simon Fraser, So., Nanaimo, B.C. – Dover Bay): Muanyam led Simon Fraser as she tied for 21st at the Sonoma State Spring Invitational with a two-round score of 157. After shooting 83 in the opening round, Muanyam came back to card a 2-over-par in the final round. She was one of three SFU golfers to finish in a five-way tie for 21st.

WOMEN’S ROWING
Western Washington Varsity 4+: The Vikings’ Varsity 4+ was a dominant winner over GNAC foes Seattle Pacific and Cal Poly Humboldt at the Falcon Regatta on Saturday. In the first flight of races, the Vikings won in a time of 7:50.9, posting a 14-second victory over Seattle Pacific and a 25-second victory over Cal Poly Humboldt. Crew members included Claudia Webster (coxswain), Emma Clark, Olivia Pells, Lindsey Froelich and Paige Donner. Also Nominated: Cal Poly Humboldt Varsity 8+, Seattle Pacific Varsity 8+.