Monday, April 30, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – Putting together key performances that helped their teams qualify for the GNAC Softball Championships, Western Oregon’s Ayanna Arceneaux and Simon Fraser’s Alia Stachoski lead the selections for GNAC Players of the Week.

Arceneaux batted .667 in four games as the Wolves took three of four games from Simon Fraser and Western Washington to claim the fourth and final tournament spot. She went 8 for 12 with two runs, two doubles and four RBIs. She had the game-winning hit in Sunday’s 11-10, extra-innings victory over the Vikings which clinched the GNAC Championships berth.

Stachoski, meanwhile, had all three of Simon Fraser’s pitching victories as the Clan qualified for the postseason for the first time in five years. She went the distance to claim a 4-0 win over Western Oregon, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out six. Stachoski then earned both wins over Concordia on Sunday, notching complete-game wins in both contests.

Northwest Nazarene athletes swept the baseball weekly awards as the Nighthawks took three of four games from Concordia to keep their GNAC Championships hopes alive. Zach Penrod was named the Baseball Player of the Week after he went 9 for 16 with six runs, six RBIs, a double and a walk in the series. He went 3 for 3 with three runs and three RBIs in Saturday’s opener, a 14-0 win, and then went 3-4 for in the second game and singled home the game-tying run in the seventh in the 6-5 win.

Adam Paulson earned Baseball Pitcher of the Week honors for his complete-game victory in game one on Saturday. He allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out four for his fourth win of the season. He faced just four batters over the minimum.

Montana State Billings swept the men’s track and field awards after some outstanding performances at the Drake Relays. Beau Ackerman was named the Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after he won the javelin with a school-record of 226 feet, 10 inches. The mark automatically qualifies Ackerman for the NCAA Championships and is fourth in Division II this season. Jorey Egeland, meanwhile, earned the Men’s Track Athlete of the Week honor after he placed second in the steeplechase with a time of 9:06.80. The time is 21st in Division II this season.

Concordia’s Melissa Ausman earned the Women’s Field Athlete of the Week award after she won the discus and placed second in the shot put at the OSU High Performance Meet. She finished with a mark of 178 feet, 6 inches, in the discus. Her mark of 49 feet, 9.25 inches in the shot put moves her up to No. 2 on the GNAC All-Time List and No. 8 in Division II this season.

Western Washington’s Emily Sytsma was named the Women’s Track Athlete of the Week after she won the 100 meters at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational, besting the field of 21 athletes with a personal-best of 12.43 seconds. She also was part of the Vikings’ second-place 4x400-meter relay team.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 35
BASEBALL PLAYER
Zach Penrod (Northwest Nazarene, OF/P, 6-2, Jr., Nampa, Idaho – Corban Univ.): Penrod gave the Nighthawks big offense to keep their GNAC Championships hopes alive, going 9 for 16 with six runs, six RBIs, a double and a walk in the series with Concordia. He went 2 for 3 in Friday’s 6-4 opening-game win, opening scoring with an RBI single in the first, and then scored the tying run in the second game, a 2-1 loss. Penrod went 3 for 3 with three runs and three RBIs in Saturday’s 14-0 shutout of the Cavs and finished by going 3 for 4 in the second game, singling home the game-tying run in the seventh. Also Nominated: Ryan Myers (Montana State Billings), Austin Feist (Saint Martin’s), Spencer Bennion (Western Oregon).

BASEBALL PITCHER
Adam Paulson(Northwest Nazarene, P, 6-2, Sr., Medical Lake, Wash. – Lewis-Clark State Coll.): Paulson threw a complete-game three-hit shutout to beat Concordia in Sunday’s opener, 14-0. He allowed just one walk, struck out four, and faced just four batters over the minimum. The win helped the Nighthawks remain in contention for a GNAC Championships berth. Also Nominated: Sam Wong (Montana State Billings), Ryan Dorney (Saint Martin’s), Craig Grubbe (Western Oregon).

SOFTBALL PLAYER
Ayanna Arceneaux (Western Oregon, OF, 5-4, Fr., Puyallup, Wash. – Emerald Ridge): Arceneaux helped Western Oregon clinch a GNAC Championships berth by hitting .667 in the final two days of the regular season, going 8 for 12 with two runs, two doubles and four RBIs. After finishing with a hit in each of Saturday’s games against Simon Fraser, Arceneaux went 3 for 5 with a run and three RBIs in Sunday’s opening 11-10 win over Western Washington, which included the game-winning hit in the eighth inning that secured WOU’s postseason berth. She then went 3 for 3 in the nightcap, which included an RBI double in the first. Also Nominated: Brittanne Fisher (Montana State Billings), Tessani Dixon (Saint Martin’s), Shearyna Labasan (Western Washington).

SOFTBALL PITCHER
Alia Stachoski (Simon Fraser, P, 5-10, Sr., Port Coquitlam, B.C. – Riverside): Stachoski had three complete-game wins to help lead Simon Fraser to its first GNAC Championships berth in five years. In 20 innings, Stachoski allowed three runs on 13 hits and struck out 11. She went the distance to earn the 4-0 win over Western Oregon on Saturday, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out six. Stachoski posted the victory in Sunday’s 4-3, eight-inning win in the opener with Concordia, allowing three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. She closed out the twinbill by allowing three hits and one walk while striking out two in the 11-0, five-inning second game. Also Nominated: Maddy Lincoln (Montana State Billings), Haley Fabian (Western Oregon), Shearyna Labasan (Western Washington).

MEN’S TRACK
Jorey Egeland (Montana State Billings, Sr., Billings, Mont. – Billings Senior): Competing at the prestigious Drake Relays, Egeland finished second out of 18 athletes, mostly from Division I schools, with a time of 9:06.80. The NCAA Championships provisional-qualifying effort is the third-best time in the GNAC this season and is the 21st best in Division II. Also Nominated: Dustin Nading (Western Oregon), Reid Lovercamp (Western Washington).

MEN’S FIELD
Beau Ackerman (Montana State Billings, Jr., Glendive, Mont. – Dickinson State Univ.): Ackerman won the javelin at the Drake Relays. His winning mark of 226 feet, 10 inches, is an MSUB school record and ranks No. 4 on the GNAC All-Time List. It also automatically qualifies Ackerman for the NCAA Division II Championships, ranking him fourth nationally. Also Nominated: Jacob Slate (Concordia), John Van Beuren (Northwest Nazarene), Josh Schulz (Saint Martin’s), Jackson Stallard (Western Oregon), Brandon Pless (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Emily Sytsma (Western Washington, Jr., Lynden, Wash. – Lynden Christian): Systma won the 100 meters at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational, besting the field of 21 athletes with a personal-best time of 12.43 seconds. The performance is ninth in the GNAC this season. Systema was also part of Western Washington’s second-place 4x400-meter relay team, which ran a time of 3:57.97. Also Nominated: Chase Stephens (Concordia), Jewlz Collins (Montana State Billings), Lindsey Dorney (Saint Martin’s), Darian Wilson (Western Oregon).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Melissa Ausman (Concordia, Sr., Nyssa, Ore. – Oregon State Univ.): Ausman finished first in the discus at the OSU High Performance meet with a mark of 178 feet, 6 inches. She also placed second in the shot put with a mark of 49 feet, 9.25 inches, which moves her up to eighth in Division II this season and No. 2 on the GNAC All-Time List. Also Nominated: Halle Irvine (Central Washington), Janessa Williams (Montana State Billings), Deanna Avalos (Saint Martin’s), Halie Korff (Western Oregon), Anna Paradee (Western Washington).