Monday, October 16, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of selections in four different sports for four different conference schools leads this week’s list of GNAC Player of the Week award winners.

Simon Fraser swept through the men’s soccer awards and finished with three total awards for the week. Matteo Polisi was named the Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after he scored both game-winners in the Clan’s victories over Concordia and Western Washington. The goal against the Vikings on Saturday came with less than two minutes left in the second overtime. Magnus Kristensen collected the Defensive Player of the Week for anchoring an SFU defense that allowed just one shot on goal in a pair of shutouts.

On the golf course, Chris Crisologo was named the Men’s Golf Player of the Week after he won his first tournament of the season and the seventh of his GNAC career, winning the Concordia Invitational with a three-round score of 213.

Central Washington also had three honorees, including a sweep of the volleyball awards after a five-set upset of Northwest Nazarene and a sweep of Montana State Billings. Shelby Mauritson earned the Offensive Player of the Week award after she finished with 30 kill, a .227 hitting percentage and seven blocks in the two matches, topped by 16 kills and five blocks against Montana State Billings. Sabrina Wheelhouse earned the Defensive Player of the Week award after she had 13 blocks in the two matches, eight of those against the Nighthawks.

The Wildcats’ Kevin Haynes had the third CWU award, earning selection as the Football Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week. He finished with 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in the Wildcats’ 42-0 shutout of Western Oregon.

Humboldt State earned the other two football honors after the Lumberjacks’ 52-49 win over Azusa Pacific. Ja’Quan Gardner earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after he set GNAC single-game records with 446 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns and tied a third record with five rushing touchdowns. In the process, Gardner set GNAC career marks for touchdowns (67), points (402), all-purpose yards (6,366) and rushing yards (5,124).

Lumberjacks’ kicker Jose Morales earned the Special Teams Player of the Week award after he kicked a season-long 47-yard field goal with 1:19 left to win the game for Humboldt State. He also went 7 for 7 on point-after attempts and averaged 63 yards per kick on nine kickoffs.

Northwest Nazarene earned a sweep of the Cross Country Athlete of the Week awards for their efforts at the Idaho State Invitational. Sierra Manzer earned the women’s award for an eighth-place finish with a time of 24:16.2 over 5,600 meters. Godfrey Kemboi earned the men’s award with his 16th place time of 19:44.2 over the same distance.

Seattle Pacific’s Kasey Reeve earned the Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week award after she scored four goals, including a hat-trick, in two wins for the Falcons over Central Washington and Saint Martin’s. Concordia’s Katie Greene earned the Defensive Player of the Week award as she anchored a Cavaliers’ defense that allowed nine shots and only one on goal in shutout wins over Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin’s.

Cavaliers’ golfer Shantel Antonio was named Women’s Golf Player of the Week for her fifth-place finish at the Western Washington Invitational, carding a two-round score of 3-over-par 149.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 7
FOOTBALL
Offensive: Ja’Quan Gardner (Humboldt State, RB, 5-7, Sr., Ceres, Calif. – Central Valley): Gardner had a record-setting night in the Lumberjacks’ 52-49 win over Azusa Pacific. He finished with a GNAC single-game record 446 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns and tied a record with five rushing touchdowns. He had 293 rushing yards on 31 carries, three receiving yards and 150 kickoff return yards on five returns and a touchdown. In the process, Gardner set GNAC career marks in touchdowns scored (67), points (402), all-purpose yards (6,366) and rushing yards (5,124) and tied the GNAC career with his 63rd rushing touchdown. Also Nominated: Christian Gasca (Central Washington).

Defensive: Kevin Haynes (Central Washington, LB, 6-1, Sr., Battle Ground, Wash. – Battle Ground): Haynes repeated as the Defensive Player of the Week selection after he finished with 12 tackles, two for loss and a sack as Central Washington held Western Oregon to 261 yards of total offense in the Wildcats’ 42-0 shutout of Western Oregon.

Special Teams: Jose Morales (Humboldt State, K, 6-4, Sr., Lompoc, Calif. – Allan Hancock JC): Morales kicked the game-winning 47-yard field goal, a season-long kick, with 1:19 left to lift the Lumberjacks to a 52-49 win over Azusa Pacific. He also went 7 for 7 on point-after attempts and averaged 63 yards per kickoff on nine kickoffs with four touchbacks. Also Nominated: Marcus Shimmelfennig (Central Washington).

MEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Matteo Polisi (Simon Fraser, M, 5-10, Fr., Coquitlam, B.C. – Charles Best): Polisi scored both game-winning goals for Simon Fraser in shutouts of Concordia and Western Washington. He notched the game-winner against the Cavaliers on Thursday in the 29th minute and added an assist on Riley Pang’s goal in the 67th minute. Polisi then scored a game-winner with less than two minutes left in the second overtime for the Clan’s 1-0 win over the Vikings on Saturday. Also Nominated: Edwin Quiroz (Northwest Nazarene), Brandon Madsen (Saint Martin’s), Alex Meija (Seattle Pacific), Anthony Dean (Western Washington).

Defensive: Magnus Kristensen (Simon Fraser, D, 6-3, Sr., Stavanger, Norway – St. Svithun Videregående Skole): Kristensen keyed a Simon Fraser defense that allowed no goals and just one shot on goal in two matches as the Clan scored a 3-0 shutout of Concordia on Thursday and a 1-0 double-overtime victory over Western Washington on Saturday. Also Nominated: Christian Caro (Saint Martin’s), Colton Ronk (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Offensive: Kasey Reeve (Seattle Pacific, F, 5-10, Sr., Fountain Valley, Calif. – Fountain Valley): Reeve finished with four goals and an assist in two Falcons’ victories. She opened the week with the opening goal of the match and an assist in the Falcons’ 3-2 double-overtime win over Central Washington on Thursday. Reeve then notched the 19th hat trick in school history and the fifth in the GNAC this season in SPU’s 6-0 shutout of Saint Martin’s. Also Nominated: Mackenzie Nolte (Central Washington), Gabrielle Ewing (Concordia), Lauren Allison (Saint Martin’s), Katelyn Erhardsen (Simon Fraser), Darby Doyle (Western Washington).

Defensive: Katie Greene (Concordia, D, 5-9, Fr., Spokane, Wash. - Mead): Greene played 169 of a possible 180 minutes as the Concordia allowed nine total shot attempts and one shot on goal in a 1-0 win over Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and a 3-0 shutout at Montana State Billings on Saturday. Also Nominated: Erinn Harder (Montana State Billings), Brittany Orlosky (Saint Martin’s), Ashley Homer (Western Washington).

VOLLEYBALL
Offensive: Shelby Mauritson (Central Washington, OH, 5-10, Jr., Madras, Ore. – Madras): Mauritson led the Wildcats with 30 kills, a .272 hitting percentage, seven blocks and two aces in a pair of victories. She finished with a double-double of 12 kills and 22 digs to go along with two blocks in the five-set win over No. 10 Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday. Mauritson led the Wildcats with 16 kills to go along with six digs and five blocks in Thursday’s three-set sweep of Montana State Billings. Also Nominated: Vanessa Hayes (Alaska Anchorage), Michele Brown (Concordia), Kendra Bodine (Northwest Nazarene), Liz Larson (Saint Martin’s), Tessa May (Simon Fraser), Abby Phelps (Western Washington).

Defensive: Sabrina Wheelhouse (Central Washington, MB, 6-3, Sr., Eugene, Ore. – Sheldon): The Division II leader in blocks added 13 to her total to go along with 19 kills in two wins. She finished with eight blocks, 13 kills, a .440 hitting percentage and an ace in Tuesday’s win over Northwest Nazarene and added six kills and five blocks in Thursday’s three-set sweep of Montana State Billings. Also Nominated: Anna Dols (Concordia), Hailey Cook (Northwest Nazarene), Hannah Neumann (Saint Martin’s), Jayme Bratsberg (Simon Fraser), Joellee Buckner (Western Washington).

CROSS COUNTRY
Men: Godfrey Kemboi (Northwest Nazarene, So., Iten, Kenya – Anin Secondary): Kemboi was the top runner for the Nighthawks at Idaho State Invitational, covering the 5,600-meter course in 19:44.2 to finish in 16th place.

Women: Sierra Manzer (Northwest Nazarene, Jr., Melba, Idaho – Melba): Manzer was the top NNU runner at the Idaho State Invitational, placing eighth with a time of 24:16.2 over 5,600 meters.

MEN’S GOLF
Chris Crisologo (Simon Fraser, Sr., Richmond, B.C. – Vancouver Coll.): Crisologo won his first tournament of the season, the Concordia Invitational, carding a three-round score of 213. Two of his rounds were at-par or below with a low round of 5-under-par 67 in the final round. Also Nominated: Isaac Hall (Concordia), Andrew Raab (Saint Martin’s).

WOMEN’S GOLF
Shantel Antonio (Concordia, Jr., Hilo, Hawaii – Univ. of Hawaii-Hilo): Antonio led all GNAC golfers at the Western Washington Invitational, placing fifth with a two-round score of 3-over-par 149. She finished one stroke out of fourth place and three out of first as she led the Cavaliers to a tie for fourth place. Also Nominated: Celia Beyke (Saint Martin’s), Emily Leung (Simon Fraser), Jenn Paul (Western Washington).