Monday, September 20, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of record-book worthy performances on the gridiron and on the links lead this week’s GNAC Player of the Week selections.

Central Washington junior running back Rashaad Boddie was named the Football Offensive Player of the Week after he carried the ball 25 times for 279 yards and three touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 36-14 win at Simon Fraser on Saturday. It is the eighth-best single-game rushing performance in GNAC history and the most yards for a Central Washington player since 2010.

Western Washington junior Megan Billeter earned Women’s Golf Player of the Week honors after she placed second at the season-opening Saint Martin’s Invitational. Her score of 2-under-par 142 included a GNAC record-tying round of 4-under-par 68, matching the record set by Concordia’s Cammie Decker in 2019. Billeter led the Vikings to the team title with a score of 616, one stroke ahead of Simon Fraser.

Simon Fraser junior defensive back Kolby Buljevic collected the Football Defensive Player of the Week award for his 13 tackles, eight solo tackles and two tackles for loss against Central Washington. Western Oregon senior kicker Andrew Gross was named the Special Teams Player of the Week for his six punts and average of 36.7 yards per punt in the Wolves’ 21-7 loss at Portland State.

Western Washington swept the women’s soccer awards thanks to efforts in the Vikings’ 1-0 win over Biola on Saturday. Junior Tera Ziemer earned the Offensive Player of the Week award for her third game-winning goal of the season, which came in the 19th minute. Sophomore defender Katie Watt received the defensive award after she anchored a WWU backline that allowed just one shot overall and no shots on goal.

Seattle Pacific senior forward Alex Mejia was named the Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for his two-goal week, which was punctuated with his header goal in Thursday’s 2-0 shutout of No. 22 Regis. Northwest Nazarene sophomore goalkeeper Sawyer Price was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week after making 18 saves in two Texas matches, including 11 stops on Saturday at West Texas A&M.

Seattle Pacific freshman Hannah Hair was named the Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week after he averaged 2.62 kills per set with 16 blocks and a .514 hitting percentage in the Falcons’ two wins. She opened with nine kills, five blocks and two digs in Thursday’s four-set win over Northwest Nazarene. Hair then added a double-double of 12 kills and 11 blocks in Saturday’s four-set win over Central Washington.

Alaska senior middle blocker Emily Moorhead picked up Defensive Player of the Week honors after finishing averaging 1.83 blocks and 1.17 kills per set in two three-set road sweeps. She finished with eight blocks and four kills on Thursday at Western Oregon and had three blocks and three kills on Saturday at Saint Martin’s.

Two more race winners received the Cross Country Athlete of the Week awards. Montana State Billings’ junior Ase Ackerman earned the men’s honor after he won the Gage McSpadden Memorial on Friday, covering the 6,000-meter course in 19:21.5. He is the first race winner for MSUB since 2017. Seattle Pacific freshman Annika Esvelt earned the women’s award after she won the 6,000-meter race at the PLU Invitational in a time of 22:15.7.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 4
FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE
Rashaad Boddie (Central Washington, RB, 6-2, Jr., Clayton, N.C. – Skyline): Boddie carried the ball 25 times for 279 yards and three touchdowns and 284 all-purpose yards to lead Central Washington in its 36-14 win at Simon Fraser to open GNAC play. The rushing performance was the eighth-best in GNAC history and the most by a CWU player since 2010. Also Nominated: Riley Morrison (Simon Fraser), Ryan Worthley (Western Oregon).

FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE
Kolby Buljevic (Simon Fraser, DB, 6-1, Jr., Burnaby, B.C. – St. Thomas More Collegiate): Buljevic led all players with 13 tackles, including eight solo tackles, and two tackles for loss for five yards in Simon Fraser’s 36-14 loss to Central Washington. The defensive effort helped keep SFU within one point of the Wildcats at halftime. Also Nominated: Luis Vicino (Western Oregon).

FOOTBALL SPECIAL TEAMS
Andrew Gross (K/P, 6-1, Sr., Gladstone, Ore. – Corban Univ.): Gross averaged 36.7 yards per punt on six punts, which included a long punt of 49 yards and two that landed inside the 20-yard line in Western Oregon’s 21-7 loss to Division I-FCS Portland State. Also Nominated: Robert Meadors (Simon Fraser).

MEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE
Alex Mejia (Seattle Pacific, F, 6-2, Sr., Seattle, Wash. – Roosevelt): Mejia scored in each of Seattle Pacific’s contests as the Falcons improved to 3-1 on the season. Mejia tallied the insurance goal on a header in the 66th minute in Thursday’s 2-0 shutout of No. 22 Regis. Mejia also tallied the opening goal unassisted in the 35th minute of the Falcons’ eventual 3-2 overtime loss to Colorado Mines. Also Nominated: Paul Cuevas (Montana State Billings), Jason Fairhurst (Saint Martin’s).

MEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE
Sawyer Price (Northwest Nazarene, GK, 6-3, So., Olympia, Wash. – Olympia): Price made 18 saves as he was in goal for every minute of the Nighthawks’ two matches last week. Price made seven saves in Thursday’s 3-0 shutout at Texas Permian Basin. He then made 11 more stops in a 2-1 loss at West Texas A&M. Also Nominated: Luca Battistotti (Montana State Billings).

WOMEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE
Tera Ziemer (Western Washington, M, 5-10, Jr., Santa Rosa, Calif. – Texas A&M Univ.): Ziemer scored her third game-winning goal in four matches on Saturday, connecting in the 19th minute of the Vikings’ 1-0 shutout of Biola. It was Ziemer’s fourth goal of the season. Also Nominated: Casey Park (Central Washington), AJ DePinto (Seattle Pacific).

WOMEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE
Katie Watt (Western Washington, D, 5-7, So., Seattle, Wash. – Bishop Blanchet): Watt anchored a Western Washington defense that allowed just one shot overall in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Biola. Also Nominated: Riley Travis (Seattle Pacific).

VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE
Hannah Hair (Seattle Pacific, MB, 6-1, Fr., Walla Walla, Wash. – Walla Walla): Hair averaged 2.62 kills per set with a .514 hitting percentage and 16 blocks to lead Seattle Pacific to a 2-0 start to conference play. Hair finished with nine kills, a .500 hitting percentage, five blocks and two digs in Thursday’s four-set win over Northwest Nazarene. She then tallied 12 kills, a .526 hitting percentage and 11 blocks in Saturday’s four-set win over Central Washington. The 11-block performance ties Hair for eighth on the GNAC single-match list for blocks in a four-set match. Also Nominated: Cate Whiting (Alaska), Lisa Jaunet (Alaska Anchorage), Bayli Monck (Montana State Billings), Tia Allen (Saint Martin’s), Brooke Dexter (Simon Fraser), Bailee Hartsook (Western Oregon), Gabby Gunterman (Western Washington).

VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE
Emily Moorhead (Alaska, MB, 5-11, Sr., Chugiak, Alaska – Chugiak): Moorhead averaged 1.83 blocks and 1.17 kills per set to lead the Nanooks to a pair of three-set sweeps on the road. She opened the conference with eight blocks and four kills on Thursday at Western Oregon. Moorhead closed the week with three blocks, three kills and an assist in Saturday’s win at Saint Martin’s. Also Nominated: Ellen Floyd (Alaska Anchorage), Joelle Mahowald (Montana State Billings), Giselle Benetti (Saint Martin’s), Julia Tays (Simon Fraser), Sophie Matlock (Western Oregon), Kasey Woodruff (Western Washington).

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Ase Ackerman (Montana State Billings, Jr., Glendive, Mont. – Dawson County): Ackerman won the men’s 6,000-meter at Friday’s Gage McSpadden Memorial in a time of 19:21.5. Ackerman averaged 5:11 per mile and finished nine seconds ahead of Tim Dunham of South Dakota Mines. He is just the fourth MSUB men’s athlete to win a race in the program’s GNAC era and the first since Jorey Egeland on October 7, 2017. Also Nominated: Trevor Allen (Central Washington), Tyler Shea (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Annika Esvelt (Seattle Pacific, Fr., Spokane, Wash. – West Valley): Competing in just her second collegiate cross country race, Esvelt posted an 11-second victory at the PLU Invitational. She covered the 6,000-meter course in a time of 22:15.7 for the 11-second win over Kara Putman of Pacific (Ore.), averaging 5:58 per mile. Also Nominated: Kay Lester (Central Washington), Kailee Stoppel (Montana State Billings), Julia LaMar (Northwest Nazarene).

WOMEN’S GOLF
Megan Billeter (Western Washington, Jr., Spokane, Wash. – Mt. Spokane): Billeter finished second and was the top-placing GNAC golfer at the Saint Martin’s Invitational, carding a 2-under-par 142. She tied the GNAC single-round record with a 4-under-par 68 in the opening round to help lead the Vikings to the team title and a one-stroke victory over Simon Fraser. Also Nominated: Kinsey Irvin (Montana State Billings), Kathryn Crimp (Saint Martin’s), Shirin Anjarwalla (Simon Fraser).