Monday, February 14, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – With one week before the GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, conference athletes blazed records on the home facility for the meet to lead the GNAC Athlete of the Week awards.

Simon Fraser sophomore Callum Robinson was named the Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after he set the GNAC record in the 200 meters in a winning time of 21.40 seconds at the Whitworth Invitational at The Podium in Spokane, surpassing the previous record of 21.47 seconds set by SFU’s Jeremiah Lauzon in 2020. Robinson also won the 400 meters in 48.54 seconds and ran anchor on Simon Fraser’s distance medley relay that won during the Lilac Grand Prix on Friday night.

Simon Fraser senior Alison Andrews-Paul earned the Women’s Track Athlete of the Week after she won the 800 meters at the Whitworth Invitational in a time of 2:05.75. The time ranks No. 2 on the GNAC All-Time List and is No. 2 in Division II this season.

Seattle Pacific senior Peace Igbonagwam was also a winner in Spokane, earning Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors after taking the long jump with a mark of 18 feet, 4.5 inches. She won the event by over nine inches and also ran a time of 7.65 seconds in the preliminaries of the 60 meters, a time that ranks ninth on the GNAC All-Time List.

Northwest Nazarene freshman Steven Schmidt was named the Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after he established the GNAC’s best mark this season in the high jump of 6 feet, 9 inches during the heptathlon at the Mountain State Games. The mark ties him for No. 7 on the GNAC All-Time List and is an NCAA Championships provisional qualifier.

On the courts, Central Washington senior Xavier Smith won the Men’s Basketball Player of the Week award after he averaged 20.7 points and 6-3 rebounds per game in a 2-1 week for the Wildcats. His week was capped by a 26-point, eight-rebound performance in Saturday’s 81-80 overtime win over Alaska Anchorage, where he hit a three-pointer to force overtime and made the final two CWU baskets in extra time to seal the win.

Alaska Anchorage senior forward Tennae Voliva led the Seawolves to a 2-0 week to earn Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honors. Voliva scored 16 points and had seven rebounds in just 16 minutes of action in Thursday’s 73-65 win at Western Oregon. She led all scorers with a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s 74-62 win at Alaska.

Saint Martin’s sophomore infielder Malia Pinder was named the Softball Player of the Week after she batted .438 with seven RBI, two doubles and two home runs at the Desert Stinger. Pinder went 3 for 4 with a double and the game-winning three-run home run in Friday’s 4-3 win over Washburn and then went 3 for 3 with a two-run double and a solo homer against No. 10 Concordia.

Northwest Nazarene sophomore Sidney Booth was named the Softball Player of the Week after going 2-0 in three appearances with a 1.43 earned run average at the Desert Stinger. She earned a 3-1 complete-game win over MSU Denver on Friday, allowing one run on two hits with 16 strikeouts. She earned the save in Friday’s 7-6 win over Minot State and earned her second win over Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday, allowing two runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts.

Western Oregon senior outfielder Jacob Maiben was named the Baseball Player of the Week after batting .438 in a series victory at Stanislaus State. Maiben went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored in Friday’s 6-3 loss to the Warriors. He went 2 for 4 in both of Saturday’s games and scored runs in the final three games. Maiben also stole three bases on three attempts in the series.

Montana State Billings junior Dylan Barkley earned his second straight Baseball Pitcher of the Week award after he threw seven shutout innings in Thursday’s 9-4 win at Cal Poly Pomona. Barkley allowed three hits, all doubles, and three walks while striking out eight for his first win of the season.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 25
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Xavier Smith (Central Washington, G, 6-4, Sr., Seattle, Wash. – Univ. of Idaho): Smith averaged 20.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game to lead the Wildcats to a 2-1 week. Smith opened with a 19-point, six-rebound performance in Tuesday’s 97-86 loss to Western Washington. He bounded back to finish with 17 points, five rebounds and two steals in Thursday’s 76-73 win over Alaska. Smith saved his best for last, finishing with 26 points and eight rebounds in Saturday’s 81-80 overtime victory over Alaska Anchorage. In the game, Smith made the three-pointer that forced overtime and then hit the Wildcats’ final two baskets in overtime to seal the win. Also Nominated: Abdullahi Mohamed (Alaska), Oggie Pantovic (Alaska Anchorage), Damen Thacker (Montana State Billings), Tru Allen (Northwest Nazarene), Kyle Greeley (Saint Martin’s), Julian Roche (Simon Fraser), Cameron Cranston (Western Oregon), Jalen Green (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Tennae Voliva (Alaska Anchorage, F, 6-0, Sr., Anchorage, Alaska – East Anchorage): Voliva averaged 19.5 points and nine rebounds per game to lead the Seawolves to a 2-0 week. Voliva finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in just 16 minutes of action in Thursday’s 73-65 win over Western Oregon, going 4 of 8 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line. She then led all scorers with 23 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s 74-62 win at Alaska, shooting 7 of 15 from the field and 9 of 11 from the free-throw line. She also had four assists and two steals in the win. Also Nominated: Kassidy Malcolm (Central Washington), Taryn Shelley (Montana State Billings), Erin Jenkins (Northwest Nazarene), Tierney DeDonatis (Saint Martin’s), Georgia Swant (Simon Fraser), Princy Paaluhi-Caulk (Western Oregon), Emma Duff (Western Washington).

MEN’S TRACK
Callum Robinson (Simon Fraser, So., Goderich, Ont. – St. Anne’s Catholic): Robinson broke the GNAC record in the 200 meters, winning the event at the Whitworth Invitational. His time of 21.40 seconds broke the previous record of 21.47 seconds set by SFU’s Jeremiah Lauzon in 2020. The NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark is 14th in Division II this season. Robinson also won the 400 meters in 48.54 seconds and was part of SFU’s distance medley relay team that set the facility record at The Podium during Friday night’s Lilac Grand Prix. Also Nominated: Benjamin Ralston (Montana State Billings), Tyler Shea (Northwest Nazarene), Brandon McMillian-Thomas (Saint Martin’s), David Njeri (Seattle Pacific), Hunter Hutton (Western Oregon), Mac Franks (Western Washington).

MEN’S FIELD
Steven Schmidt (Northwest Nazarene, Fr., Battle Ground, Wash.): During the heptathlon at the Mountain State Games, Schmidt established the top mark of the conference this season in the high jump with a mark of 6 feet, 9 inches. The mark ties him for No. 7 on GNAC All-Time List, is an NCAA Championships provisional qualifier and ranks 24th in Division II this season. Schmidt placed third in the heptathlon with a score of 4,608 points. Also Nominated: Collin Sample (Alaska Anchorage), Andrew Alfred (Saint Martin’s), Sam Cole (Western Oregon), Beau Sheeran (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S TRACK
Alison Andrews-Paul (Simon Fraser, Sr., Ohope Beach, New Zealand – Baylor Univ.): Andrews-Paul won the 800 meters at the Whitworth Invitational, improving to No. 2 on the GNAC All-Time List with a time of 2:05.75. She won the race by five seconds over Leah Holmgren of Idaho. The time ranks No. 2 in Division II this season. Also Nominated: Chantel Chase (Montana State Billings), Abbey Wood (Northwest Nazarene), Eden Mortensen (Saint Martin’s), Annika Esvelt (Seattle Pacific), Caitlin Heldt (Western Oregon), Aliyah Dawkins (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S FIELD
Peace Igbonagwam (Seattle Pacific, Sr., Fairview, Ore. – Reynolds): Igbonagwam won the long jump at the Whitworth Invitational with a leap of 18 feet, 4.5 inches. She was a winner by over nine inches over second-place Makaylee Young of Central Washington. Igbonagwam also ran 7.65 seconds in the preliminaries of the 60 meters, ranking No. 9 on the GNAC All-Time List. Also Nominated: Mette Van Der Meer (Alaska Anchorage), Kendall Lynn (Montana State Billings), Destany Herbert (Northwest Nazarene), Margaret Zilla (Saint Martin’s), Sydney Kania (Simon Fraser), Ana Popchock (Western Oregon), Aliyah Dawkins (Western Washington).

BASEBALL PLAYER
Jacob Maiben (Western Oregon, OF, 5-9, Sr., Newberg, Ore. – Newberg): Maiben batted .438 as the Wolves took three of four games at Stanislaus State, going 7 for 16 with four runs, a double, an RBI and three stolen bases. Maiben went 2 for 3 in Friday’s 6-3 loss with a double and a run scored. He went 2 for 4 in both Saturday games, hitting a sacrifice fly and in the 4-1 opening game win while scoring runs in both games. Maiben went 1 for 5 in Sunday’s 7-4 win, scoring the final run of the game in the 11th inning. Also Nominated: Zach Berryman (Central Washington), Cooper Dulich (Montana State Billings), Tyler Best (Northwest Nazarene), Hunter Kosmider (Saint Martin’s).

BASEBALL PITCHER
Dylan Barkley (Montana State Billings, LHP, 5-11, Jr., Missoula, Mont. – Missoula): Barkley threw seven shutout innings to win his first game of the season in Thursday’s 9-4 win at Cal Poly Pomona. Barkley allowed just three hits, all doubles, and three walks while striking out eight to pick up the win. Of his 105 pitches throw, 67 were for strikes. Also Nominated: Ryan Arredondo (Central Washington), Blake McFadden (Northwest Nazarene), Finnley Butler (Saint Martin’s), Parker Johnson (Western Oregon).

SOFTBALL PLAYER
Malia Pinder (Saint Martin’s, IF, 5-2, So., Bothell, Wash. – North Creek): Pinder batted .438 for the Saints at the Desert Stinger Tournament, going 6 for 14 with seven RBI, two doubles and two home runs while drawing three walks. Pinder had the game-winning three-run homer in the opening 4-3 win over Washburn on Friday, going 3 for 4 in the game with a double. Pender went 3 for 3 against No. 10 Concordia, which included a two-run double and a solo home run. Also Nominated: Harlee Carpenter (Central Washington), Lauren Blaschak (Montana State Billings), Ivy Hommel (Northwest Nazarene), Natalie Willoughby (Western Oregon), Tatum Dow (Western Washington).

SOFTBALL PITCHER
Sidney Booth (Northwest Nazarene, P/UT, 5-4, So., Puyallup, Wash. – Puyallup): Booth went 2-0 in three appearances at the Desert Stinger, compiling a 1.43 earned run average as Northwest Nazarene went 4-1 in the tournament. She went the distance in Friday’s 3-1 win over MSU Denver, allowing one run on two hits with 16 strikeouts. She earned the save in Friday’s 7-6 win over Minot State, allowing one hit and striking out one in two-thirds of an inning. Booth closed her week with the 4-2 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday, allowing two runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts. Also Nominated: Isabel Womack (Central Washington), Alyssa Etheridge (Montana State Billings), Chloe Leverington (Saint Martin’s), Chelsea Smith (Western Washington).