ANDREW WISE NAMED GNAC ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University senior Andrew Wise has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Men’s Athlete of the Week, announced Monday by the conference office.
Wise (Denver, CO/East) placed 6th at the 44th Annual WWU Classic hosted at East Lake Padden Park last Saturday, covering the 10,000-meter course in a time of 31:42.4 with a 5:06 average mile. He helped the Vikings to place 2nd as a team among a field of 11 teams, including seven GNAC schools.
Wise and the Vikings totaled 76 points in placing 2nd, trailing only No. 4 Chico State (17 points). The Vikings finished ahead of conference opponents Simon Fraser (92 points, 3rd), Seattle Pacific (180 points, 6th), Central Washington (182 points, 7th), Northwest Nazarene (193 points, 8th), Alaska Fairbanks (276 points, 9th) and Saint Martin’s (312 points, 11th).
The top finisher from a GNAC school in the race last Saturday, Wise has placed among the top 20 at every meet during which he has competed in the 2017 season. He improved upon a 48th-place finish at the WWU Classic last season and has been the top Viking placer in every cross country race at which he has competed in 2017.
Wise earned a GNAC cross country weekly honor for the first time in his career and is the first WWU runner to net a conference weekly award since Isaac Derline (Kent, WA/Kentridge) was honored for the week of Oct. 3-9 last season.
A two-time all-region honoree at each of the last two NCAA II West Regionals, as well as an All-GNAC performer in 2015, Wise will help lead the Vikings as WWU prepares for the conference and regional meets in the coming weeks.
The WWU Classic last Saturday was the final meet before the conference and regional meets for the Vikings, with WWU turning in strong performances as the women placed 4th to go along with the men’s 2nd-place finish .
WWU returns to action on Oct. 21 hosting the GNAC Championships for a third consecutive year at East Lake Padden Park. Following the conference championships, the NCAA II West Regional will be hosted by Western Oregon University on Nov. 4 at Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Ore.
— @WWUTFXC –
WWU’S JOELLEE BUCKNER NAMED GNAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University senior opposite Joellee Buckner has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, announced Monday by the conference office in Portland, Ore.
Buckner (Colville, WA) helped lead the No. 11-ranked Vikings to a road sweep of the Alaskan schools, averaging 4.00 kills, 5.71 digs and 0.74 blocks per game. WWU beat Alaska Fairbanks 3-0 and handed rival Alaska Anchorage a 3-1 defeat to extend the Vikings current winning streak to six consecutive matches.
In the three-game sweep over Alaska Fairbanks, Buckner recorded a 13-kill, 20-dig double-double. In the 3-1 win at Alaska Anchorage, she fell one block short of a triple-double recording 15 kills, 20 digs and a career-high 9.0 blocks.
For the season the senior is averaging 2.93 kills per set (11th in the GNAC), 4.36 digs per set (9th in GNAC) and 3.60 points per set (11th in GNAC). She is also listed among GNAC leaders in hitting percentage (10th, .260), service aces (13th, 0.29/set) and double-doubles (9, T5th)
The player of the week award is the first in the career of Buckner, who has appeared in 108 career matches for the Vikings. She currently ranks 8th in program history with 1,205 digs and 17th with 234 total blocks.
Buckner is the second WWU volleyball player to earn GNAC Player of the Week honors this season, joining teammate Joslyn Bopray (Spokane, WA/Lewis & Clark), who won defensive honors for the week of Sept. 4-10.
The Vikings (13-3, 7-1 GNAC) are currently in 2nd place in the GNAC and return to action this week hosting Saint Martin’s (Thursday) and Seattle Pacific (Saturday) on WECU Court at Carver Gym. Both matches start at 7 pm on the WWU campus with free parking available in the 12A and C lots on campus, with shuttle service to Carver Gym available for both matches.
All home matches are streamed live on Vikings TV (WWUVikings.com/Live) and available via the GNAC channel on several streaming devices, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, AndroidTV.
TYLER VISTEN NAMED GNAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University senior goalkeeper Tyler Visten has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, announced Monday by the conference office.
Visten (Mount Vernon, WA/Skagit Valley College) recorded consecutive shutouts as WWU went 1-0-1 during the week to remain unbeaten in conference play, topping Seattle Pacific, 2-0, last Thursday and playing to a 0-0 tie after double overtime against Northwest Nazarene last Saturday.
Against the Falcons, Visten posted his second-highest save total of the season with 5 saves as the Vikings earned their first shutout of the season and became the first team to hold Seattle Pacific without a goal in 2017. Visten made 4 saves against the Crusaders last Saturday as the WWU defense held Northwest Nazarene scoreless over 110 minutes of play in a double overtime draw.
For the week, Visten led the GNAC with 9 total saves against 10 shots on goal. His consecutive shutouts during the week brought his career shutout total to 12, which ranks tied for 4th in program history.
He ranks 3rd in the GNAC on the season with a 1.46 goals-against average and 5th with 31 total saves. His clean sheets recorded during the past week put him in a tie for 2nd in the conference for shutouts on the season.
Visten, who has played every minute of every game this season, was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career after previously earning the distinction after the first week of the 2016 season. He joins freshman forward Drew Farnsworth (Auckland, New Zealand/Westlake Boys) as Vikings to be honored with a GNAC weekly award during the 2017 campaign. Farnsworth was named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 25.
WWU, unbeaten in its last 8 games, is 5-2-3 overall and 4-0-1 in GNAC action, leading the conference standings with 13 points. The Vikings continue a four-game home stand during the week, hosting Montana State Billings on Thursday (7 pm) and No. 22 Simon Fraser on Saturday (7 pm).
Follow all of WWU’s games during the season via webcast and live stats at WWUVikings.com/Live.
— @SoccerWWU —