NCAA Baseball West Regional (May 17-20 at Salem, Ore.): Thursday - #2 Dixie State vs. #3 UC San Diego, 1 p.m.; #1 Western Oregon vs. #4 Chico State, 5 p.m. Friday – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1 p.m.; Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5 p.m. Saturday – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4; Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5. Sunday – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (if necessary).

Wednesday, May 16

Men's Golf: Vikings Seventh After Two Rounds of NCAA

Vaughan is tied for 21st after two rounds at Louisville (WWU File Photo)

Western Washington fell four spots to seventh, but the Vikings are in solid position heading into the final day of stroke play Thursday at the NCAA II National Men's Golf Championship being held at The Cardinal Club in Louisville.

The Vikings shot 3-over par 291 Wednesday for a 36-hole total of 578. They were led by Dylan Goodwin and Nick Varelia, who each shot 1-under par 71.

The top eight teams after 54 holes advance to match-medal play Friday with quarterfinals and semifinals followed by the final round for the national title Saturday.

Chico State shot 11-under 277, the best round of the tournament, to take over the lead at 10-under 566.

First-day leader Central Oklahoma is second, three shots behind, at 7-under 569 and Cal State Stanislaus moved up to third at 3-under 573, shooting 279.

Nova Southeastern (Fla.) is fourth at 1-under 575, and tied for fifth at 1-over 577 are Georgia College and Barry (Fla.).

Tied for eighth at 580, two strokes behind WWU, are St. Edward's (Tex.) and South Carolina-Aiken followed by four schools all within six shots of the Vikings.

“A lot can happen, there's going to be a lot of movement,” Viking coach Steve Card said. “It's very volatile and it shows how much parity there is between the teams.”

“We're going to tee off on the back nine, which I like. We need to do well there, make the turn in solid position and take advantage of the scoring opportunities on the front nine.”

Goodwin is tied for 18th in medalist play at 143, and WWU's Vaughan is tied for 21st at 144 after shooting a 73.

Two Vikings, Craig Crawford, who shot a 76, and Varelia, are tied for 41st at 147. WWU's Jake Webb, who shot a 77, is tied for 63rd at 150.

Central Oklahoma 's Josh Creel continues as the medalist leader at 9-under 135 after shooting a 70. He is one stroke ahead of Chico State's Eric Fazzetta, who carded a tourney-best 9-under 63 Wednesday.

Track and Field: Sixty Two On All-Region Team

Ali Worthen

Sixty-two track and field athletes from GNAC schools have won 75 all-region awards from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The awards go to the athletes with times or distances that rank in the Top 5 in the region or the top three in a relay.

Nationwide a total of 1,274 athletes received 1,854 USTFCCCA All-Region nods.

Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific won all-region honors in four events - the women's 100 hurdles, long jump, high jump and heptathlon.

Alaska Anchorage's Susan Tanui and Micah Chelimo won three each - in the women's and men's 1500, 5000 and steeplechase, respectively.

Following is number of all-region award winners for each school. For complete list of the individual winners visit the USTFCCCA web site.

Men (Athletes/Total Awards): Western Washington 8/10; Alaska Anchorage 5/7; Central Washington 6/6; Northwest Nazarene 4/4; Western Oregon 3/3; Seattle Pacific 3/3; Saint Martin's 2/2. Totals: 31/35.

Women (Athletes/Total Awards): Alaska Anchorage 8/12; Western Washington 7/8; Seattle Pacific 5/8; Western Oregon 5/5; MSU Billings 2/3; Central Washington 2/2; Northwest Nazarene 2/2. Totals: 31/40.

135 Named To GNAC Academic Track-and-Field Team

Lotze

A total of 135 student-athletes – 78 women and 57 men - have been named to the 2012 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Track and Field Academic all-star team.

Stephen Larlee of Northwest Nazarene and Trevor Robinson of Western Washington have the top GPAs on the men's academic team, both posting 3.98 averages. The best GPA on the women's team is a 3.99 by Katharine Lotze of Central Washington.

Eric Brill of Western Washington earned academic honors for the fourth time. Additionally six men were named to the team for the third time include Alfred Kangogo of Alaska Anchorage; Ben Heidegger, Maurus Hope and Luke Hetrick, all from Northwest Nazarene; and Andrew Gray and Tyler Nichols of Western Washington.

Nine women - Miriam Kipng'eno of Alaska Anchorage; Justine Simons of Montana State Billings; Jill Bennett of Northwest Nazarene; Natty Plunkett, Natalie Nobbs, Brittany Tri and Ali Worthen, all of Seattle Pacific; and Ali Mosher and Zoe Skordahl of Western Oregon – also earned their third academic all-conference award.

Baseball: Wood, Robbins Earn Regional Honors

Robbins	Wood

Western Oregon pitcher Grady Wood has been voted the NCAA Division II West Region Pitcher-of-the-Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).

Wood is currently tied for the national lead in wins with 12 and also ranks ninth in ERA (1.30), fourth in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.20) and seventh in fewest walks allowed (1.00).

Wood was also named the National Pitcher-of-the-Year this week by the web site D2baseballnews.com.

Robbins led the Wolves to a 40-9 record this spring, earning his seventh straight GNAC Coach-of-the-Year award and improving his career record at WOU to 252-107.

Joining Wood on the NCBWA all-region first team were Saint Martin's catcher Chandler Tracy, Western Oregon first baseman Bo Folkinga and Wolf shortstop Blake Miller.

NCBWA West Region: First Team - Chandler Tracy, SMU (C); Bo Folkinga, WOU (1B); Blake Miller, WOU (SS); Grady Wood, WOU (P). Second Team - Griff Boyd, WOU (3B), Charlie Gorzo, NNU (UT-DH). Honorable Mention - Brandon Wang, CWU; Sean McDonald, NNU (OF). Pitcher-of-the-Year - Grady Wood, WOU. Coach-of-the-Year - Jeremiah Robbins, WOU.

Tuesday, May 15

Track and Field: Twenty-Four Qualify for Nationals

Aanstad is No. 1 seed and one of four GNAC athletes entered in the women's javelin (SPU Photo)

Twenty-four athletes, including 10 from Alaska Anchorage and five from Western Washington, will compete in the NCAA Division II national track and field meet beginning next Thursday at Pueblo, Colo.

The top GNAC seed is Brittany Aanstad of Seattle Pacific who is ranked No. 1 in the women's javelin. She is one of four GNAC athletes entered in the event.

Amanda Schumaker of Western Oregon is seeded third. Katie Reichert of Western Washington is the seventh seed and WOU's Seabre Johnson is the 10th seed in the javelin.

Micah Chelimo of Alaska Anchorage is the third seed in both the men's steeplechase and 5,000 meters. Susan Tanui of UAA is the third seed in the women's steeplechase and the ninth seed in the 5K.

Chelimo and Tanui are two of four athletes who qualified in two events. Alex Harrison of Western Washington will compete in both the decathlon and javelin.

Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific is entered in the heptathlon and high jump. She is the fourth seed in the multi-events.

In addition to UAA, WWU, WOU (3 women, 1 man) and SPU (2 women, 1 man), Central Washington and MSU Billings each qualified one woman for the meet.

NCAA Division II National Track and Field Meet (May 24-26 at Pueblo, Colo.)

Men's Schedule: Thursday: 10:30 a.m, Decathlon (Day 1) – 10. Alex Harrison, WWU, 6772. 12:30 p.m., Hammer – 8. Michael Hoffman, WWU, 62.51 – 205-1. 5:25 p.m., 1500 Prelims – 7. Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 3:46.74. 7:10 p.m., Steeplechase Prelims – 3. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 8:45.63; 15. Dan Sprinkle, WOU, 9:00.94. 7:55 p.m., 400 Hurdles Prelims – 12. Shaun Ward, UAA, 52.00. Friday : 10:30 a.m, Decathlon (Day 2) – 10. Alex Harrison, WWU, 6772. 6:15 p.m., 800 Prelims – 8. Nathan Seely, SPU, 1:50.61. 7:35 p.m., Steeplechase Finals. Saturday : 11:15 a.m., Javelin – 7. Cody Parker, UAA, 65.63 – 215-4; 8. Alex Harrison, WWU, 65.42 – 214-7 5:45 p.m., 1500 Finals. 7:05 p.m., 800 Finals. 7:30 p.m. , 400 Hurdles Finals. 8:30 p.m., 5000 – 3. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 13:53.51.

Women's Schedule: Thursday: 11 a.m., Heptathlon (Day 1) – 4. Ali Worthen, SPU, 5199; 10. Kelsea Johnson, UAA, 4940. 5:10 p.m., 1500 Prelims – 5. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 4:25.19. 6:40 p.m., Steeplechase Prelims – 3. Susan Tanui, UAA, 10:15.47; 10. Hallidie Wilt, UAA, 10:31.30. 7:40 p.m., 400 Hurdles Prelims – 9. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 59.62. Friday: 11 a.m., Heptathlon (Day 2) – 4. Ali Worthen, SPU, 5199; 10. Kelsea Johnson, UAA, 4940. 5:10 p.m., Pole Vault – 7. Karis Anderson, WWU, 3.85 - 12-7 ½; 15. Kati Davis, CWU, 3.73 – 12-2 ¾. 5:15 p.m., Triple Jump – 9. Ashley Potter, WOU, 12.42 – 40-9; 13. Emily Warman, WWU, 12.32 – 40-5. 7:15 p.m., Steeplechase Finals – 3. Susan Tanui, UAA, 10:15.47; 10. Hallidie Wilt, UAA, 10:31.30. Saturday: 1:50 p.m., Javelin – 1. Brittany Aanstad, SPU, 49.35 – 161-11; 3. Amanda Schumaker, WOU, 48.43 – 148-4; 7. Katie Reichert, WWU, 45.21 – 148-4; 10. Seabre Johnson, WOU, 43.31 – 142-1. 2:30 p.m., Shot Put – 17. Leeza Henry, MSUB, 14.39 – 47-2 ½. 3:30 p.m., High Jump – 20. Ali Worthen, SPU, 1.72 - 5-7 ¾ ; 7:20 p.m., 400 Hurdles Finals. 8:05 p.m., 5000 – 8. Ruth Keino, UAA, 16:34.28; 9. Susan Tanui, UAA, 16:36.13.

Men's Golf: Vikings Third After Opening Round

Vaughan	Crawford

One of the just three teams to shoot below par on opening day, the Western Washington is third at the NCAA II National Championships which began Tuesday at The Cardinal Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

Making their first national appearance since 2008, the Vikings shot 1-under 287. Central Oklahoma leads the 20-team field at 9-under 279 with UNC Pembroke second at 3-under 285. Tied for fourth at 1-over 289 are Chico State and Georgia College .

“It was a good solid start for us,” said WWU coach Steve Card. “Everybody played well. We had some disappointing holes, but overall everyone played solid golf today … Maybe not scoring-wise, but this was one of the better days we've had this year.”

WWU, which advanced to nationals with a fourth-place finish at the Central/West Regional, was led by Sandy Vaughan and Craig Crawford, who each fired 1-under 71s on the 7,092-yard layout. They are in a 10-way tie for 14th in medalist play.

Vaughan birdied three holes and had two bogeys, and Crawford had five birdies and four bogeys.

The Vikings' Dylan Goodwin shot an even par 72 and is tied for 24th. Jake Webb shot 1-over 73 and is tied for 37th and Nick Varelia, who led WWU by tying for fifth at regionals, shot 4-over 76 and is tied for 73rd.

Goodwin birdied four of his first nine holes and made the turn in 3-under, but was hurt by a double-bogey and a bogey on the back nine.

Monday, May 14

Baseball: Folkinga, Miller, Wood Voted Top Players

Folkinga	Miller	Wood

Western Oregon first baseman Bo Folkinga and Wolf shortstop Blake Miller have been voted the 2012 GNAC Co-Players of the Year.

Western Oregon ace Grady Wood earned GNAC Pitcher of the Year honors for the second year in a row posting a perfect 12-0 record and extending his win streak to 20. That is just one shy of the NCAA Division II all-time record of 21. He is the first athlete in GNAC history to win Pitcher of the Year honors twice.

WOU coach Jeremiah Robbins, who led the Wolves to a 40-9 record and their 11th consecutive GNAC baseball title, was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year for the seventh year in a row. Robbins, who is a 2001 graduate of Eastern Oregon University, has a career record of 252-107 in his seven seasons in Monmouth.

Miller, who is a transfer from Sacramento State, was also selected the GNAC Newcomer of the Year . He leads the GNAC in hitting with a .412 average and also has six home runs and 48 RBI.

Saint Martin's catcher Chandler Tracy was voted the GNAC Freshman of the Year. Tracy led the Saints in hitting (.329), home runs (8) and RBI (39).

Folkinga batted .384 for the Wolves and is the conference leader in home runs (13) and RBI (66). His runs batted in total is just three shy of the GNAC all-time record of 69, set by Chris Ridenour of Western Oregon in 2002.

Folkinga was the GNAC Triple Crown winner in conference games, batting .453, slugging 11 home runs and driving in 46 runs. The latter two figures are GNAC records.

In addition to his 12-0 record, Wood takes a 1.30 earned run average into the NCAA Division II West Regionals which begin Thursday at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, Ore. His win total equals the GNAC record and his ERA is on pace to smash the conference record of 1.53 set last year by WOU's Kirk Lind.

Folkinga, Miller and Wood were among nine Western Oregon players named to the GNAC 16-man first team all-star team.

They were also among 10 unanimous selections. Also earning unanimous accolades were Tracy, Lind, WOU pitcher Travis Bradshaw, Wolf third baseman Griff Boyd, outfielders David Amberson and Matt Nylen, both from Western Oregon, and Northwest Nazarene outfielder Sean McDonald.

Lind was a first team selection for the third time. He is just the fifth player to GNAC history to earn first team honors three or more times. Wood, Folkinga, Boyd and McDonald were also repeaters from last year.

Other first team selections included Western Oregon pitcher Jason Wilson, Northwest Nazarene reliever Aaron Vaughan, Saint Martin's second baseman Mario Sanelli, Central Washington infielder Derrick Webb and Wildcat designated hitter David Leid and Northwest Nazarene outfielder Zach Steele.

Western Oregon To Host NCAA Regionals at Keizer

Western Oregon will host the 2012 NCAA West Regional Baseball Championships at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, Ore. beginning Thuraday.

The Wolves (40-9) will face fourth-seed Chico State (37-16) in their opening game at 5 p.m.

The first game at 1 p.m. will match second-seed Dixie State (32-18) against third-seed UC San Diego (32-22).

This marks the seventh time Western Oregon has been selected to the NCAA Division II regionals. The Wolves have qualified for the West Regionals in four of the past five years and six of the past eight.

WOU also hosted the regional tournament at Volcanoes Stadium in both 2006 and 2009.

NCAA West Regional (May 17-20 at Salem, Ore.): Thursday - #2 Dixie State vs. #3 UC San Diego, 1 p.m.; #1 Western Oregon vs. #4 Chico State, 5 p.m. Friday – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1 p.m.; Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5 p.m. Saturday – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4; Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5. Sunday – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (if necessary).

OTHER HEADLINES IN THE GNAC
Softball: Clan Seniors Have Led Parallel Lives
GNAC To Host 2013 NCAA Men's Golf Regional
Ex-Coug Jackson Riding A Wave of Success
Renovated WWU Softball Field Was a Joint Venture
UAA 10th, WWU 18th in National All-Sports
Bishop Joins Utah Hall of Fame
Jackson Shares Victory With Coaching Friends (Seattle Times)
Richard Woodworth: Bellevue Reporter / Saipan Tribune
SPU Athletes Win NCAA Scholarships

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