PORTLAND, Ore. – Fall sports are in full swing across the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, with women’s and men’s soccer, volleyball and women’s and men’s cross country teams in a full week of action last week.
 
The conference office announced its latest GNAC Player of the Week selections on Monday afternoon.
 
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Johan Correa – Central Washington University
Fourth-career cross country runner of the week, first this season.
 
Making his 2024 season debut, the reigning NCAA Division II West Region champion was true to form at the Green River Gator Invitational on Saturday in Lakewood, Wash. Competing against a field of 134 runners, Correa clocked a 6k time of 17:24.6 minutes and finished in sixth place overall. The only runners who finished ahead of him were a quintet of University of Portland (NCAA Division I) harriers, with the Pilots being ranked No. 16 nationally by the USTFCCCA among D1 programs. After placing second at the 2023 GNAC Championships, winning the regional and being the conference’s top finisher in 17th place at the 2023 NCAA Championships, the All-American showed that he’s ready to pick up right where he left off last year.
 
CWU Head Coach Jonathan Hill: “Johan had a nice opener. He was comfortable with the short course and a nice group of Portland guys to cruise with. We feel good about his next couple tests and where his body, heart and mind are at.”
 
Also Nominated: Zach Grams, Alaska Anchorage; Ben Dohlby, Alaska Fairbanks; Jerdan Crawford, Montana State Billings; Grady Mylander, Northwest Nazarene; Elijah Dale, Saint Martin’s; Benjamin Schoening, Simon Fraser; Easton Pomrankey, Western Oregon; Sten Brakstad, Western Washington.
   

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WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Annika Esvelt – Seattle Pacific University
Fourth-career cross country runner of the week, first this season.
 
Esvelt showed no signs of rust in her 2024 debut, finishing in second place among a field of 103 competitors at the Green River Gator Invitational. The two-time all-GNAC and all-region cross country star finished the 4k race with a time of 13:08.6 minutes. Only Portland’s Juliette Forstrom finished ahead of Esvelt – by 2.5 seconds as the latter gave her D1 counterpart a run for her money down the stretch. The reigning GNAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, who was an All-American in both the 10,000 meters (2nd place) and 5,000 meters (7th place) at last year’s NCAA DII Outdoor Track & Field Championships, figures to be one of the conference’s top runners once again in her senior season. “It was really fun – the perfect day for cross country,” said Esvelt. “I wish I could have pulled off a win, but that’s OK – I’m still proud of my time. I was super sore, but once you get out there you forget about all of that.”
 
SPU Cross Country Coach Eric Hanson: “Annika was pretty aggressive early on. She has had a great summer of training. Obviously, she showed up in just as good of shape as she was at the end of outdoor track. Getting back into racing mode might take one or two meets, but she looks as good as she has for the start of cross country season right now."
 
Also Nominated: Ryann Smith, Alaska Anchorage; Rosie Fordham, Alaska Fairbanks; Payton Conover, Central Washington; Carey Berendsen, Montana State Billings; Morgan Erler, Northwest Nazarene; Kya Ramirez, Saint Martin’s; Rachael Watkins, Simon Fraser; Kaydence Nguyen, Western Oregon; Sophie Wright, Western Washington.
 

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VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bailee Hartsook – Western Oregon University
First-career player of the week.
 
After battling an early-season injury, Hartsook was healthy enough to play last week and delivered in a big way to help lead the Wolves to three victories in their four matches. In the three full matches she played, Hartsook averaged 3.07 kills per set while swinging at an efficient clip of .338. In her first full match of the season, Hartsook put down 14 kills on 20 swings with just two errors in WOU’s sweep of Cal State Monterey Bay. She followed that with a dozen kills against Westmont and capped the week with a season-high 16 kills against Cal State San Marcos. Her kill total in the finale was the third-highest of her four-year career at WOU, missing her career-best of 19 by just three.
 
WOU Head Coach Kaiao Nahale-a: “Bailee has been hurt almost all of preseason. She is just coming back and had a great week. The team rallied around her and she has been an incredible teammate the entire time, whether she’s injured or on the court.”
 
Also Nominated: Bethany Tuchardt, Alaska Anchorage; Karli Nielson, Alaska Fairbanks; Emma Daoud-Hebert, Central Washington; Jahsita Fa’ali’i, Montana State Billings; Zoey Crimin, Saint Martin’s; Hannah Hair, Seattle Pacific; Brooke Dexter, Simon Fraser.
 

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VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Christine Funk – Montana State University Billings
Third-career player of the week, first this season.
 
Funk led all GNAC players in last week’s matches with 5.60 digs per set, and her 84 total digs were 10 more than the next-closest player in the conference. The senior libero has had at least a dozen digs in all eight of MSUB’s matches this fall. Funk kicked off her week with 25 digs in MSUB’s win over Black Hills State on Thursday. She reached that total again in the team’s win over Minnesota-Crookston on Saturday. Funk’s 1,426 digs are second-most in MSUB history, behind Gina Langer’s school record of 1,530 digs (1996-99). Funk also ranks 27th in GNAC history in total digs, and 25th in GNAC history in digs per set with 4.39.
 
MSUB Head Coach Casey Williams: “Chris was huge for us this past weekend and really carried us defensively. She kept us in system consistently through the weekend and kept us in a lot of rallies. Chris is so scrappy and she is someone we are lucky to have on our team as a great leader. We are excited for her to have a stellar senior year and this weekly award is just a small part of what she can do for us.”
 
Also Nominated: Madison Galloway, Alaska Anchorage; Elizabeth Jackson, Alaska Fairbanks; Hannah Stires, Central Washington; Kamara White, Saint Martin’s; Macyn Unger, Simon Fraser; Sidney Friesen, Western Oregon.
 

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WOMEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jensa Napier-Ganley – Simon Fraser University
First-career player of the week.
 
Napier-Ganley played a big role in each of Simon Fraser’s wins last week, helping her team improve to 4-0 on the young season. The sophomore from Cobble Hill, B.C., had her first-career assist in the Red Leafs’ 3-0 blanking of Regis on Thursday. She followed that by impacting both goals in her team’s 2-1 triumph over Colorado Christian to stay undefeated. In the 28th minute, she slotted her second assist of the week to Sarah Caravatta to give her team a 1-0 lead. She followed by scoring her first-career goal – a game-winner in the 31st minute. Napier-Ganley has played in all four of SFU’s matches as a substitute this fall, after seeing action in 14 matches with three starts as a freshman in 2023.
 
SFU Head Coach Carlo Basso: “Jensa showcased her ability to impact the game with her high I.Q., and quality of pass in both matches this weekend. She was decisive in critical moments and really helped push the group to success. I am so pleased for Jensa as she is a player who consistently works on improving her game and delivering in big moments.”
 
Also Nominated: Peyton Wilson, Central Washington; Liberty Palmer, Montana State Billings; Moira MacKay, Seattle Pacific.
 

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WOMEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Leighton Menge – Central Washington University
First-career player of the week.
 
The true freshman from Kingston, Wash., was instrumental in the Wildcats’ lone game last week, coming up big in her team’s 1-1 draw against Chico State. Menge had 10 saves in the match – tied for the most among any GNAC player in last week’s games – and posted a GNAC-leading save percentage of .909. Facing 23 shots in the match, Menge kept her team in it until the end including making a pair of big saves in the final 10 minutes. Coming off a shutout in her collegiate debut on Sept. 5, Menge has now made 15 saves while allowing just one goal in her first 180 minutes of college soccer.
 
CWU Head Coach Lindsey Lee: “Leighton has been fantastic for us the past few weeks. This past weekend, her shot-stopping ability was critical for us against Chico. She was just a calming and powerful presence on the field. Her shot stopping as well as her ability to play out of the back allowed us to stay in the game on Thursday.”
 
Also Nominated: Megan Mendenhall, Montana State Billings; Mallory Patzer, Saint Martin’s; Sarah Loewen, Simon Fraser; Sophia Pierce, Western Oregon.
 

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MEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Yahir Ocampo Navarro – Western Oregon University
First-career player of the week.
 
Notching a brace in his team’s lone match last week, Ocampo Navarro found the net twice in the Wolves’ 3-2 win over Azusa Pacific. The reigning first-team all-GNAC midfielder put his team up 2-1 in the 60th minute, before sealing the victory with a game-winning goal in the 73rd minute on his second penalty-kick conversion of the day. Ocampo Navarro started 16 of 17 matches as a freshman in a 2023 season that saw him provide six assists, and his latest offensive output upped his collegiate goal total to five across his first 20 matches.
 
Also Nominated: So Nagano, Montana State Billings; Michael Hennessy, Simon Fraser; Eric Bunnell, Western Washington.
 

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MEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Andrew Schoenen – Montana State University Billings
First-career player of the week.
 
Schoenen led all GNAC players last week with 13 saves and was the conference’s lone goalkeeper not to concede as he collected a pair of shutouts. The true freshman from Great Falls, Mont., came away with six saves on 14 shots faced to help the ‘Jackets to a 3-0 blanking of Sul Ross State on Thursday. He followed with a season-high seven saves against 18 shots faced on Saturday, with every one of them being crucial in a scoreless draw against Texas A&M International. Schoenen has played every minute of the season between the posts through the Yellowjackets’ first four matches.
 
MSUB Head Coach Paul Cuevas: “Andrew has been great in goal as a true freshman, and has really stepped up for us when the team has needed him. We saw that this last weekend with him making big saves and doing what needed to be done. His confidence and maturity continues to grow game by game, and I have no doubt he will continue playing a big role for us on the pitch.”
 
Also Noinated: Connor Leistiko, Saint Martin’s; Pierluca Carnovale, Seattle Pacific; Charlie Dyer, Western Washington.