Brandham Ponce hit four home runs and had 14 RBIs in the Wildcats' sweep of Western Oregon (Photo: Danny Rominger).
PORTLAND, Ore. – A four-home run week from Central Washington’s
Brandham Ponce headlined the latest batch of Great Northwest Athletic Conference Players of the Week, announced on Monday.
BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brandham Ponce – Central Washington University
Second-career player of the week, second this season.
Ponce helped lead the Wildcats to a four-game sweep of Western Oregon with a monstrous week at the plate. He kicked things off with a seven-RBI performance in the series opener, homering twice to lead his team to victory. He capped the four-game set by going 4-for-5 with five RBIs and three runs scored and hitting his fourth home run of the weekend. Overall in the series Ponce slashed .500/.556/.875 with four home runs, 14 RBIs, eight runs scored and nine hits. The first-year Wildcat is hitting .347 on the season and ranks third in Division II baseball with 11 home runs.
CWU Head Coach Desi Storey: “Brandham did a great job of not trying to do too much, and he just put good swings on each at-bat.”
Also Nominated: Ryker Fortier, Montana State Billings; Cris Enriquez, Northwest Nazarene; Peter Hollabaugh, Saint Martin’s.
BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Daniel Charron – Central Washington University
Second-career pitcher of the week, first this season.
Charron authored a three-hit shutout on Saturday against Western Oregon, doing his part in the Wildcats’ four-game sweep of the Wolves. Tossing the full nine innings in the series opener, Charron set the tone with six strikeouts and just six baserunners allowed in the masterpiece. The right-hander allowed just three runners in scoring position in the game, stranding them all at second base in the 4-0 triumph. Digging deep in the ninth inning, Charron worked around a leadoff walk and retired the next three batters he faced, ending the game with his sixth and final strikeout.
CWU Head Coach Desi Storey: “Daniel did an excellent job of attacking the strike zone and staying ahead in the count, which kept pressure on the hitters. Both of these guys are extremely competitive and it showed in the performances.”
Also Nominated: Brennen Chappell, Montana State Billings; Cole Calnon, Northwest Nazarene.
SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kristen Davyduke – Simon Fraser University
First-career player of the week.
Davyduke helped lead the Red Leafs to a 3-1 series win over four-time reigning GNAC champion Northwest Nazarene, putting together a stellar week at the plate. She led all GNAC players with 10 RBIs, launching a pair of home runs and hitting .500 (6-for-12) overall in the four-game series. Davyduke kicked off her big week by going 2-for-3 with four RBIs in a series-opening win, and she had hits in all four of the games. Perhaps her biggest swing of the bat came in the third game of the series, when she launched a grand slam in the sixth inning of a 10-2 victory to help secure the runaway win. Davyduke moved into a tie for the GNAC lead in home runs with four this season, and her 21 RBIs are also tied for the most in the conference.
SFU Head Coach Stacy Fournier: “Kristen has been so good for us since returning from injury early this year, and her progress has been a lot of fun to watch. She steps into the box with a lot of confidence and is making adjustments quickly, which is a testament to her hard work and growth as a hitter. We are so excited to see what Kristen does this year as she continues to produce in big moments for us.”
Also Nominated: Bryn Lucht, Montana State Billings; Charlotte Forniss, Northwest Nazarene; Heather Ebner, Saint Martin’s; Victoria Zimmerman, Western Oregon; Maleah Andrews, Western Washington.
SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Monica Bourque – Simon Fraser University
First-career pitcher of the week.
Bourque was instrumental in SFU’s series win over the Nighthawks, playing a part in each of her team’s three victories with two wins and a save. The sophomore righty allowed just two earned runs across 13 innings of work, striking out 10 batters along the way. After logging a complete game in the series opener and adding a save in one clean inning of work in Game 3, Bourque toed the rubber for her best outing of the week in the finale. Logging five shutout frames, Bourque struck out six Nighthawks while scattering just two hits to secure her second victory of the week. Bourque’s 66 1/3 innings pitched this season are the second most in the GNAC, as are her 50 strikeouts. She holds a 2.64 ERA as well.
SFU Head Coach Stacy Fournier: “It has been really cool to see Monica’s progress this year and to have that show in her numbers early on. She has worked hard with our staff on in-game adjustments and trusting her stuff, which is so key for a young pitcher. It feels like every time she’s in the circle, she gives us a chance to win a game. We are excited to see her continued growth this year.”
Also Nominated: Chloe Leverington, Saint Martin’s; Abby Stansbury, Western Oregon; Alli Kimball, Western Washington.
MEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Maurice Woodring – Western Washington University
First-career track athlete of the week.
Woodring cruised to a provisional qualifying time in the 400 meter hurdles, clocking in at 52.78 seconds for the fastest of any GNAC runner so far this spring. The blazing quick performance at the PLU Open stands as the fifth-fastest in GNAC history, as he shaved 0.12 seconds off his previous personal best.
WWU Head Coach Ben Stensland: “Coaches Dena and Laurent Birade and myself have all be really impressed with Mo coming into his junior year. We see many athletes step up in their third year in our program, but Mo has really shown some excellent growth this off season. He has always been driven but this season seems to have a deeper sense of purpose regarding his training. He is also really starting to step up as a leader.”
Also Nominated: Max Hutton, Central Washington; Samuel Gray, Saint Martin’s; Andrew Bell, Seattle Pacific.
MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Ryan Doidge – Saint Martin’s University
First-career field athlete of the week.
Doidge topped a field of 12 competitors in the pole vault at the PLU Open last week, building off his solid foundation of a silver medal in the event at the 2025 GNAC Indoor Championships. The junior cleared a bar at 14-5.25 feet (4.40 meters) on his second attempt, before coming up just short on the next progression at 4.70 meters. Doidge sits atop the early GNAC outdoor performance list with the top leap so far this spring.
SMU Head Coach John Schultz: “Ryan has worked extremely hard during the summer focusing on his technical skills in vaulting. He has a tremendous amount of knowledge about pole vaulting, he spends significant time watching videos and uses a variety of resources.”
Also Nominated: Wes Kriete, Central Washington; Kaden Miller, Western Washington
WOMEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Bec Bennett – Western Washington University
Second-career track athlete of the week, second this season.
Bennett set the tone for her outdoor season at the PLU invitational, topping a field of eight competitors in the 400 meters with a provisional qualifying time. The first-year Viking ran 54.54 seconds – faster than any GNAC runner this spring and standing as the sixth-fastest 400 meters time in GNAC outdoor history. The freshly-minted GNAC indoor champion in the 400 meters emerged from her first outdoor meet as the early frontrunner to double her gold tally in the event at the GNAC Outdoor Championships in May.
WWU Head Coach Ben Stensland: “With three and a half weeks between GNAC and NCAAs we were just looking for a rust buster from Bec before heading off to indoor nationals. It was a great opening meet for her and she's looking primed to have a great outing at nationals this weekend.”
Also Nominated: Liv Heite, Alaska Anchorage; Camryn Holterhoff, Central Washington; Maya Ewing, Seattle Pacific.
WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jessica Polkinghorn – Western Washington University
Second-career field athlete of the week, second this season.
Picking up right where she left off after a gold medal in the shot put at the GNAC Indoor Championships, Polkinghorn won both the shot put and javelin at the PLU Open last week. The freshman had a mighty heave of 47-10.5 feet (14.59 meters) in the shot put, a toss that stands as the fifth farthest in conference outdoor history. Polkinghorn sits atop the early national performance list in the event, with her throw being the best of any Division II competitor in the young outdoor season. She also climbed to the top of the GNAC performance list in the javelin, finishing with a distance of 121-8 feet (37.08 meters).
WWU Head Coach Ben Stensland: “Jessica is certainly off to a great start to her freshman year. She is an incredible athlete and Coach Damien Fisher is doing a great job with her. We can't wait to see her compete in bigger stages this outdoor season, and there is definitely more to come from this young lady.”
Also Nominated: Blessing Ayodeji, Central Washington; Jocelyn Saribay, Saint Martin’s.
MEN’S GOLF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Benjamin Mulder – Northwest Nazarene University
Second-career player of the week, second this season.
Mulder was the conference’s top performer at last week’s NNU Nighthawk Invitational in California, as he finished in the top-five among a field of 46 competitors. The Nighthawk sophomore carded a three-round score of 3-over-par 219 (73-72-74) to wind up in fifth place on the leaderboard. He was one of just two GNAC players to shoot even-par in a round last week, and it was his ninth round this year among the 13 he has played to be at par or better. Mulder sits second in the GNAC in scoring average at 71.5 strokes per round this season.
NNU Head Coach Fred Sutton: “Ben had another strong tournament. He has hit the ball extremely well and has continued his strong play over the past few tournaments. All of the hard work that he has put in during the off-season is really paying off.”
Also Nominated: Ryan Badger, Montana State Billings.
WOMEN’S CREW OF THE WEEK
Seattle Pacific University Varsity 8+
c:
Aleksia Haugen, 8:
Amelia Pape, 7:
Solanes Capps-Mace, 6:
Audrey Rekedal, 5:
Bella Lisenby, 4:
Megan Rouse, 3:
Grace Combs, 2:
Gem Gatmaytan, 1:
Addie Clark
The Falcons had a strong showing in their spring debut, emerging with a victory in the varsity 8+ race at the PLU Invitational on Saturday. The squad turned in a time of 7:13.3 minutes, beating both Oregon State and Western Washington in the head-to-head race. It was a strong start to the season for the Falcons, who were tabbed to finish last in the GNAC preseason coaches poll.
SPU Head Coach Caitlin McLain: "Overall, today was a great start to the racing season. Our team did an incredible job of preparing for and executing their races during a busy academic time with finals next week. We are grateful to PLU. Especially former SPU coach, now PLU head coach, Matt Oclander, for organizing a top-notch regatta featuring crews from DI, DII, DIII, and club programs."
Also Nominated: Western Washington Varsity 4+.