PORTLAND, Ore. – Putting together a strong showing against Great Northwest Athletic Conference competition last week, Cal Poly Humboldt’s varsity 4+ crew headlined the latest batch of GNAC Players of the Week revealed on Monday.
WOMEN’S ROWING CREW OF THE WEEK
Cal Poly Humboldt – Varsity 4+
Olivia Huynh (coxswain) | Laurel Calhoun | Nadia Weise | Keziah Rutschow | Emma Wilson
The nationally-second ranked Lumberjacks were in full force at the Falcon Regatta on Saturday in Seattle, winning both the varsity 4+ and varsity 8+ races. The CPH team in the early race slot had the most dominant performance of the day, winning with a time of 8:03.826 minutes. That was a more than 12-second margin ahead of runner-up Western Washington, which posted 8:15.945 minutes. Ranked second nationally in the latest CRCA coaches poll, the Lumberjacks look to be in strong form to make a bid at defending last year’s NCAA Division II national title in the varsity 4+ race.
Also Nominated: Seattle Pacific Varsity 4+; Western Washington Varsity 8+.
WOMEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Elise Hopper – Central Washington University
Third-career track athlete of the week, second this season.
Hopper was on fire at the Oregon State Pacific Northwest Invitational, posting three personal-bests. She clocked a time of 54.29 seconds in the 400-meters, which checks in at No. 6 in GNAC outdoor history. It was the fastest time among the field of 23 competitors at the meet. Hopper also won the 400-meter hurdles in 59.90 seconds, which was fourth-fastest in GNAC history. She also ran a personal-best 12.05 seconds in the 100-meters to finish second among a field of 43 runners, and led the Wildcat women to a 4x400-meter relay time of 3:44.0 minutes to win that race. Hopper now ranks third in Division II in the 400 meters and 400-meter hurdles.
CWU Head Coach Jonathan Hill: “Elise was on a different level this week. She got a taste of nationals and ran absolutely inspired. Her 400 hurdles was a pleasant surprise. She executed a brilliant plan and now we have a blueprint to run really fast. Her 100, 400 and 4x400 were all lifetime bests – 12.05, 54.29 and 52.84 splits is a legit day.”
Also Nominated: Jess Chisar, Alaska Anchorage; Micah Strong, Montana State Billings; Hazel Kunkel, Northwest Nazarene; Kekaihulali Halpern, Saint Martin’s; Maya Ewing, Seattle Pacific; Veronica Dee, Simon Fraser; Maren Anderson, Western Oregon; Ari Nguyen, Western Washington.
WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Rae Smart – Montana State University Billings
First-career field athlete of the week.
Smart’s collegiate track & field career got off to quite the start last week at the Yellowjacket/Battlin’ Bear Open as she posted solid marks in four throwing events. Her biggest performance of the meet was a shot put of 46-6.25 feet (14.18 meters) as she topped a field of 20 competitors. That was the seventh-farthest throw by any athlete in NCAA Division II so far this spring, and it was the furthest by a GNAC athlete. Smart also posted the GNAC’s sixth-best javelin throw at 124-10 feet (38.04 meters), 11th-best hammer throw at 126-10 feet (38.65 meters) and 12th-best discus throw at 121-10 feet (37.13 meters). Smart is a dual-sport athlete for MSUB, helping deliver the 2026 GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships tournament title to the Yellowjackets earlier this month on the hardwood.
MSUB Head Coach Jonathan Woehl: “Rae had a great meet. I am so impressed that she shifted from basketball to track & field so quickly. She is very coachable and has picked up a lot of the cues she and Coach Nels (Flanagan) have been working on during training.”
Also Nominated: Maliyah Gordon, Central Washington; Rae Smart, Montana State Billings; Maddie Gebers, Northwest Nazarene; Janes Blackburn, Saint Martin’s; Lysandra Plant, Seattle Pacific; Izzy Boyd, Western Oregon.
MEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Grady Mylander – Northwest Nazarene University
First-career track athlete of the week.
Mylander stole the show at the Oregon State PNW Invitational last week, topping a field of 65 competitors in the men’s 5,000-meters. The Nighthawk senior ran a personal-best time of 14:19.08 minutes, edging out runner-up George Fernandez of Western Washington (14:20.11 minutes) by just over one second. It was the fastest 5,000-meters time by a GNAC athlete so far this spring.
NNU Head Coach Greg Mitchell: “Grady is running great right now and is super fit, so I wasn't surprised by the outcome of the race. He raced super smartly and set it up nicely for the win. He was hoping to run a faster time, but I have no doubt he'll have other opportunities to hit a quick one later this season.”
Also Nominated: Charlie Hulbert, Alaska Anchorage; Josh Boast, Central Washington; John Roberts, Montana State Billings; Tawaf Aboudou, Seattle Pacific; Jacob Hall, Simon Fraser; Landon Theisen, Western Oregon; Maurice Woodring, Western Washington.
MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Johnnie Young – Montana State Billings
First-career field athlete of the week.
Young was the first GNAC men’s athlete this season to clear two meters in the high jump, as he won the competition at the Yellowjacket/Battlin’ Bear Open on Saturday in Billings. Young made a jump of 6-7 feet (2.01 meters), hitting his best mark of his debut collegiate season. The freshman finished ninth in the high jump at the GNAC Indoor Championships, and his previous season best in the event was 6-4 feet (1.93 meters) achieved on Feb. 6.
MSUB Head Coach Jonathan Woehl: “Johnnie had everything clicking for him on Saturday and he jumped very well. He has been working hard with Coach Jamie (Flanagan) to improve some of his technique and he had a great result.”
Also Nominated: Matthew Bender, Central Washington; Laurenz Waldbauer, Northwest Nazarene; Ryan Doidge, Saint Martin’s; Mason Hrcek, Seattle Pacific; Thomas MacDonnell, Simon Fraser; Ray Gerrard, Western Oregon; Jakob Braunstein, Western Washington.
SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Reghann Fairbairn – Western Oregon University
First-career player of the week.
Fairbairn helped lead the Wolves to a 3-1 series win over Central Washington to start GNAC play last week, proving to be near-impossible to retire at the plate. In 17 plate appearances, the sophomore was retired just four times as she posted an on-base percentage of .813 in the four-game sample. She delivered a pair of doubles and drove in five runs, while scoring six times including at least one run scored in each of the four games. Fairbairn also drew five walks and delivered a sacrifice fly, while striking out zero times in her 17 trips to the batter’s box. In addition to her offensive production, Fairbairn committed zero errors defensively in 23 chances at first base. The first-year Wolf raised her season batting average to .302 and she has drawn more walks (17) than she has struck out (13).
WOU Head Coach Aly Boytz: “Reghann had a great weekend at the plate. She did her job and produced when needed. She has been putting in the work and now we are seeing it pay off with multiple multi-hit games.”
Also Nominated: McKayla Cable, Central Washington; Wynter Hurst, Montana State Billings; Jami Obringer, Northwest Nazarene; Heather Ebner, Saint Martin’s; Lauren Lugtigheid, Simon Fraser.
SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Braeli Martin – Western Oregon University
First-career pitcher of the week.
Martin was also instrumental in securing the series win for WOU, limiting the Wildcats to a single run in each of her appearances in the circle. Her biggest effort came on Saturday, when she had seven strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings of work while allowing one run on three hits. It was her second-highest single-game punch-out total of the year and she picked up her fourth victory while lowering her season ERA to 3.35.
WOU Head Coach Aly Boytz: “Braeli stepping up as a freshman in the circle has been huge for us. She loves to compete and will find a way to produce outs for our team. I am proud of the hard work she has put in both in the circle and at the plate when called upon.”
Also Nominated: Zoey Theophilus, Central Washington; Miah Lusk, Northwest Nazarene; Kayla Vaughan, Saint Martin’s; Monica Bourque, Simon Fraser.
BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kaleb Karpstein – Northwest Nazarene University
Second-career player of the week, first this season.
Karpstein helped the Nighthawks improve to 11-1 in conference play by taking 3 of 4 games from second-place Montana State Billings. The senior went 6-for-11 (.545) in the series with two home runs, a double and five RBIs. He also drew five walks including four in the series finale, bringing his on-base percentage to .706 in the series. Karpstein also scored at least one run in all four games, crossing the plate five times total on the weekend. Karpstein holds a season slash line of .348/.479/.554, with his on-base percentage leading the GNAC.
NNU Head Coach Joe Schaefer: “Kaleb came up clutch for us several times this weekend. He drove in runs in big moments and it felt like he was on base all weekend long. We don’t win the series without his big weekend.”
Also Nominated: Andre Garza, Central Washington; Kaden Bertram, Montana State Billings; Alohi Arecchi, Saint Martin’s; Chris Arce, Western Oregon.
BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Corbin Talley – Northwest Nazarene University
First-career pitcher of the week.
Talley delivered his best outing of the 2026 season as he also contributed to the Nighthawks’ series win over the Yellowjackets. He went the distance in Friday’s nightcap, tossing a seven-inning shutout while limiting MSUB to just three hits. Talley notched his first double-digit strikeout performance of the year with a season-high 10, while walking three to make it six total baserunners allowed in his seven innings of work. The highlight effort put Talley’s name at the top of the GNAC in ERA at 2.10 on the season and he also leads the conference with 48 strikeouts and an opponents’ batting average of .197 across his 34 1/3 innings of work.
NNU Head Coach Joe Schaefer: “Corbin had his best outing of the season against MSUB. He was the most efficient he has been all year getting ahead in the count, and he was able to put guys away with two strikes often.”
Also Nominated: Jackson Burtis, Central Washington; Cade Queen, Montana State Billings; Blaze Wong, Saint Martin’s.