Central Washington University senior Lauren Hadenfeld was named the NCAA Division II National Pitcher of the Week by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Wednesday.
The Evergreen High School graduate, who has an 18-6 record on the season, helped the Wildcats to road sweeps of Simon Fraser University and Western Washington University last week, which extended the team’s winning streak to a school-record 15 games.
During the streak, Hadenfeld is 10-0 with three shutouts and a 1.32 earned-run average.
In addition to her national pitcher of the week honor, Hadenfeld was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second consecutive week.
She is the only GNAC player to earn national honors this season, and is just the second player in CWU history to be recognized by the NFCA as a national player or pitcher of the week. Former Wildcat Sara Badgley earned the accolade in March 2005.
Central Washington (25-11, 19-5 GNAC) is ranked No. 8 in the NCAA-II West Region poll also announced Wednesday.
The Wildcats lead second-place Western Washington by four games in the loss column in the conference standings with 11 games left, starting with a doubleheader today at Montana State-Billings.
Also on the CWU roster is junior outfielder Bre Thomas, a Columbia River High School graduate who played two seasons at Mount Hood Community College. Thomas has started 26 games this season, and is batting .263, with a home run and nine RBI.
CCC honors again for Cavaliers’ Dixson
Concordia University sophomore Gabi Dixson has been named Cascade Collegiate Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week for the sixth time this season.
Dixson, a homeschool graduate who competed for Battle Ground High School, scored two huge personal records over the week weekend while competing at the Oregon Relays in Eugene.
Dixson improved her discus mark by more than four feet with a mark of 162 feet, 8 inches; and her hammer mark by exactly five feet at 174-5.
Her discus mark now gives Dixson nearly a 10-foot lead over the next best competitor on the NAIA performance list, while her hammer mark is ranked No. 6 in the NAIA.
Also at the meet at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, Concordia junior Junia Limage won the 800 meters with a lifetime best time of 2 minutes, 12.19 seconds. The Fort Vancouver High School graduate improved her NAIA championships qualifying time.
Turner helps Bruins to NWC track crown
George Fox University sophomore Alyssa Turner was runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles and helped the Bruins’ 1,600 relay to the championship at the Northwest Conference track and field championships over the weekend in McMinnville, Ore.
The Hudson’s Bay High School graduate’s time of 1 minute, 3.94 seconds in the hurdles is a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Division III championships.
The GFU relay team of Turner, Rachel Meis, Alexis Arnold and Irene Johnson claimed the NWC crown in 3:55.26, also an NCAA-III provisional time.
Porter sets WWU record in 3,000
Western Washington senior distance runner Sarah Porter broke a 24-year-old school record in the 3,000-meter run Saturday at the Viking Twilite track and field meet in Bellingham.
The Hockinson High School graduate’s time of 9 minutes, 35.75 seconds took more than three seconds off the previous record. Her time was also a meet record.
Porter will compete Sunday in the 10,000 meters at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Track and Field Invitational on the campus of Stanford University.
It will be the first 10,000 of the season for Porter, who placed second in NCAA Division II at that distance in 2010.
At last year’s Stanford meet, Porter qualified for the USA Track & Field Championships by placing 15th with a school and Great Northwest Athletic Conference record time of 33:36.83.
Two weeks ago, she posted the nation’s third-best time in the 5,000 at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, Calif., with a school-record and national automatic qualifying time of 15:57.02.
Last fall, Porter placed second at the national cross country meet for the second straight year and just six weeks ago she finished third in the indoor 5,000 to earn All-America honors for the third consecutive season.
Later this spring, Porter hopes to complete a sweep of All-America honors in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track for the third straight year.
Porter placed second in the 10,000 at nationals last season, fourth in 2009 and ninth in 2008.
WWU eight wins another NCRC title
Columbia River High School graduate Jean Piette and the Western Washington University varsity eight claimed a Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference championships held Saturday on Lake Stevens, east of Everett.
Piette is the No. 6 seat in the Vikings’ top shell, which won by three boat lengths over runner-up Puget Sound.
Ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II, the Vikings claimed a seventh consecutive conference team title.
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