Western Washington University senior distance runner Sarah Porter was named an NCAA Division II indoor track and field All-American by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The award was based on her performance Saturday at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. It was Porter’s third indoor honor.
Porter finished third in the 5,000 meters despite running with a strained hamstring.
“That was a real gutsy effort considering her injury,” WWU coach Pee Wee Halsell told wwuvikings.com. “She competed very well.”
The 2011 USTFCCCA West Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, Porter was competing at nationals for the fourth time. Her third-place time was 16 minutes, 44.04 seconds after a school-record 16:11.98 earlier this season. She finished fourth nationally in 2010 and sixth in 2009.
Monica Kinney of team champion Grand Valley State (Mich.) won the race in 16:28.02. Shippensburg’s Neely Spence — the only runner to finish ahead of Porter at the NCAA-II cross country championships in the fall — was second in16:28.33.
Porter also is a three-time All-American in cross country in which she finished second nationally both as a junior and senior. Porter has competed at nationals four times in both cross country and indoor track. This spring she hopes to make a fourth straight trip to outdoor nationals and earn All-America honors for the third time.
Breihof helps WWU relay finish ninth
Western Washington senior distance runner Lauren Breihof helped the Vikings placed ninth in the distance medley relay at the NCAA Division II indoor championships Friday.
The Mountain View High School graduate joined Rachael Johnson, Eleanor Siler and Megan McConnell finished in a time of 12:14.45, with Breihof running the anchor leg. The quartet — which entered the competition at the Albuquerque Convention Center ranked 10th nationally — was one place short of scoring team points.
Shippensburg’s Emily Dubs, Laura Henzy, Amanda Raudabaugh and Neely Spence won the event in 11:38.38.
“They ran a good race,” Western coach Pee Wee Halsell told wwuvikings.com. “They just came up short.”
Foreman, BYU to play in WNIT
Brigham Young University was selected to play in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament after being passed over by the NCAA Tournament despite winning the Mountain West Conference regular season crown.
BYU senior point guard Jazmine Foreman helped the Cougars (23-8) to a 15-1 record in conference play. With a bye into the semifinals of last weekend’s MWC tournament in Las Vegas, BYU was stunned 50-49 by rival Utah, the No. 5 seed.
Foreman, a Hudson’s Bay High School graduate, has started all 31 games of her senior season. She averages 6.4 points, 3.9 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals a game.
The Cougars will play host to the University of Denver (19-11) in a first-round WNIT game Thursday in Provo, Utah. All games of the 64-team tournament are played on campus sites, including the championship game April 2.
Gordon, GFU denied trip to Final Four
George Fox University was eliminated from the NCAA Division III women’s basketball national tournament with a 61-60 loss to Illinois Wesleyan in the Elite Eight round Saturday in Stevens Point, Wis.
The Bruins scored the first 16 points and led by 23 points before the Titans began chipping away at the deficit, eventually scoring the game’s final points at the free throw line with four seconds remaining.
George Fox junior wing Keisha Gordon, a Heritage High School graduate, and the Bruins were doomed by turnovers as their 14-game winning streak was snapped and their season ended at 25-6. The Bruins shared the Northwest Conference regular season title with Lewis & Clark and beat the Pioneers in the NWC tournament championship game.
The Bruins were undefeated D-III national champions in 2009 and reached the Elite Eight last season.
Gordon averaged 15.3 points and 7.4 rebounds for the season, along with 3.3 assists and 2.5 steals. She is a two-time First Team All-NWC selection and was Second Team All-West Region last year (this season’s selections have not been announced). She was named Women’s Athlete of the Week by the Bruin Athletic Association for the week of Feb. 28 to March 6, her fourth such honor of the season.
WWU, Hefflin fall in D-II West Regional
Western Washington was eliminated from the NCAA Division II women’s basketball West Regional on Friday in Pomona, Calif., with a 55-48 loss to Alaska-Anchorage.
Senior center Lauren Hefflin, a Ridgefield High School graduate, had eight points and 11 rebounds for the Vikings (26-5), who also lost to the Seawolves in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament championship game the previous weekend.
In her final collegiate season, Hefflin averaged 12.1 points — with a shooting percentange of 54.5 (157 of 288) — along with 7.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.6 blocks.
EWU’s Wall wins Big Sky 400 crown
Eastern Washington junior sprinter Brad Wall won the 400 meters at the Big Sky Conference indoor track and field championships held Feb. 26 in Pocatello, Idaho, setting a school record in the process.
The Evergreen High School graduate — who won the Big Sky outdoor title in the event last year in a school-record time of 46.78 seconds — finished in 47.58 seconds on the board track at Holt Arena in the Idaho State University campus.
The previous indoor school record was 47.61 seconds, set by Alex Moon in 2006.
“Brad Wall continues to amaze us with his talent,” EWU head men’s coach Stan Kerr told goeags.com. “Talk about the will to win. He exemplifies that phrase in my mind. He took on a tough field, on a kind of track we don’t get a lot of experience on. We were able to make a few minor adjustments, and it worked out well for him.”
Gallagher slams door on UP for win
Hawai’i senior Zach Gallagher allowed no hits or runs in two innings of relief in the Warriors’ 6-5 victory over the University of Portland on Sunday in Honolulu. The Camas High School graduate entered the game with two runners on base and no outs in the ninth.
Gallagher is 2-0 this season.
Kolten Wong’s solo homer in the bottom of the 10th won the game for Hawai’i.
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