Red Lion Players of the Week Announced
The following CCC student-athletes have been recognized as Cascade Collegiate Conference Red Lion Players of the Week for their performances during the period of March 13-19:
Baseball-Pitcher
The College of Idaho’s Riley O’Brien has been named the Red Lion baseball Pitcher of the Week.
O’Brien, a senior from Shoreline, Wash., was credited with a pair of four-inning saves for the Yotes against Oregon Tech and eighth-ranked Lewis-Clark State (Idaho). Over eight innings of work, he struck out seven with three hits and no runs allowed. He closed out a 3-2 win against LC-State, fanning four while yielding one hit.
Honorable mention: Daniel Tyler, Benedictine Mesa; Connor Brogdon, Lewis-Clark State
Baseball-Player
The College of Idaho’s Austin Van Horne has been named the Red Lion baseball Player of the Week.
Van Horne, a freshman third baseman from Caldwell, Idaho, went 7-for-18 with 11 RBI during the Yotes’ 3-3 week. He posted his second five-RBI game of the season Monday at Oregon Tech, going 2-for-3 with a home run and a triple, and drove in all three runs in C of I’s 3-2 win over LC-State on Saturday.
Honorable mention: Alex Poltz, Oregon Tech
Softball-Pitcher
The College of Idaho’s Colette Robert has been named the Red Lion softball Pitcher of the Week.
Colette, a sophomore from Milton-Freewater, Ore., was dominant in two complete games against Carroll this weekend. She went 13 innings without allowing an earned runs – tossing a six-hit shutout in a 5-0 Game 1 victory and a two-hitter in a 9-1 Game 3 win, helping the Yotes take three of four from the Saints. She struck out five and did not issue a walk all weekend.
Honorable mention: Hailey Kline, EOU
Softball-Player
Eastern Oregon’s Cheyenne Barker has been named the Red Lion softball Player of the Week.
Barker, a senior from Fruitland, Idaho, went 8-for-13 with three home runs, a pair of doubles, 11 RBI and six runs scored in six games on the week as the Mountaineers completed four-game sweeps of Northwest Christian and Great Falls. She also walked three times, giving her an on-base percentage of .688. She’s up to seven home runs on the season, the most in the CCC.
Honorable mention: Ali Graham, OIT
Men’s Outdoor-Track
Corban’s Craig Boekenoogen has been named the Red Lion Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week.
Boekenoogen, a senior from Poulsbo, Wash., set a school record in the steeplechase with a time of 19:19.80 that made him first of six entries at Thursday’s Willamette Dual. He became an automatic qualifier for the NAIA Championships and now owns the No. 2 time on the national list.
Honorable mention: Therron ‘TJ’ Randle, Northwest; Matt East, Southern Oregon
Men’s Outdoor-Field
Southern Oregon’s Zach Beltz has been named the Red Lion Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week.
Beltz, a sophomore long-jumper from Elmira, Ore., became SOU's first automatic qualifier for the NAIA Championships on the men's side by jumping 23 feet 10 1/4 inches Saturday at Sacramento State's Hornet Invitational. The mark, which was the second-best of his career, gave him fifth place of 55 entries. He also hit a CCC qualifying mark in the triple jump (42-11 3/4).
Honorable mention: Christian Hackney, Northwest Christian; Brooks Ney, College of Idaho
Women’s Outdoor-Track
Northwest Christian’s Shea Vallaire has been named the Red Lion Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week.
Vallaire, a senior from Lake Oswego, Ore., won a 38-person 5,000-meter race Saturday at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open and clocked the fastest time in the NAIA this season at 17:10.31, improving on her previous ‘A’ standard time. She also broke the NCU school record – which had stood for two years – by a full 90 seconds.
Honorable mention: Rakayla Tyler, Southern Oregon; Emily Hawgood, College of Idaho
Women’s Outdoor-Field
Northwest Christian’s Bailey Dell has been named the Red Lion Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week.
Dell, a senior from La Salle, Ontario, won the javelin at Saturday’s Lane Preview meet with a toss of 147 feet 9 inches. Bell, who already owns the NAIA’s top mark this season and was already an automatic qualifier for the national meet, topped a 20-person field that included six athletes from Oregon State.
Honorable mention: Crystal Lynch, Corban