CORVALLIS, Ore. –
The following 17 CCC student-athletes have been recognized as the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Players of the Week for their performances during the period Feb. 15-21, 2021.
Women’s Basketball - Player
No. 24-ranked Lewis-Clark State College’s Kiara Burlage was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, her third honor of the season.
Burlage, a six-foot senior forward from Columbia Falls, Mont., led the Warriors in scoring in both games of the CCC playoffs and helped the Warriors to their first Cascade title. The senior went into the weekend leading LC State in scoring, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage and rebounding. Burlage notched a double-double in Thursday's game with 17 points and 11 rebounds and was efficient from the field and the free throw line all weekend.
Men’s Basketball - Player
No. 4-ranked Lewis-Clark State College’s Damek Mitchell was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, marking the third time he’s won the award.
Mitchell, a five-foot-nine senior guard from Bellingham, Wash., helped LC State to its first CCC title with wins on Thursday and Sunday. He led the Warriors in scoring in both games, including a season-high 30 points in the clinching game on Sunday. He was efficient from the field and near perfect at the free throw line.
Baseball - Pitcher
Oregon Tech’s Trask Telesmanich was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Baseball Pitcher of the Week.
Telesmanich, a six-foot-one pitcher from Gladstone, Ore., set the tone early with nine strikeouts over his seven innings of work leading Tech to a Sunday sweep of Corban. He allowed six hits, with just one earned run.
Baseball - Player
College of Idaho’s Jonah Hultberg was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Baseball Player of the Week.
Hultberg, a five-foot-11 freshman outfielder from Boise, Idaho, recorded multi-hit games in all four contests this week (has recorded six-straight multi-hit games). He went a combined 11-for-16 with four runs scored and recorded his first career four-hit game against Eastern Oregon Universtiy on Wednesday. Hultberg leads the Cascade Collegiate Conference with a .529 batting average on the season so far.
Softball - Pitcher
Oregon Tech’s Sarah Abramson was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Softball Pitcher of the Week.
Abramson, a five-foot-ten junior pitcher from Milwaukie, Ore., had a great week, picking up two wins with 20 strikeouts, including 13 in OIT’s upset win over No. 17-ranked College of Idaho. On the season she is now 4-0 with 33 strikeouts to just five walks with an ERA of 0.98.
Softball - Player
Oregon Tech’s Maggie Buckholz was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Softball Player of the Week.
Buckholz, a five-foot-seven sophomore infielder from Silverton, Ore., had the game-winner in the first game against College of Idaho. On the weekend she scored four runs with five RBI ,while hitting .500 to help the Owls grab four victories.
Men’s Cross Country - Runner
No. 20-ranked Oregon Tech’s Mark French was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week.
French, a senior from Tulatin, Ore., finished third at the LCC Invite with a time of 25 minutes, 12 seconds. He was bested by two NCAA Division I Oregon Ducks in the 8K event.
Women’s Cross Country - Runner
No. 12-ranked Oregon Tech’s Faith Widman was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week, her second of the season.
Widman, a junior from Fairbanks, Alaska, won the LCC Invite by 35 seconds in 18:37 and led the Owls to the team victory 21 to 42. She crossed the 5K first in a pool of 27 runners.
Men’s Indoor Track and Field – Field Athlete
Eastern Oregon University’s Allexander Kosel was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week.
Kosel, a junior from Roberts, Mont., was the event winner in the high jump with a height of 6-4 ¾. Kosel also earned a victory in the triple jump with a mark of 47-11. His mark in the triple jump is now tied for fourth in the NAIA.
Men’s Indoor Track and Field – Track Athlete
Lewis-Clark State College’s Clayton VanDyke was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week.
VanDyke, a senior from Vernal, Utah, had a solid weekend in distance events. He won all three of his events and earned probable qualifying marks in two. In the NAIA national rankings, he sits fifth in the 1,000m, 12th in the 800m and 21st in the mile.
Women’s Indoor Track and Field – Field Athlete
Warner Pacific University’s Brittany Coleman was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week.
Coleman, a senior from Oregon City, Ore., took first in the triple jump at the GSAC Invitational with a mark of 11.8m. It set a new personal-best career record and puts Coleman at No. 6 in the NAIA in the event.
Women’s Indoor Track and Field – Track Athlete
College of Idaho’s Abbey Shirts was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week.
Shirts, a sophomore from Wieser, Idaho, punched her ticket to the NAIA Championships in two events. She won the 1,000-meters with the No. 6 mark in the NAIA this season, while running the second leg on the 4x800 relay and clocking the No. 5 mark in the NAIA.
Men’s Soccer – Defensive Player
Northwest University’s Leon Bormann was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week.
Bormann, a five-foot-nine senior defender from Shoreline, Wash., anchored the back line for the Eagles and also scored a goal in the Eagles’ 5-2 victory over Multnomah University in non-conference action.
Men’s Soccer – Offensive Player
Oregon Tech’s John Sarna was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week.
Sarna, a six-foot-five sophomore forward from Corvallis, Ore., scored a hattrick in OIT’s 4-3 overtime victory over Simpson University. All three goals came in the first half to help the Owls stay in the game.
Women’s Volleyball - Attacker
No. 13-ranked Corban University’s Avari Ridgway was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Women’s Volleyball Attacker of the Week.
Ridgway, a six-foot-one junior outside hitter from McMinnville, Ore., was the catalyst for the Warriors' offense in the squad's perfect 4-0 weekend. The defending All-Conference attacker collected double-digit kill tallies in each of the four matches, hitting at an impressive .316 clip and averaging 3.77 kills per set. In addition, she also compiled 55 digs on the weekend.
Women’s Volleyball - Defender
No. 9-ranked Eastern Oregon University’s Cambree Scott was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Women’s Volleyball Defender of the Week.
Scott, a six-foot junior middle blocker from Bend, Ore., was a key contributor on both sides of the ball, tallying 34 kills and 24 blocks in EOU's 4-0 opening weekend. Had a near double-double in the season opener against Multnomah University with nine kills and 10 blocks. Posted another nine kills in the Mounties’ second win against Multnomah. Against Oregon Tech, she helped anchor a front line defense that held OIT to a .159 hitting percentage in the first match and a .153 mark in the second match. For the weekend, Scott and EOU's defense held opponents to an average .106 hitting. Scott currently ranks fifth in the CCC in hitting at .338 and is second in blocks with 24.
Women’s Volleyball - Setter
Bushnell University’s Makenna Northern was named the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Women’s Volleyball Setter of the Week for the second week in a row.
Northern, a five-foot-nine junior setter from Brownsville, Ore., helped fuel the offense for the Beacons, averaging 9.64 assists per set. She opened the conference season with back-to-back 32-assist performances to lift Bushnell twice over Lewis-Clark State College. She also had two aces, two solo blocks, three block assists, and eight kills in the four matches.