Sports Briefs

VOLLEYBALL
Wilson receives Honorable Mention All-Big Sky
Sophomore Richell Wilson was named to the Honorable Mention All-Big Sky Conference team earlier this week.

The outside hitter led the Vikings in kills. She averaged 4.24 kills per game, currently the highest mark in the Big Sky and the third-highest for a season in Portland State history.

Wilson also led the team with 20 aces. She is tenth in the conference in Big Sky matches in service aces with 0.30 per game. She also averaged 2.11 digs and 0.42 blocks a game.

CROSS COUNTRY
Vikings wrap up season at NCAA Regionals
Portland State sent six runners to compete in the NCAA West Regional Run-off last week. Out of a field of the top runners from the West Region of NCAA competition, the Vikings were led by two freshmen, Anne Kawasaki, who finished 58th overall and Paul Loprinzi, who came in 90th.

Kawasaki recorded a time of 23:29 on the 6000-meter run. Kawasaki finished about three minutes behind the top finisher for the women, Tara Chaplin, who came in with a time of 20:40. Loprinzi was able to finish 90th with a time of 34:19 on the 10,000-meter course. Stanford captured both the men and women’s first place titles. Stanford’s Donald Sage finished first on the men’s side with a time of 30:43. Other finishers for the Vikings included Jenny Rodgers for the women who placed 76th overall (24:00). For the men, Kyle Boyd came in 103rd (35:13) and Evan Garich placed 113th (35:37).

SOCCER
Vikings’ goalkeeper given highly regarded honors
Gretchen Pietras was awarded Big Sky Newcomer of the Year honors upon the conclusion of the Vikings’ season.

Pietras played a key role in the Vikings’ improvement from last season recording two shutouts and 10 games holding the opponent to three goals or less. Pietras began the season as the back-up goalie on the depth chart, but worked her way into the starting position, which turned out to benefit the Vikings heavily on the defensive side of the ball.

This is the most prestigious award any Viking player has received since Portland State joined the Big Sky in 1997.

There were four other Vikings who earned honors. Annie Peccia, Jamie Giger, Amy Orr and senior Stacey Storie were all named to the Big Sky All-Conference Honorable Mention Team.

MEN’S GOLF
Doug Nelson receives Big Sky honors for Men’s golfer of the week
Doug Nelson earned Big Sky honors for his performance at the Aztec Invitational Nov. 5-6. Nelson finished at the top for the Vikings placing 36th overall out of a field of 85 golfers competing including teams from Weber State and Eastern Washington.

Nelson shot only one over par for the 54-hole tournament (71-70-76 (217)). The Vikings as a team placed 14th out of 17 teams.

The junior earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors for the second time in his PSU career. Through the fall season for Portland State, Nelson was the top performer for the men’s golf team. In over 15 rounds of golf, Nelson has recorded an average of 74.1 strokes.