Nov. 1, 2006

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Five members of the Western Washington University men's and women's cross country teams have been named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Star Team announced today.

They are Marissa Harshman, Greg Kubitz, Keith Lemay, Amy Olson and Chad Portwood.

Kubitz, a redshirt freshman from Kelso, is maintaining a 3.79 (4.0 scale) grade point average, and Lemay, a junior from Lynden (graduate of Lynden Christian High School), has a 3.66 GPA as a physical education major.

Harshman, a junior from Vancouver (graduate of Heritage High School), and Olson, a sophomore from Stanwood, each have 3.38 GPAs. Harshman is a journalism major and Olson is a physical education major.

Portwood, a senior from Cheney, is a computer science major with a 3.31 GPA. Portwood placed sixth at the GNAC Championships to earn all-conference recognition.

To be eligible for the academic team, student-athletes must have a minimum GPA of 3.20 and be in at least their second year of competition at their university.

GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE Contact: Bob Guptill (509-535-5291/Fax 535-5293/e-mail - bguptill@gnacsports.com)

Sixty Named To GNAC Cross Country Academic Team

SPOKANE - A total of 60 student-athletes - 20 men and 40women - have been named to the 2006 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic cross country all-conference team.

Heading up the women's academic squad are Kirsten Clarke of Central Washington, Ashley Puga of Northwest Nazarene and Katelynn Blume of Saint Martin's, all with perfect 4.00 GPAs. Among the men the top academic all-star is Andrew Lybarger of Seattle University with a 3.96 GPA.

Blume and Lybarger were among 10 athletes earning academic all-star recognition for the third time. Mandy Kaempf of Alaska Anchorage; Amber Green and Rachel Bailey of Central Washington; Tara Robinson of Northwest Nazarene; Robbie Wilbur of Saint Martin's; Eddie Strickler and James Rosser of Seattle Pacific, and Nick Crawford of Western Oregon were also honored for the third time. Eleven other athletes were repeat selections from last year.

To be eligible for the academic team, student-athletes must have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 and be in at least their second year of competition at their university.

2006 GNAC Cross Country Academic All-Conference Team
Men
Paul Schauer, Alaska Anchorage (Geology, Jr., 3.54, Fairbanks, AK)
Mick Boyle, Alaska Anchorage (Psychology, So., 3.50, Kenai, AK)
Brent Knight, Alaska Anchorage (Biological Sciences, Sr., 3.21, Soldotna, AK)
Marius Korthauer, Alaska Fairbanks (Business Administration, Jr., 3.90, Bonndorf, Germany)
Anders Gillis, Alaska Fairbanks (Justice, So., 3.86, Fairbanks, AK)
Geoff Anderson, Central Washington (Industrial Education, Sr., 3.54, Gresham, OR)
James Roach, Central Washington (Physical Education, Sr., 3.39, Auburn, WA)
**Robbie Wilbur, Saint Martin's (Math/Biology, Sr., 3.75, Spanaway, WA)
Kevin Tober, Saint Martin's (Political Science, Jr., 3.35, Redmond, WA)
Steven LaLonde, Saint Martin's (Business, Jr., 3.30, Centralia, WA)
**Andrew Lybarger, Seattle (Mechanical Engineering, Sr., 3.96, Spokane, WA)
Lucas Franco, Seattle (Political Science, Jr., 3.66, Lopez Island, WA)
**Eddie Strickler, Seattle Pacific (Computer Science, Sr., 3.64, Richland, WA)
Jeff Ayers, Seattle Pacific (Business Administration, So., 3.61, Edmonds, WA)
**James Rosser, Seattle Pacific (Biology, Sr., 3.29, Seattle, WA)
*Troy Banker, Western Oregon (Business, Jr., 3.64, Beaverton, OR)
**Nick Crawford, Western Oregon (Business, Sr., 3.39, Beaverton, OR)
Greg Kubitz, Western Washington (Undeclared, Fr., 3.79, Kelso, WA)
*Keith Lemay, Western Washington (Physical Education, Jr., 3.66, Lynden, WA)
Chad Portwood, Western Washington (Computer Science, Sr., 3.31, Cheney, WA)

Women

**Mandy Kaempf, Alaska Anchorage (Sociology, Sr., 3.88, Steinbach-Hallenberg, Germany)
*Kaley Strachan, Alaska Anchorage (Biological Sciences, Jr., 3.75, Port Alberni, BC)
Mary Krusen, Alaska Anchorage (Nursing, Sr., 3.51, Kenai, AK)
Laura Carr, Alaska Anchorage (Education/Languages, So., 3.51, South Bend, IN)
Danielle Pratt, Alaska Anchorage (Sociology, Sr., 3.23, Talkeetna, AK)
Julia Coulter, Alaska Fairbanks (Biology, So., 3.89, Traverse City, MI)
Elisabeth Habermann, Alaska Fairbanks (Chemistry, So., 3.73, Soldotna, AK)
*Krynn Finstad, Alaska Fairbanks (Justice, Sr., 3.67, Fairbanks, AK)
Anna Coulter, Alaska Fairbanks (English, So., 3.27, Traverse City, MI)
Kirsten Clarke, Central Washington (Exercise Science/Elementary Ed, So., .400, Wenatchee, WA)
**Amber Green, Central Washington (Exercise Science, Sr., 3.94, Selah, WA)
**Rachel Bailey, Central Washington (Political Science/History, Sr., 3.50, Woodinville, WA)
Jamie Koch, Central Washington (Business Administration, Jr., 3.31, Bellevue, WA)
Ashley Puga, Northwest Nazarene (Accounting, So., 4.00, Meridian, ID)
Jennifer Young, Northwest Nazarene (Chemistry, So., 3.93, Florence, OR)
*Jennifer (Tyhurst) Perry, Northwest Nazarene (Psychology, Sr., 3.66, Montague, CA)
**Tara Robinson, Northwest Nazarene (Elementary Education, Sr., 3.53, McCall, ID)
Hannah Larkin, Northwest Nazarene (Liberal Studies, So., 3.43, Redmond)
Macey Blaine, Northwest Nazarene (Liberal Studies, So., 3.33, Dallas, OR)
**Katelynn Blume, Saint Martin's (Chemistry/Biology, Sr., 4.00, Lacey, WA)
*Kaleigh Bishop, Saint Martin's (Education, Jr., 3.94, Tacoma, WA)
Jessie Dunnam, Saint Martin's (Elementary Education, Jr., 3.54, Kelso, WA)
*Chelsi Claussen, Saint Martin's (Biology, Sr., 3.33, Shelton, WA)
Taylor Shipman, Saint Martin's (Undeclared, So., 3.33, Bellingham, WA)
Jessica Pendon, Saint Martin's (Biology/Education, So., 3.21, Spanaway, WA)
Katie Hansen, Seattle (English, So., 3.82, Portland, OR)
Rhiannon Cadelinia, Seattle (Arts & Sciences, So., 3.62, San Francisco, CA)
*Charisse Arce, Seattle (Marketing, Jr., 3.53, Seattle, WA)
Natalie Martinez, Seattle (Biology, So., 3.30, San Francisco, CA)
Suzanne Strickler, Seattle Pacific (Exercise Science, So., 3.97, Richland, WA)
*Megan Wrightman, Seattle Pacific (Biology, Jr., 3.86, Bend, OR)
*Kaitlin Rohde, Seattle Pacific (Biology, Jr., 3.79, Bellingham, WA)
*Karin Rohde, Seattle Pacific (Nursing, Jr., 3.79, Bellingham, WA)
Katie Hart, Seattle Pacific (Undeclared, So., 3.69, Pasadena, CA)
Kim Beaman, Seattle Pacific (Biology, So., 3.66, Emily, MN)
Janelle Stevens, Seattle Pacific (Biology, Sr., 3.31, Soquel, CA)
Nikki Jensen, Seattle Pacific (Food & Nutrition, Sr., 3.26, Portland, OR)
Heidi Peterson, Seattle Pacific (Food & Nutrition, So., 3.26, Edmonds, WA)
Marissa Harshman, Western Washington (Journalism, Jr., 3.38, Vancouver, WA)
Amy Olson, Western Washington (Physical Education, So., 3.38, Stanwood, WA)

*Repeater **Two-time repeater  (Robinson, NNU, from 2003-04)