Freshman Jordan Lee had a third place finish at the Bay Area Invitational where the Vikings took home first place as a team. // Photo courtesy of Western Athletics
By Alex Barnes
Men’s Basketball
The Vikings completed an Alaskan road sweep for the second season in a row after beating the University of Alaska Anchorage 76-66 and the University of Alaska Fairbanks 85-75. The Vikings also dropped a close game against Simon Fraser University, which was rescheduled due to the snowstorm in Bellingham, by a final score of 76-73. Against Anchorage, four Vikings scored in double figures including junior forward Trevor Jasinsky, who reached the 1000-point milestone in his Western career with a 14-point performance. Jasinsky also led the team in scoring with 25 points against Fairbanks while freshman forward Jalen Green added a career-high 23 points in the win. The Vikings’ next game is against Western Oregon University on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. in Sam Carver Gymnasium.
Women’s Basketball
The Vikings lost 77-66 at Central Washington University and 85-71 at Northwest Nazarene University before winning its Senior Night game against Simon Fraser University 67-49 on Tuesday, Feb. 26. The Vikings were without head coach Carmen Dolfo for both road games as she stayed in Bellingham to recover from appendicitis. Junior guard Lexie Bland led the Vikings in scoring with a career-high 20 points in consecutive games against Central and Northwest Nazarene. Senior Night marked the last regular-season home game for the team and the Vikings honored senior guard Bobbi Westendorf and student assistant coach Amanda Lance by bringing them out onto the court, listing their career stats, and taking photos with their teammates and family. The Vikings close out the regular season away against Montana State University Billings on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m..
Softball
The Vikings took part in the Cavalier Classic, hosted by Concordia University, finishing with a 2-1 record after beating Eastern Oregon University twice, 4-3 and 6-2, and losing to Simpson University 4-6. The Vikings’ fourth and final game of the Cavalier Classic against Northwest University was cancelled due to rain. The Vikings finished their first win against Eastern Oregon with a two-out, walk-off single hit by sophomore Rylie Wales in the ninth inning. The loss against Simpson saw the Vikings put the potential game-tying runner on base in the final at-bat, but senior Emily Benson and junior Paityn Cyr both grounded out to finish the contest. The second win against Eastern Oregon saw senior pitcher Makinlee Sellevold pick up her 48th win at Western, tying the school’s all-time win record. The Vikings’ return to action with a home double-header against Montana State University Billings on Saturday, March 2 at noon and 2 p.m..
Track & Field
The Vikings ended the 2019 indoor season meet schedule with two top-10 program performances at the Seattle Pacific University Final Qualifier on Saturday, Feb. 23. Redshirt freshman Seren Dances won the men’s long jump with a distance of 6.86 meters, and recorded the 10th-fastest men’s 60 meter hurdles time in Western history with a time of 8.48 seconds. The men’s distance medley relay team, comprised of senior Liam Cossette, freshman Mark Daniels, senior Kyle Sager and senior James Jasperson, set the second-fastest time in program history with a time of 9:57.56. Senior Tupre Wickliff won the men’s high jump with a height of 2.02 meters. Junior Maddie Taylor won the women’s high jump with a height of 1.72 meters. Senior Anna Paradee and Taylor will finish out the Vikings’ Indoor season by competing in the 2019 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships held on March 8 and 9 in Pittsburg, Kansas. Track & Field will open the 2019 outdoor season at the Ed Boitano Invitational on Saturday, March 2 at Baker Stadium in Tacoma.
Men’s Golf
The Vikings came back to Bellingham as winners of the three-day-long Bay Area Invitational at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. The Vikings entered the invitational ranked sixth nationally and ended the first day in fifth place after recording a team score of 7-over-par-295. On day two of the competition the Vikings were able to move into fourth place thanks to a strong performance from freshman Jordan Lee, who put in a 2-under-par-70 performance. The Vikings were able to secure the win on the third and final day of the competition, scoring 6-under-par-282 to overcome a nine-shot deficit at the start of the day. Lee led the Vikings with a third-place finish at the invitational, closely followed by senior Michael Butler who finished tied for fifth. The Vikings will be back on the fairway for the Notre Dame de Namur Argonaut Invitational on March 11 and 12 in Livermore, California.
