Simson Garcia | Sports Editor
Football:
A win on senior day, Nov. 11, capped the season on a high note. It was the first home win for the Wolves, putting them at a 3-8 overall record and 2-6 conference record. Despite an end to the season, two athletes earned first team all-GNAC honors, while six athletes earned second team honors.
Junior defensive linebacker Bo Highburger got his first team nod for the second straight season, while senior wideout Paul Revis went out with his fourth straight first team honor. Revis broke more than 20 Western NCAA DII-era school records on the season including 32 receiving touchdowns and 6,713 all-purpose yards. Highburger led the GNAC with 102 total tackles.
More records were broken during the season as senior quarterback Nick Duckworth tied a team record with six passing touchdowns versus Simon Fraser on Oct. 7. A total of 82 points in the same game set a Western DII-era school record.
Volleyball:
Western volleyball had a rough season but, like the football team, won their final game on senior night at home. Their record stood at an overall 7-20 with a 3-17 conference record by the end of the season.
Senior outside hitter Alisha Bettinson went on to receive an all-GNAC honorable mention. Bettinson broke the school record for kills on Nov. 2 against the Montana State YellowJackets and went on to surpass the 1,100 mark for kills. She is also the first wolf in the NCAA DII-era to have at least 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.
The only other Wolf senior is Sydney Blankinship, who finished her stellar career at third with an all-time in attack percentage of .280 and in the top 10 for blocks and block assists.
Cross Country:
When women’s cross country debuted the season, senior Kennedy Rufener finished atop runners to win the individual championship on Sept. 2 in the Linfield Harrier Classic. In the GNAC championships, Rufener finished 37 seconds ahead of where she was the year prior. The team’s five runners who returned from last year also improved on their GNAC championship individual times in the race. Rufener closed well for the Wolves in the regionals, qualifying as an individual for the Nationals. In the national championships, Rufener finished 97 out of 247 runners.
Men’s cross country was led by senior David Ribich most of the way but the team did enough to finish well in the GNAC championships by placing five finishers in the top 15 en route to a GNAC title. It was also the best finish in 10 years as the team finished as runner-ups in 2007. Ribich finished first again in the regionals and the team qualified to be in the Nationals thereafter. Ribich led most of the way in the national race but finished 30th in the end. The team finished at 21st. Ribich went on to receive all-American honors for his run.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
