Baseball | 5/4/2015 12:24:00 PM

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PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of Western Oregon University student-athletes were named Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Athlete of the Week for their respective sports, as senior baseball player Marcus Hinkle earned Player of the Week honors and junior track & field runner Badane Sultessa was named Male Track Athlete of the Week according to an announcement Monday by the conference office.

Hinkle helped lead Western Oregon to three wins this weekend against Northwest Nazarene University, as he went a combined 8-for-19 at the plate with six runs scored, two doubles, three runs batted in, and 12 total bases. The senior shortstop came within a home run of hitting for the cycle in the opening game on Saturday against the Crusaders, as he registered a triple, double, and single in consecutive at-bats.

"Marcus had a quality weekend at the plate and played extremely well defensively, making some tough plays in big spots," said Head Baseball Coach Kellen Walker. "It was an exciting atmosphere to play in and Marcus put one of his best weekends together."

Sultessa ran the 20th fastest time in the country this season in the 800 meter run Saturday at the Mt. Hood Track Festival, as he finished second with a NCAA Division II provisional qualifying time of 1:51.13 to clock the fourth fastest time in school history and is eighth on the GNAC All-Time Top 10 list.

Western Oregon will continue competition this week, as the baseball team heads to Billings, Montana, for the GNAC Championships beginning on Thursday, May 7, at 1 PM (MT). Meanwhile, WOU's track & field teams will take part in the two-day GNAC Outdoor Championships starting on Friday, May 8, at 2 PM inside McArthur Stadium in Monmouth.