CWU football season ends with home playoff loss to Western Colorado

The Central Washington University football team bowed out of the NCAA Division II playoffs on Saturday with a 27-20 loss to Western Colorado at Tomlinson Stadium.

The fifth-ranked and No. 2-seeded Wildcats kept the game close in front of the home fans, trailing 21-20 heading into the fourth quarter. But the No. 15 seed Mountaineers found the endzone midway through the fourth quarter to spoil CWU’s first home playoff game since 2017.

“Our guys fought really hard, but I think that the better team won today,” CWU coach Chris Fisk said. “They played cleaner, they converted on third down at a better clip than we did, they didn't turn the ball over like we did in crucial moments in the game.”

Saturday marked the third straight year that Western Colorado has ousted CWU from the Division II playoffs, with the first two games taking place in Gunnison, Colorado.

The Lone Star Conference champion Wildcats (10-2 overall) had won nine games in a row after falling to Division I-AA Montana back in early September. The team won its first-ever LCS title last weekend with a 19-17 victory over rival Western Oregon on the game’s final play.

A total of 27 Wildcats received all-conference honors last week, with junior quarterback Kennedy McGill being named the LSC’s Offensive Player of the Year and Academic Player of the Year. Senior Slade Edwards was named the Offensive Lineman of the Year for the second season in a row, sophomore Tyler King was named Defensive Lineman of the Year, and freshman Mika Roberson earned Defensive Freshman of the Year.

Joining McGill, Edwards, and King on the first team were Jaxin McCallum, Tyler Luzan, Camden Loidhamer, Justice Taylor, David Weber, Mikaio Edward, Chase Loidhamer, Brett McCalla, Kuma Scanlan, and Chase Coalson.

Volleyball wins share of GNAC title

The CWU volleyball team finished with a share of the Great Northwest Conference championship over the weekend despite falling to No. 12-ranked Simon Fraser in five sets.

After winning the outright championship last season, the Wildcats finished in a four-way tie for this year’s GNAC title. Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Fairbanks, Simon Fraser and CWU all went 14-4 in league play, creating the conference's first-ever four-way tie.

The Wildcats helped their cause last Thursday with a four-set road win over Western Washington. Going into Saturday’s season finale, CWU (18-7 overall) was ranked No. 7 in the West but did not currently hold a spot in the national top 25 rankings despite defeating No. 20 Alaska Fairbanks and No. 14 Western Washington over the past two weeks.

Leading the team this season have been seniors Scottie Ellsworth and Ella Bines, juniors Ellie Marble and Corinne Westby, and sophomore Kayleigh-Shay Chang.

Next up for the Wildcats will be the NCAA Division II West Regionals December 4-7 in San Diego, California. CWU is making its 13th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and will open against No. 2 seed and GNAC rival Simon Fraser. The Wildcats and Red Leafs split their two conference meetings this season.