CWU players receive league honors

SPOKANE — Central Washington University redshirt freshman Justin Helwege (Sammamish) and junior Courtney Smith (Stockton, Calif.) have been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Week, respectively, as announced Monday by the conference office.

Helwege, a wide receiver, had his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game with three game-changing catches for 108 yards in a 49-21 win over archrival Western Washington.

Smith was named the Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time this season after an 84-yard kick return on the game’s opening kickoff set up the first of seven touchdowns by the Central offense in the game. For the season, Smith is now averaging 42.1 yards per kick return on 10 returns, having scored two touchdowns of 95 yards or more.

Central Washington finished the regular season with a 10-1 record, including an 8-0 record in GNAC games. The Wildcats will continue their season this Saturday, traveling to West Texas A&M University for the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Kickoff from Canyon, Texas, is set for 11 a.m.