ASHLAND — Alyssa Johnson and Katherine Martinez of the Southern Oregon track and field team and Tessa Zimmermann and Grace Gulbrandsen of the Raider beach volleyball team were named Cascade Conference McDonald's Players of the Week, presented by Urban Edge Network, on Monday afternoon.

Johnson finished seventh in the women's 1,500-meter race at the Chico Wildcat Invitational, running a personal best and SOU No. 6 time of 4:41.95. It's the fastest time in the NAIA by nearly five seconds and almost nine seconds faster than last season's 1,500-meter opener (4:50.23). 

Martinez, a junior from Crescent City, Calif., won the pole vault at the Chico Wildcat Invitational. She vaulted 12 feet 9 inches (3.89m) and broke her previous best and own SOU record height by 5 ½ inches. She cleared well over the NAIA 'A' standard of 3.78 meters, punching a ticket to the Outdoor National Championships for the second consecutive year. She holds the top spot on the NAIA performance list and her new record is 7 ½ inches higher than SOU's No. 2 mark. 

Zimmermann and Gulbrandsen, the Raiders' top pair, recorded four wins in SOU's Cascade Collegiate Conference road sweep. They defeated opponents from Simpson University (21-11, 21-10), No. 9-ranked College of Idaho (21-15, 21-18; 21-12, 21-10), and Northwest (Forfeit). The duo improved to a 9-3 overall record this season.

Raider beach volleyball improved to 10-2 overall and 8-1 in the CCC.