Head Coach Seth Brotherton announced the end of year awards for the 2022 cross country season.
Female Freshman of the Year:
Gabrielle Becker received this award due to her outstanding performance as a freshman. She was the leading female runner for Olympic College for the majority of the year. Gabi ended the season placing 16th out of 66 at the 2022 NWAC Cross Country Championships with a time of 20:45.3. That time was a vast improvement over the times she ran in high school and greatly surpassed the goal she had set for the season.
Male Freshman of the Year:
Joshua Guinther was nominated for this award because of drive determination. He worked very hard all season and was constantly striving to get better. He was able to end the season with about a minute and a half PR in the 8K. This was the first time that he had ever run under 30 minutes with a time of 29:37.8.
Female Sophomore of the Year:
Allison Valdez was chosen for this award for her great finish to the season. Allison started the season fairly strong but then had to miss a good chuck of training and a few meets due to sickness. Once she was able to return, she struggled to compete at the level she was at in the beginning of the season. However, she was able to step up and give her best performance when it really mattered, at the 2022 NWAC Cross Country Championships. At the championships she ran a PR time of nearly 1 minute with a time of 20:58.4, placing 23rd overall.
Male Sophomore of the Year:
Tiernan Hegarty received this award for his hard work and dedication to improving. Tiernan was the only person on the team that did not miss a single workout all season long and also made sure to put in the needed training during the off season. All of his hard work really showed in his performances during meets. He was the top male runner for Olympic College the entire season and placed 18th out of 70 at the 2022 NWAC Cross Country Championships.
Athlete's Choice Award:
Wyatt Vertefeuille was nominated for this award by his peers. They chose him for his hard work, inspiring attitude, willingness to push others, and for being a great leader for the team. He really stepped up this season to not only push himself but to push his teammate to become better athletes.
Coaches Choice Award:
Christian Vicente was chosen for this award by the collective Olympic College Cross Country and Track & Field coaches. Christian showed tremendous perseverance this season as he fought to recover from an achilles tendon tear that happened last track season and running cross country for the first time. He worked very hard and showed a lot of improvement throughout the season. He was also a great teammate and a good leader on the team.
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