2023 NWAC Baden Fall Athletes of the Year Revealed

VANCOUVER, Wash. – The NWAC Baden Athletes of the Year for the fall season have been announced by the conference office with awards being selected for men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer and volleyball.

The winners of the awards are Luke Hurd of Spokane for men's cross country, Sydnee Boothby of Clark for women's cross country, Zane May of Highline for men's soccer, Kylie Elliano of Skagit Valley for women's soccer and Grace Boeder of Linn-Benton for volleyball.

Luke Hurd • Spokane • Men's Cross Country
Hurd led Spokane to their first NWAC title since 2019 and 23rd overall by earning medalist honors at the NWAC Cross Country Championships with a time of 25:55, a PR for the sophomore. Hurd ran neck and neck with Lane's RJ Kennedy as the pair led the pack for the entirety of the race until Hurd was able to pull away in the final 1,000 meters.

Hurd didn't compete in either of the regional championship races but prepared himself with tough competition at the Sasquatch Open where he took 24th in 26:00.6 against NCAA Division I, II and NAIA runners. A year after finishing 24th overall at the NWAC Championships in 2022, Hurd had one of the most impressive improvements this season.
 
Sydnee Boothby • Clark • Women's Cross Country
Boothby led Clark to a second place team finish at the NWAC Cross Country Championships as she took first place individually with a blazing fast time of 17:57. Boothby jumped out to an immediate lead and cruised to medalist honors as she bested the rest of the competition by over 95 seconds. Despite wet conditions on the course, Boothby ran a time that would have won the 2022 race by over 25 seconds.

Boothby had an outstanding season overall as she won the Southern Region Championship with a personal best time of 17:20.4, nearly by two full minutes. 

Zane May • Highline • Men's Soccer
May was one of the top scorers in the NWAC all season, finishing third in goals with 17 and points with 39. May consistently pressured opposing defenses as he led the conference with 73 shots. His efforts helped lead the Thunderbirds to the finals of the NWAC Championship, where they eventually fell in a thrilling 11-round penalty kick shootout. May scored his lone attempt in the shootout. 

Overall in the postseason, May came up clutch for his team. He had a hat trick in the semifinal round against Rogue to lead Highline 5-1 while scoring the team's first goal in the finals. May had three hat tricks on the season and bringing his team to the West Region title, and a 16-2-2 overall record. Highline scored the most goals on the season with 72.

Kylie Elliano • Skagit Valley • Women's Soccer
Elliano had one of the best overall seasons from the defender position for Skagit Valley. Elliano helped limit opponents to just 10 goals on the season in 16 matches played, including just five goals in region play. Overall, the defense only allowed 54 total shots on goal and had seven shutouts.

Offensively, Elliano contributed greatly from the defender position. She scored six goals for the team and added two assists, also taking 26 total shots with one game-winning goal. She helped lead Skagit Valley to a 12-2-2 overall record, second place in the North region by just one point and a trip to the NWAC Quarterfinals. 

Grace Boeder • Linn-Benton • Volleyball
Boeder makes it three-straight Linn-Benton Players of the Year as she joins Shalyn Gray and Taya Manibusan from the past two seasons. Boeder helped lead Linn-Benton to its third-straight NWAC Championship this year, doing so with an incredible unbeated record of 36-0. Not only did she earn Baden Player of the Year, but Boeder was also the tournament MVP for her efforts.

A sophomore on the championship team, Boeder left her mark all over the stat sheets for the Roadrunners. She was dominant up front with 101 total blocks on the season, good for fourth overall. She also hit at an impressive clip of .306 to rank seventh overall in the NWAC. Boeder finished with 282 kills on the season for 2.35 per set, 112 digs and 43 service aces. Her kills and aces totals ranked her both in the top-20 in the NWAC overall. 

Each of the five Baden Athletes of the Year will be invited to the NWAC Hall of Fame Banquet to receive their awards on May, 30, 2024 at the Courtyard Marriott Tacoma Downtown in Tacoma, Washington.

About Northwest Athletic Conference: 

The NWAC is the athletic governing body of two year colleges in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. There are 15 men's and women's sports and 10 championship events.  Approximately 4,200 student-athletes compete in the NWAC representing a student population of over 400,000. Many NWAC student-athletes continue their academic and athletic careers at the NAIA-NCAA levels. The NWAC promotes the three ideals of Character, Competition, and Community. NWAC…..more than sports.

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