2024 NWAC Spring Coaches of the Year
VANCOUVER, Wash. - The NWAC congratulates its seven NWAC Coaches of the Year for the 2024 spring sports season. The award winners were each recognized at the 2024 NWAC Hall of Fame Banquet & Ceremony, receiving a commemorative plaque.
Micah Perron • Bellevue • Men's Tennis
Perron led the Bulldogs to their sixth-straight NWAC men's tennis title and third in a row under Perron as head coach. Bellevue dominated the 2024 tournament with 138 points, winning five of the six singles brackets and two of three doubles. The championship was the 12th all-time for the Bulldogs.
John Gant • Spokane • Women's Tennis
Gant led Spokane to its first NWAC women's tennis championship since 2002 and third overall at this year's championship. Entering as the No. 2-ranked team, the Sasquatch defeated No. 1 Highline in the championship match by a 6-3 score. Spokane used a sweep of the three doubles matches to defeat the Thunderbirds. The title was the first ever for Gant as head coach.
Russell Grove • North Idaho • Men's & Women's Golf
Grove earned both the NWAC Men's & Women's Golf Coach of the Year awards after helping lead North Idaho to a sweep of the tournament titles this year. The Cardinals men's golf team claimed its historic sixth-straight championship, becoming the first program to win six championships in a row since Everett won nine-straight from 1947-1956. However, with no golf season in 1952, the Cardinals are first program to win in six consecutive years. The men's team won the title by 13 strokes.
The North Idaho women's team won its second title all-time and first since 2016. It is the first time a school has won both titles in the same year since 2011 when Spokane took home both trophies. The women's team won by an impressive 30 strokes with their top-five finishing third through seventh.
Alan King • Umpqua • Men's Track & Field
King continued the growth of the Umpqua men's track and field team that was reinstated in 2018-19, earning their first trophy since returning and just second all-time with a third place finish at the 2024 championship meet. Their last trophy came in 1993 when they placed third as well. Under King, the Riverhawks had a number of individual champions, especially dominating the field events with titles in the high jump, triple jump, javelin, pole vault and decathlon.
John Spatz • Spokane • Women's Track & Field
Spatz led Spokane to its 23rd all-time NWAC Women's Track & Field title with a dominating performance this year. The Sasquatch won by nearly 100 points this year with 263, using their overall team depth and five individual titles. They won titles in the 800 meters, 1500 meters, 3000 meter steeplechase, long jump and triple jump. The win is the first for Spatz as head coach and broke a run of three-straight titles for Lane.
Brittany Hendrickson • Mt. Hood • Softball
Hendrickson won her second championship in three years as head coach for the Saints, leading Mt. Hood through an undefeated 5-0 tournament run. The Saints went 46-4 overall on the season and outscored opponents 524-107 on the season. Mt. Hood entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed via the RPI, but defeated No. 1 seed North Idaho twice in a pair of close games.
Andy Peterson • Linn-Benton • Baseball
Like Hendrickson, Peterson led Linn-Benton to its second baseball championship in three years. The Roadrunners overcame a loss on day three to win thier final three games of the tournament including back-to-back nailbiters over Tacoma. Under Peterson, the Roadrunners won the south region title and finished with a 39-11 overall record.