NWAC Announces 2024 Fall Coaches of the Year

VANCOUVER, Wash. - The NWAC has announced recepients for its 2024 Fall Coach of the Year awards including men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball.

Green River's Adam Leahy was named Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year, Spokane's Sean McLachlan was Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, Peninsula's Jake Hughes earned his second-straight Men's Soccer Coach of the Year honor, Peninsula's Kanyon Anderson was the Women's Soccer Coach of the Year recepient, and Skagit Valley's Joe Amaral won Volleyball Coach of the Year.

Adam Leahy • Green River • Men's Cross Country

Leahy's Green River men's cross country team became the first team besides Spokane and Lane to finish in the top-two of the NWAC Championship since 2013. The Gators posted a team score of 57, just 15 points behind champions Spokane. It is the team's best finish in program history.

The Gators were led by Gators their second and third place finishers as Jackson Rye took the silver with a time of 26:09.5 and Samuel Grice won bronze in 26:32.5. Landon Swanbeck also finished in the top-10 with a ninth place finish in 26:52.9. The Gators were also the Northwest Region champions as they won that race with six of the top-seven placers.

Sean McLachlan • Spokane • Women's Cross Country

McLachlan picks up his second-straight award on the women's side after the Sasquatch won their NWAC-record 20th championship this November. The team was dominant overall with four of the seven All-Americans including the second through fourth place finishers. Kaley Bohl took second place in the race for the second year in a row, improving her time from 2023 by just over a minute. Mary Nakamura moved up from fifth in 2023 to third in 2024, also greatly improving her time significantly by a 1:20. Emmalyne Jimenez finished fourth in a time of 19:13.5.

The Sasquatch finished with a low score of just 24 points, only two points more than their 2023 score. They won the race by a significant 43 points. The championship is the eighth for McLachlan, the most of any coach all-time in NWAC women's cross country history. McLachlan's Sasquatch also won the men's title this year.

Jake Hughes • Peninsula • Men's Soccer

Hughes picks up his second Coach of the Year award in a row after completing back-to-back NWAC championship seasons. His Pirates finished 15-1-2 on the season with a 62-19 goal differential. In the tournament, the Pirates stepped up defensively with three-straight shutouts including two against a pair of top-three offenses in Walla Walla and Clark. 

Hughes' Pirates accomplished a feat that hadn't been done since 2013, when Peninsula won its second-straight title. Prior to that, the last team to win two in a row was Bellevue in 2001-02, showing the difficulty of repeating. Hughes earned his third title as head coach of the Pirates, winning three of the past five championships. Peninsula only trails Skagit Valley (12) and Bellevue (10) all-time in overall championships with seven.

Kanyon Anderson • Peninsula • Women's Soccer

Anderson added to his already large trophy case this year with his sixth NWAC women's soccer title. All six titles for Peninsula have come since Anderson took over as they have now won six of the past 12 championships. The Pirates were dominant this season, finishing with a perfect record of 15-0, including no ties. Peninsula outscored opponents 74-4 on the season, allowing more than one goal just once.

In the tournament, the Pirates did not allow a goal while scoring five in three games. They scored a 37th minute goal in the finals, then leaned on their outstanding defense to secure the 1-0 victory over rival Bellevue. With six championships, the Pirates have the most all-time in NWAC women's soccer history.

Joe Amaral • Skagit Valley • Volleyball

Amaral clinched his and the Cardinals' first-ever NWAC volleyball championship this year with an incredible five-set win over undefeated Linn-Benton. The Cardinals were true underdogs in the finals against the juggernaut Roadrunners, but they prevailed by winning set five 15-11. Under Amaral, the Cardinals were known for their resiliency. In their semifinal match against Columbia Basin, the Cardinals trailed the opening set 24-21, but won five-straight points to win the set. Then in the final against LBCC, the Cardinals lost the first set but bounced back to win sets two and three.

Overall, Skagit Valley finished the year with a 33-4 overall record while going 12-0 in the North Region. The team finished No. 1 in the NWAC in kills, assists, digs and service aces. After finishing second place in 2021, the Cardinals came back to win their first-ever title in 2024.

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