PORTLAND, Ore. – Becoming the first student-athlete in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history to earn the GNAC Scholar Athlete of the Year award three times, Coleman Nash of Alaska Anchorage claimed the honor for the 2023-24 academic year announced by the conference office on Wednesday.
The winner in both 2021-22 and 2022-23, Nash once again combined exceptional athletics and academics this year to earn his third straight honor. Last year he joined David Downs of Seattle Pacific (2012-14), Sam Charles of Montana State Billings (2008-10) and Nichole Sauvageau of Seattle University (2001-03) as the third student-athlete (male or female) since the conference was founded in 2001 to win the honor in consecutive years.
The award is voted on by the conference’s athletic directors, and is presented to one male and one female student-athlete adjudged to have achieved excellence in both academics and athletics. The GNAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year will be announced on Thursday.
“Cole inhabits a place in his mind that I think is difficult for almost everyone to get to,” said UAA head coach Ryan McWilliams. “He never needs or wants more, but he is always aware that there is more and it's worth trying to get. I think that is part of the secret to his success. He frees himself of a lot of pressure others put on themselves, but manages to hang on to the desire to push past his breaking point and that will to never let himself be beaten which all the most successful athletes have. It's not just with sports either. I see Cole going on to be successful in whatever he does, but definitely, with good health, he will achieve new heights in his running.”
Maintaining unparalleled success in the classroom, Nash picked up his second straight academic all-conference honor this spring. The Littleton, Colo., native has preserved a spotless 4.0 grade point average while working towards his degree in economics and business management.
Nash’s running campaign culminated with a victory in the 5,000 meters at the 2024 GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, as he topped the field with a time of 14:38.37 in Ellensburg, Wash., on May 11. It marked Nash’s fifth GNAC gold medal since his career began in the spring of 2021, and he went on to a 16th-place finish in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 25 in Kansas.
“Seeing him having to work to win the GNAC 5k was certainly a highlight,” McWilliams said on Nash’s top performances of 2023-24. “I tend to like the little moments though, things only the team, coaches, and athletes get to share in. Those are the things that make my team more special to me than other teams. It's not my favorite moment, but we have a great picture of Cole and Joshua (Caleb) holding up some road trip bingo cards Coach Danielle (Patterson) made for them for this year's outdoor national meet. It's a great picture of the two of them smiling and enjoying the experience which in and of itself is great, but for me is this great image of how the torch gets passed, how one athlete leaves and a new one takes their place, and a reminder that as athletes move through the program, if we are doing things right and they have done things right, they leave their mark by the impressions they have left with the younger teammates. It's also just a great reminder of how everyone who comes into the program becomes part of a bigger group than just the team they were on. Cole will remain a Seawolf like so many before him.”
Nash’s campaign did not come without trial and tribulation however, as he battled through injury for much of the year on his way to capping the season with a first-place conference finish. On his home course in October, Nash gutted his way to a third-place finish at the GNAC Cross Country Championships with a time of 25:01.8 on the 8k course. He followed that with a USTFCCCA all-region performance two weeks later, placing 16th at the NCAA West Region Cross Country Championships on Nov. 4 in Monmouth, Ore.
After being limited to just two meets during the 2024 indoor season, a less than healthy Nash put forth an 11th-place finish in the mile at the GNAC Indoor Championships on Feb. 20 in Spokane, Wash. “Cole's injuries were tough to watch,” McWilliams said. “They came on right at the time his hard work and dedication were starting to take off. Cole to his credit poured more work into getting better, and every time he turned a corner in one injury it seemed like another would hit right as he was getting his legs back under him. He always kept the same humble disposition, he never let himself get down for long, and he just handled it like a pro. It meant the world to me as someone who got to witness his rise from his freshman year to now that he got to go out a GNAC champion again and got himself to another national meet.”
The GNAC record books are littered with Nash’s name, as he left his impact on both the Seawolf program and the conference as a whole. Nash owns the second-fastest outdoor 5,000 meters time in GNAC history at 13:53.33 and the fourth-fastest 10,000 meters time at 29:24.40. Nash’s indoor 5,000 meters PR of 13:48.46 (2023) also stands as second-fastest in GNAC history, while his indoor 3,000 meters time of 8:03.41 (2023) is fifth-fastest in GNAC history.
“For me as a coach, he is the perfect athlete to point to,” said McWilliams. “He has dedicated so much time to his sport, he has dedicated so much time to his academics, and he has had a pretty epic Alaska adventure during his time here. So he is a guy we can point to as an example and say, ‘it's possible to improve and do well athletically while doing well in the classroom, and while appreciating where you are and having time to be a college kid.’ He personally brought a good helping of humbleness and humility to the team while inspiring those around him to believe in themselves more. Nothing Cole achieved just came to him. He worked hard and diligently from day one and those around him saw that and saw what was achievable if they did the same.”