PORTLAND, Ore. – Keeping a long tradition of women’s track and field dominance by Simon Fraser University intact, Marie-Eloise Leclair was selected as the 2023-24 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Female Athlete of the Year announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
Since SFU became a GNAC member in 2010-11, it has collected four GNAC Female Athlete of the Year awards with each athlete being a track & field standout. Leclair joined 2021-22 winner Alison Andrews-Paul, 2014-15 winner Lindsey Butterworth and 2012-13 winner Helen Crofts as the latest Red Leaf to garner the conference’s top award. SFU’s four different female athletes of the year are the most since it joined the conference, and tied for the third-most all-time since the GNAC was founded in 2001-02.
The GNAC Athlete of the Year awards are presented annually to the top female and male athlete across the conference, and are voted on by the conference’s athletic directors. Alaska Anchorage track & field standout Joshua Caleb was named the 2023-24 GNAC Male Athlete of the Year on Monday.
“Marie has always shown maturity and composure before and during competitions,” said SFU head coach Brit Townsend, who has coached each of SFU’s four GNAC Female Athlete of the Year winners. “She is able to focus while still being a leader with her teammates. A great smile greets anyone who comes to talk to her. She is genuine and down to earth which is refreshing for an athlete of her ability and success.”
The 2023-24 track & field season was one of broken records and medals for Leclair, who consistently rose to the competition and put together yet another All-American campaign. Leclair broke her own GNAC records in the indoor 60 meters and 200 meters, as well as the outdoor 100 meters and 200 meters. She totaled four gold medals and three silvers at the GNAC Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships, was named the GNAC Athlete of the Meet at both competitions and was selected as the 2024 GNAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
Her run of dominance continued to shine on the national stage, as she earned four USTFCCCA first-team All-America awards this spring as well. Leclair finished as the national runner-up in the indoor 200 meters, took the bronze medal in the indoor 60 meters, finished fifth in the outdoor 200 meters and placed seventh in the outdoor 100 meters at the NCAA Championships.
Leclair broke her own GNAC record in the 60 meters at the conference indoor meet on Feb. 19, running a time of 7.30 seconds in the preliminary round. She went on to finish in second place in the finals with the same exact time, missing the gold by just 0.01 seconds as CWU’s E’lexis Hollis subsequently claimed the record at 7.29 seconds. Leclair cruised to victory in the 200 meters at the GNAC Indoor Championships, running a GNAC all-time indoor record of 23.29 seconds and winning the final heat by a full second. She capped her Athlete of the Meet performance by anchoring the Red Leafs’ 4x400 meter relay team, which ran 3:51.14 to take home the silver medal.
Leclair had the top preliminary 200 meters time at the NCAA Indoor Championships, before finishing as the national runner-up with a time of 23.46 seconds to finish just off her newly minted GNAC record time. Leclair also made the podium in the 60 meters, running 7.36 seconds in the NCAA Championships finals.
The Montreal, Quebec, native hit her stride during the outdoor season, and cleaned up at the GNAC Outdoor Championships. She ran a GNAC all-time record in the 100 meters at 11.19 seconds (+3.1) in the finals, holding off CWU’s Hollis by 0.16 seconds to claim gold. She followed with a meet-record 200 meters time of 23.21 seconds (-1.1) in the preliminary round, and won her second outdoor title with a time of 23.68 seconds in the finals. Playing a crucial role in SFU’s third straight GNAC outdoor title in the 4x400 meter relay, Leclair helped her squad run a time of 3:47.10 to top the field. SFU also took home the silver medal in the 4x100 meter relay, with Leclair contributing to a time of 46.08 seconds.
Capping her campaign with two more All-America performances, Leclair yet again broke her own GNAC record in the outdoor 200 meters with a time of 23.17 seconds on May 25 in Emporia, Kan. In addition to the fifth-place finish in that event, Leclair ran a finals time of 11.37 seconds in the 100 meters to finish on the NCAA podium.
“She is hardworking and challenges herself every day,” said Townsend. “She is pleasant to be around and treats everyone around her with respect and compassion. Tom Dickson (our sprint coach) and Marie have a great working relationship and he has been instrumental in her progress and success over the last four years. We worked hard to make sure we kept up the annual plan even during Covid and we are enjoying the success of that now.”
Leclair’s historic season expanded beyond the confines of NCAA competition, as she represented the Canadian National Team at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas on May 4-5 and is fresh off a second-place finish in the 100 meters (11.38) at the Montreal Classique last week in her home town.
The next step in her journey is the Olympic trials in the 100 meters and 200 meters beginning on June 26 in Montreal. “She helped the Candian women's 4x100m team qualify for the Olympic Games,” Townsend said. “If she performs like I know she can at the Olympic trials at the end of June in Montreal, she will qualify to represent Canada at the Olympic games in the relay. Her success stems from her passion, focus, work ethic, of course talent and character.”
Leclair is the sixth overall athlete from SFU to claim the GNAC Athlete of the Year award, as men’s winners Aaron Ahl (2021-22, cross country/track & field) and Mamadi Camara (2018-19, soccer) joined the list of four Red Leaf women’s winners. Among the 22 GNAC Female Athlete of the Year winners, Leclair is the 14th track & field athlete to be honored.