GNAC indoor track & field awards release (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – With her fast performances, Tasia Baldwin not only made an impression with Seattle Pacific – she made one with the entire Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
Her speedy work was evident to coaches around the conference, as well, as they voted her the GNAC Female Freshman of the Year for indoor track and field.
 
SPU's Karl Lerum was voted women's Coach of the Year for the sixth consecutive year.
 
Baldwin, a native of nearby Tacoma and a graduate of that city's Foss High School, capped her first season by scoring in three events at the GNAC Championships on Feb. 17-18 in Nampa, Idaho. She placed third in the 60-meter dash in 7.92 seconds, fourth in the 200 meters in 25.82, and was fifth in the long jump at 17 feet, 11¾ inches.
 
All of those marks were personal bests. Her 60-meter time ranks No. 9 on the all-time GNAC list. Baldwin started the season with an 8.14 in the 60, a 26.41 in the 200, and 17-0¾ in the long jump, all at the UW Indoor Preview on Jan. 14.
 
Baldwin is the fifth Falcon woman in the nine-year history of GNAC indoor track to win Freshman of the Year. Previous winners were Ali Worthen in 2009, Jessica Pixler in 2007, Karin Rohde in 2005, and Kinyatta Leonhardt in 2004.

“We've had a good string of athletes earn that award who have gone on to have great careers,” Lerum said of Baldwin. “Often, freshman struggle indoors, then start to find their legs outdoors. But she had a couple opportunities prior to conference, and then she came out and competed. I'm really excited for her, and hopefully, she'll build on that campaign.”
 
Lerum guided the Falcons to their ninth straight GNAC indoor women's title. Seattle Pacific remains the only school to claim the crown ever since the conference started sponsoring an indoor championship in 2004. The Falcons, who came into the meet seeded for 153 points, wound up with 182, beating runner-up Western Washington by 84½. That convincing win came just one year after a slim 8½-point margin of victory against Simon Fraser.
 
Since taking the helm of the SPU program in 2006, Lerum has won 10 conference Coach of the Year awards. Along with six for indoor, he was the outdoor winner in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011.
 
Last month, he was named the West Region women's indoor Coach of the Year for the sixth straight time by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
 
 
GNAC INDOOR TRACK & FIELD AWARDS
Male Athlete of the Year – Maurus Hope, Northwest Nazarene.
Female Athlete of the Year – Ashley Potter, Western Oregon.
 
Male Freshman of the Year – Logan Myers, Western Washington.
Female Freshman of the Year – Tasia Baldwin, Seattle Pacific.
 
Male Newcomer of the Year – Ryan Hansen, Western Oregon.
Female Newcomer of the Year – Leeza Henry, Montana State Billings.
 
Men's Coach of the Year – Mike Johnson, Western Oregon.
Women's Coach of the Year – Karl Lerum, Seattle Pacific.