PORTLAND, Ore. - The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced the special award winners for the outdoor track & field season on Tuesday afternoon, with Northwest Nazarene's Steven Schmidt named the Men's Freshman of the Year and Abbey Wood the Women's Newcomer of the Year.

Schmidt broke onto the conference stage in a big way in his first year with the Nighthawks, winning both the decathlon and the high jump at the GNAC Outdoor Championships. He also finished eighth in the javelin and tied for eighth in the pole vault, totaling 21.5 points scored by himself to help lead the Nighthawks to their best-ever conference finish of second place. Following the meet, he was named the conference's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Meet.

During the outdoor season, Schmidt jumped into the NNU Top Ten lists in two events, ranking second all-time in the high jump and fourth in the decathlon. He also achieved NCAA provisional qualifying marks in both events.

Wood, a transfer from George Fox University, made an immediate impact for the Nighthawks women this year. She placed sixth in both the 100m and 200m races at the GNAC Outdoor Championships. She also took part in NNU's 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay, placing sixth and fourth in those events. 

During the outdoor season, Wood rose up to second all-time at NNU in the 100m and third in the 200m.

Alaska Anchorage's Joshua Wagner and Simon Fraser's Alison Andrews-Paul took home the men's and women's Athlete of the Year honors. SFU's Charlie Dannatt was named the men's Newcomer of the Year, while teammate Marie-Éloïse Leclair earned the women's Freshman of the Year accolade. Western Washington's PeeWee Halsell and Western Oregon's Octavious Gillespie-Bennett were recognized as the men's and women's Coaches of the Year, respectively.