The celebration kicked off in Seattle almost three months ago for the Western Washington University women’s soccer team.
It’ll continue Tuesday night in downtown Seattle when the national championship team is recognized during the 88th annual Seattle Sports Star of the Year Awards show at The Westin Seattle.
“It’s obviously really exciting,” said WWU goalkeeper Claire Henninger, a team captain from Sequim. “All the more so because we won our title in Seattle, so that’s pretty special to head back down there. A lot of our girls are from the Seattle area too, and we’re grateful and honored to let more people know about our program at Western.”
Henninger will be joined by teammates Karina Provo, Morgan Manalili and Chloe Unflat. Coach Travis Connell will be there too, after leading the Vikings to a 2-1 victory over West Chester (Pennsylvania) in the Division II national title game on Dec. 3 at Interbay Soccer Stadium.
“Sometimes I’ll just be walking around campus and I’ll remember, ‘Oh, we won the natty. That was cool.’ I’ll just smile and keep walking,” Henninger said. “I’m just so grateful for all my teammates and coaches that we got to experience that together.”
After wrapping up classes on campus, they’ll hustle down from Bellingham on Tuesday afternoon to attend the red-carpet ceremony.
They plan to head right back to Bellingham after the awards show late Tuesday, with classes scheduled Wednesday, and more team workouts to attend. The team is deep into its winter training program, with the bulk of its title team set to return for 2023.
In two decades as the Western coach, Connell has built one of the most consistent college programs in the state, with 10 consecutive appearances in the Division II national tournament, five trips to the national semifinals and two national championships since 2016.
The program will be honored Tuesday as one of five nominees for the women’s Sports Star of the Year award. Henninger said the nomination is especially flattering because Western is in the same category as Rose Lavelle, the star midfielder for the OL Reign and the U.S. Women’s National Team.
“It’s pretty awesome. She’s definitely someone we’ve all watched and have tried to learn from,” Henninger said.
The other nominees are Olympic champion canoeist Nevin Harrison, UW softball All-American Baylee Klingler and Storm star Jewell Loyd.
Nominees for the men’s Sports Star of the Year are: Kraken forward Jordan Eberle; Sounders FC forward Jordan Morris; UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr.; Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez; and Seahawks QB Geno Smith.
Ken Griffey Jr. and Doug Baldwin will be two of the headliners in attendance.
Griffey will be the recipient of the 2023 Royal Brougham Sports Legend Award. Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016, Griffey is one of the most recognizable figure in Seattle sports history, after beginning his career with the Mariners as a 19-year-old in 1989. He went on to hit 630 home runs, win 10 Gold Gloves and was named to 13 All-Star Games.
He is now a member of the Mariners and Sounders FC ownership groups, and is a senior adviser to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.
When the MLB All-Star Game returns to Seattle this summer, Griffey will host the first HBCU Swingman Classic, an All-Star experience for baseball players from Division I programs at Historically Black Colleges & Universities.
Baldwin will be presented the Paul G. Allen Humanitarian Award for his ongoing work in the community. His latest project, in cooperation with the City of Renton, HealthPoint and the Renton School District, is the construction of a Family First Community Center set to open later this year.
Three other honors will be handed out Tuesday. ROOT Sports’ Jen Mueller will receive the Keith Jackson Media Excellence Award; Tiago Viernes, a childhood cancer survivor, will be presented with the Wayne Gittinger Inspirational Youth Award; and The Outdoors for All Foundation will receive the Sports Equity & Inclusion Award.
Honorees are selected by the Sports Star Committee, composed of local sports historians, media and industry colleagues.
The event is sold out.