THURSTON COUNTY, WA. – Multiple members of the Saint Martin's athletic teams have been named as finalists for different award categories in the 2022 Greater Thurston County Sports Awards put on by the Olympia & Beyond Sports Commission and presented by Olympia Orthopaedic Associates. Malia Pinder of SMU softball was nominated for Women's College Sports Star of the Year, Tyler Fitchett of SMU golf was nominated as Men's College Sports Star of the Year, and the SMU men's basketball team was nominated for Sports Moment of the Year.
 
For the College Sports Star of the Year awards, they are defined as people who "must have been enrolled any time from Spring 2021 to Spring 2022 in a full-time Thurston County college or be a native to Thurston County. Nominees must also have participated for a minimum of one year in at least one collegiate sport, and exemplify strong leadership, dedication and sportsmanship with good school behavior."
 
Both Pinder and Fitchett exemplify these qualities to a tee. Pinder is coming off a tremendous sophomore campaign where she was a staple at the three hole in 31-20 campaign for the softball team. Pinder played in every single game, batting .377 in her 154 at-bats. She led the team in batting average, as well as home runs with six, RBIs with 38, total bases with 87, and slugging percentage with .565. She had a staggering OPS of 1.038. This is far from the first time that Pinder has been recognized for her achievements, as she was a First Team All-Region Selection in 2022, while also being named First Team All-GNAC, an All-Academic selection, and a two-time GNAC Player of the Week.
 
Fitchett is also somebody who has had a ton of success at his craft and had a tremendous 2021-2022 season to finish out his collegiate career as a Saint. After helping lead the SMU men's golf team to the NCAA tournament in 2021, Fitchett was an individual qualifier for the West Regional this spring. He was a co-medalist at the Stanislaus Invitational and was able to garner an All-GNAC selection for the fourth time in his illustrious career. The five-year SMU golfer is a native of Yakima, Washington, and was named as the 2021 GNAC Player of the Year for men's golf.
 
The Saint Martin's men's basketball team was also recognized for their remarkable season under third-year coach Aaron Landon. They were nominated as a team for the "Moment of the Year" category which is a "team or individual that has achieved national or local recognition for a sports moment that occurred from Spring 2021 to Spring 2022." After being picked to finish ninth in the conference in the preseason polls, the Saints went on a run through their season, amassing 18 total wins, and an 11-6 conference record. On February 26^th, 2022, with a Seattle Pacific loss to Central Washington, the Saints locked up the regular season crown and the number one spot in the conference for the second time in their past three full seasons.
 
The winners will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. at South Puget Sound Community College's Student Union Building (Building 27). For event registration and the full list of nominees, visit the Sports Awards' webpage.