South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) would like to congratulate student-athletes Jaden Balboa and Quincy Linton; Coach Russ Olsen, and the Clipper Men’s Basketball Team on their nominations to the 2025 Olympia & Beyond Sports Commission Sports Awards.

The Olympia & Beyond Sports Commission is now in its eighth year of hosting the sports awards ceremony, in which they celebrate the community’s athletes, coaches, sports enthusiasts, and influencers. There are seven awards handed out during the event and SPSCC is in the running for three of those awards.

Sophomore Men’s Soccer athlete Jaden Balboa and sophomore Men’s Basketball athlete Quincy Linton have been nominated for the “Collegiate Sports Star of the Year - Men's Sports” award. Nominees must have been enrolled at a full-time Thurston County college for the 2024-2025 academic year and have participated for a minimum of one year in a collegiate sport and exemplify strong leadership, dedication, and sportsmanship with good school behavior.

Balboa was a stalwart defenseman for the Clippers, and he served as one of the sophomore leaders for the men’s soccer team — playing in 14 games this year. Linton served as the team captain for the Clipper Men’s Basketball team this season and was recognized by the NWAC, earning Second Team All-West Region and All-Defensive Team honors this year.

Linton is a double nominee as he was a huge part of the Clipper Men’s Basketball Final Four run in the NWAC Tournament that is nominated for “Sports Moment of the Year.” The men’s basketball team had a historic season, finishing the year with 25 wins, the most for program since 2019, and a share of the West Region title. The team then went into the NWAC Championships in Pasco, where they notched the best finish in men’s basketball history, edging out Edmonds and Portland on their way to NWAC Final Four.

Lastly, Clipper Golf Head Coach Russ Olsen was nominated for the “Thurston County Sports Legend” award. Coach Olsen has been part of the South Sound golf community for over 30 years. He played his high school golf at North Thurston High School and continued his golf career at Saint Martin’s College. After graduating from Saint Martin’s, Olsen worked for American Golf Corporation as General Manager at Capitol City Golf Course in Olympia and the Classic Golf Club in Tacoma.

In 2013, Olsen was named the operations supervisor at Tumwater Valley Golf Club. Then, in 2016, he founded the Valley Golf Academy, which provides private golf instruction and has established partnerships and includes golf instruction. In 2022, Olsen coached the Black Hills High School Boys Golf team before helping establish the SPSCC Men’s and Women’s Golf programs in 2023.

The awards will be presented at the Olympia & Beyond Annual Sports Awards banquet on June 4, 2025 at SPSCC’s Student Union Building.