Portland, Ore.– Seth Orensky, Brian Hauge, and Claudia Loeber of Lewis & Clark College have earned the honor of being the 2024-25 recipients of the Northwest Conference Jack Sareault Award. This honor serves as a recognition from their peers and a testament to the trio’s outstanding contributions and commitment to excellence in sports communication within the Northwest Conference.
Seth Orensky spent nearly 10 years at UMass in Boston (Division III) before moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2022 to take the role of Director of Athletics Communications at Lewis & Clark. In his recent years at Lewis & Clark, Orensky has served as a leader on the Lewis & Clark Mascot Committee as well as representing the Pios as a presenter at the 2024 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Convention. Orensky also serves the greater community by providing play-by-play for high school and club soccer, basketball and lacrosse for Oregon SportsBeat.
“I am extremely honored and appreciative that our colleagues selected us for this award. We have a tremendous group of Athletic Communication professionals in the conference and I really enjoy working with all of them,” says Orensky. “This award would not be possible without Brian and Claudia’s efforts. Brian is the first full-time assistant in our department and his passion for the job and his efforts to improve and modernize how we do things are incredible. Claudia has been a great asset to our department since she came to Lewis & Clark, thanks to her strong background in photography and her willingness to help out whenever possible. We couldn’t have made the strides we’ve made in the past couple years without our great group of very talented student workers.”
Brian Hauge was named as a full-time Assistant Director of Athletic Communications at Lewis & Clark in the fall of 2022. Before his time at Lewis & Clark, Hauge spent 20 years working in the corporate world– but began his passion for sports communications as a student worker at Montana State University. Hauge now serves as an inaugural member of the CSC Pride Committee, which contributes to LGBTQ+ inclusion and advocacy in our industry and helps to shape the committee’s mission and programming from the ground up. Hauge’s efforts in athletic communications have been recognized across Division III, as he was nominated for the 2024 Division III Athletic Communicators Emerging Elite program.
“I’m incredibly honored and humbled that Seth, Claudia and I were selected for the Jack Sareault Award by colleagues I deeply respect. I’m grateful for the mentorship and collaborative work we’ve shared, but none of it would have been possible without our amazing student workers, the Lewis & Clark athletics staff, and the Northwest Conference SIDs. I feel fortunate to help promote the achievements of our student-athletes and share their stories” says Hauge.
Claudia Loeber began her career at Lewis & Clark College in 2018, working as an Assistant Rowing Coach and as a member of the Athletic Communications team. Loeber helped lead the women’s rowing program to the 2023 NWC Title and the program’s first trip to Nationals since 2006. This achievement led Loeber to be named a Co-Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Division III Pacific Region Coach of the Year (2023), alongside the Lewis & Clark head coach Sam Taylor. Loeber earned her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in photography, leading her to enroll in the Lewis & Clark Art Therapy graduate program while serving as a full-time assistant coach for the crew program and member of the sports information staff.
“Seth and Brian have an incredible work ethic and have truly elevated the standard at Lewis & Clark,” Loeber states. “They both work really hard to make every single team feel cared about, successful, and spotlighted. They provide mentorship to student workers, vision to the department, and organization and structure to chaotic gamedays. I am so thrilled for all their hard work to be recognized.”
This award is named in honor of Jack Sareault, who served numerous years as sports information director for the Northwest Conference. Sareault’s work was marked by essential documentation of the league's entire sports history, beginning in 1926 when the conference was founded. The award is given annually to the top athletics communications office as voted on by all the conference’s athletics communications personnel.
Previous Jack Sareault Award Winners
2023-24 - Antonio Arredondo & Haley Downey, George Fox University; 2022-23 - Steve Flegel, Whitworth University; 2021-22 - Robert McKinney & Chris Sabato, Willamette University; 2020-21 - Kelly Bird & Avi Mehta, Linfield University;2019-20 - Ryan Goff, Lewis & Clark College;2018-19 - Steve Flegel, Whitworth University;2017-18 - Gregor Walz, Puget Sound; 2016-17 - Ryan Goff, Lewis & Clark College; 2015-16 - Casey Grogan, Pacific; 2014-15 – Kelly Bird/Katherine Brackman, Linfield; 2013-14 - Blair Cash, George Fox; 2012-13 - Steve Flegel, Whitworth; 2011-12 - Nick Dawson, Pacific Lutheran; 2010-11 - Blake Timm, Pacific; 2009-10 - Chris Thompson, Puget Sound; 2008-09 - Blair Cash, George Fox; 2007-08 - Kelly Bird, Linfield; 2006-07 - Blake Timm, Pacific; 2005-06 - Steve Flegel, Whitworth/Northwest Conference