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Sports journalist Sareault dies at 74, by Todd Milles, The (Tacoma) News Tribune
A tireless journalistic pioneer for the Northwest small colleges sports scene, former Tacoma News Tribune sportswriter and Northwest Conference SID John “Jack” Sareault died recently after a battle with cancer. He was 74.
A tireless researcher, he documented the history of the Northwest Conference - one of the oldest athletic alliances in the western U.S. - since its founding in 1926. He served as the conference's sports information director from 1978 to 1997. After leaving the conference, Sareault compiled comprehensive all-time histories of all Northwest Conference sports as well as women's teams from the predecessor Women's Conference of Independent Colleges.
In addition, Sareault coordinated the Northwest Collegiate Sports Service from 1969-2002. The service's hallmark was the selection of the Little All-Northwest teams, honoring the best football and basketball players from the region's NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA schools. He also served as the NAIA's District I sports information director for 28 years.
In 2008, the Northwest Conference re-named their Sports Information Director of the Year award in honor of Sareault.
Sareault grew up in Chehalis, Wash., and graduated from St. Martin's Prep and St. Martin's University (journalism degree), both in Lacey, Wash., in 1953 and 1957 respectively.
His first sportswriting job, while a college student, was on the Daily Olympian newspaper in Olympia, Wash. Later, he became that newspaper's sports editor.
From 1963-1986 he was a sports writer for the Tacoma, Wash., News Tribune. With that newspaper, he traveled with teams from the University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University. He was also beat reporter for the Tacoma Giants, Pacific Coast League AAA farm club of the San Francisco Giants, and covered high school athletics and golf.
In addition to freelancing for the
Associated Press,
Seattle Times and other Pacific Northwest newspapers for 16 years, he was a correspondent for
Golf World magazine, 1966-2002.
From 1990 through 2001, when he retired, Sareault was public information officer for the Washington State Patrol, working out of the patrol's headquarters in Olympia, Wash.
Enshrined in the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame, Sareault was a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in 2004.
Sareault is survived by his son, Vincent; a brother, two sisters and a grandson.