PORTLAND, Ore. – Already, running up front has become the standard for Annika Esvelt.
 
The Seattle Pacific sophomore did indeed did exactly that at last Saturday's PLU Invitational, going on to record her first college victory. On Monday, that effort was recognized by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, which named Esvelt as its Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week.
 
 

The meet at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma was just the second of Esvelt's cross country career for SPU. She completed the 6-kilometer event in 22 minutes, 15.70 seconds, leading the Falcons to a fifth-place team finish. Her winning margin was 11 seconds.
 
Esvelt, who did run track for Seattle Pacific last spring (placing seventh in the 1500 meters at GNAC), got onto the trails for the first time on Sept. 10 when she finished third in the Ash Creek Invitational at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. That one was just a 4K race. Saturday was her first 6K event.
 
"She asserted herself pretty early on," SPU associate head coach / distance coach Chris Reed said. "She was always in the lead or on the lead and ran with a lot of confidence. When she made a move, she made it with conviction and made it with enough authority that no one was able to catch her. It was great to see."