AZUSA, Calif. – On the same day, just 10 miles apart on the road and 13 hours apart on the clock, Colin Boutin and Annika Esvelt became two of the speediest Seattle Pacific Falcons ever to run the longest race on the track.
 
Boutin, competing early in the morning in Azusa, posted the second-fastest men's 10,000-meter time in school history, and Esvelt, racing after sundown, clocked the third-fastest women's at their respective midseason mega-meets in Southern California.
 
 

Answering the starting gun at the Bryan Clay Invitational shortly after sunrise, Boutin completed 25 laps around the Cougar Athletic Stadium track in 31 minutes, 11.10 seconds. That was a whopping 49-second drop from his previous best of 32:00.18, which he set on March 26, 2021 in Tacoma at the Ed Boitano Invitational.
 
"We left the hotel at 5:45 a.m. (for the 7:00 a.m. race), and he didn't bat an eye – he was game for it," SPU associate head coach / distance coach Chris Reed said. "It was like, it doesn't matter what time of day it is, doesn't matter where it, he said, 'Here are a bunch of guys trying to run fast and I want to be a part of it.' His experience really paid off today, and he was able to push through."
 
Then, with the sun having already gone down by the time she took off from the starting line at the Mt. Sac Relays, Esvelt clocked 34 minutes, 20.76 seconds inside recently renovated Hilmer Lodge Stadium. It was her first-ever 10K.
 
Boutin, on the other hand, was going that distance for the seventh time in his career. He came in knowing he had a chance at chasing down the school record of 30:53.09 set in 2016 by Turner Wiley.
 
While that didn't happen, Boutin, who placed 23^rd among the 35 competitors, was still enormously pleased with his results.
 
"I'm really happy with it. Anything under 32 (minutes) would have been a win, but this was a great win," Boutin said of his race against the clock. "The best-case scenario was to get that school record, and I'm not too far away from that. I raced it really well and put myself where I wanted to be. Even 5K (into the race), I always had a shot at it."
 
Each of Boutin's previous six tries at the 10K on the track all ended in the 32-minute range. That includes his initial one as a freshman in 2018, when he went 32:57.28 at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational in Bellingham to record his first collegiate victory.
 
After just missing by the most minimum of margins last March, he was determined to break through 32 on Thursday. As the race progressed, Boutin felt confident that he was on track to do it this time.
 
"The best move was finding a good rhythm at the beginning and just locking into that for the endurance of the race," he said. "The second one-third of the race, that's where things started getting a little bit difficult. But I was able to stay tough and not fall off. That was the key part – it was tough, but I didn't fall off the pace."
 
Boutin said his next 10,000 likely won't be until the first night of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, on May 13 in Ellensburg.
 
"Conference typically being more of a tactical, slower start to the race, it's going to be a little more challenging to get the record at that race," he said. "We'll see."
 
 

Esvelt focused almost entirely on the 1500 last spring on outdoor ovals. During this past winter's indoor season, she stretched it out to 3000 and 5000 meters, eventually finishing an All-American eighth in the 5K at the NCAA Championships.
 
Just two weeks ago at the West Coast Relays in Clovis, California, Esvelt ran her first outdoor 5K, clocking 16:14.31 – nearly 17 seconds faster than her indoor best of 16:31.12 at the NCAAs.
 
Now, she has completed her inaugural 10K –  and for the most part, liked the way it went.
 
"I felt like I didn't do anything wrong – which is really exceptional for a first 10K," Esvelt said. "I didn't start out too fast, and I let a lot of the girls sort of lead me through for a while. Then when I was feeling good, I just picked up the pace during the last bit. So I'm very happy with it. I just wish I would have caught a couple more girls near the end."
 
Esvelt competed in the Elite Division, one of just three Division II runners among the 20 finishers. She was 12^th overall, and the second of the D2s across the line.

In addition to the No. 3 time in the Seattle Pacific record book, Esvelt now has the sixth-fastest mark in GNAC history.
 
"Anytime someone runs their first 10K, it's a little nerve-wracking," Reed said. "You never know how it's going to go, especially the elite section at the Mt. Sac Relays – that's a big stage. … She rose up to it, for sure. We had to run a little bit safer today. Opportunities are so limited, and we didn't want to take any unnecessary risks today. But she still ran hard. I don't think she left very much out there."
 
With the first one under her shoes, Esvelt is counting on another one somewhere down the line.
 
"One of my goals was to get under 35 minutes, but I was pretty sure I would be able to do that," Esvelt said. "So I'm happy with my time, but I'm ready to go faster next time."
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
--The only other event on Thursday for the Falcons was the 800 meters at the Bryan Clay. Isaiah Archer went 1:54.58 in the men's race, and Ellie Rising went 2:16.17 in the women's.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will be back at the Bryan Clay on Friday, with track action beginning at 9:45 a.m. and field events starting at 10:00. SPU does not have any other entrants at Mt. Sac.


NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Bryan Clay Invitational
Thursday-Friday, April 14-15, 2022
Cougar Athletic Stadium / Azusa, Calif.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
 800 – 1, Katy-Ann McDonald (LSU) 2:00.98.  SPU – 128, Ellie Rising 2:16.17.
 
 
Mt. Sac Relays
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Hilmer Lodge Stadium / Walnut, Calif.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
10,000 (Elite Division) – 1, Andrea Ramirez (JMRC) 32:37.62.  SPU – 12, Annika Esvelt 34;20.76#!.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Bryan Clay Invitational
Thursday-Friday, April 14-15, 2022
Cougar Athletic Stadium / Azusa, Calif.
 
Team scores – Not kept.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
800 – 1, Thomas Staines (Basingstoke & Mid Hants AC) 1:45.28.  SPU – 140, Isaiah Archer 1:54.58.
10,000 – 1, Lloyd Young (St. John's – Minn.) 30:24.02.  SPU – 23, Colin Boutin 31:11.10!.