ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – They've already had opportunities to run against some of the best cross country runners in the West Region. On Saturday morning, Annika Esvelt, Maya Ewing, and the rest of the Seattle Pacific Falcons had a chance to go against some of the best in the country.
 
Esvelt ran with the lead chase pack for the entire way, Ewing made a big move on the final loop, and the Falcons placed 16th among the 36 teams at the Lewis Crossover.
 
SPU senior Esvelt placed 13th for her 6 kilometers on Lewis Cross Country Course in 21 minutes, 27.75 seconds.
 
Ewing was back in 62nd place as the field headed into the final portion of the race, but then started picking off one runner after another and wound up 43rd in 22:08.49.
 
The Falcons finished with 486 points. Colorado Mines won handily with 69. Lewis was second with 114.
 
Of the 36 teams, 10 were from the West Region, with seven of those from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

The annual gathering in Illinois is widely considered to be the premier regular-season meet for NCAA Division II cross country programs. Typically, half or more of the teams that ultimately make to NCAA nationals make the trip to Lewis.
 
"There are still some areas where we can look at and improve," assistant coach / distance coach Eric Hansen said. "Most of our conference was here and a lot of our region was here. So when we get into those races in a few weeks, we'll know what we're up against and we won't be surprised by anything."

 

A group of five runners, led by individual winner Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge of Colorado Mines, broke away from the pack early and stayed up front the entire day on an overcast and rather windy morning. Esvelt held her ground with the group immediately behind them, ranging anywhere from seventh to her final position of 13th.
 
"I was hoping I would make a bigger move being in that chase pack," Esvelt said. "I kind of wish I'd gone with the lead pack and see how long I could hang with them.
 
"I feel there's still a lot more I can do," she added. "I haven't unleashed it all yet, so I'm very excited and hungry."
 
 

Ewing, a junior, has become a clear No. 2 for the Falcons, and her performance on Saturday solidified that status. Two weeks ago at the Bill Roe Western Washington Classic in Ferndale, Ewing ran her first sub 22-minute time for 6K, stopping the watch in 21:55.3. On Saturday, she was in the low 22s, clocking 22:08.49 in a much more crowded field.
 
"I had a good start and I stayed aggressive in the middle and was able to still kick at the end," Ewing said. "I didn't have a particular (finishing) spot in mind. I think the team was just trying to go out and race hard and be competitive with the girls around us. … I feel there's still lots of things I can work on, and I'm looking forward to finishing he season strong."
 
Grad student Madelyn Buckley (137th overall), freshman Alexa Gossett (173rd) and junior Matise Mulch (196th) rounded out the scoring for the Falcons.
 
"There's always things you can look at and see where you could have caught another one or two runners in front of you. But we'll sit down and look at all of that," Hansen said. "There's still some areas were we can look at and improve."

EMERALD CITY OPEN
For the second time in her career. Anna Prussian was the first Falcons across the finish line, this time in Saturday's Emerald City Open at Seattle's Lower Woodland Park.
 
 

A sophomore, Prussian finished the hilly 6-kilometer course in 23 minutes 33 seconds. That was a sizable improvement from her time on this same course last year, when she clocked 24:59.0.
 
In 2023 in the season-opening Puget Sound Invitational at Fort Steilacoom Park, Prussian led the way for the Falcons in her college debut.
 
Ella Milanovich, a freshman, was second for SPU. The Falcons, comprised of the five runners who did not make the trip to the Lewis Crossover, were sixth with 125 points. Club Northwest won with 37.
 
 

In the men's race, Silas Demmert led SPU by placing 18th in 26:55.6. Like Prussian, that was considerably faster than a year ago, when he went 27:38.30.
 
Junior Nathaniel Gale was 53rd and also dropped time year over year. He went 28:11.6 on Saturday. In 2023, Gale clocked 28:32.80.
 
Official team scores were not available for the men's meet. Unofficially, Seattle Pacific finished sixth with 176 points. Club Northwest won with 15.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Lewis Crossover
Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024
6 kilometers at Lewis Cross Country Course / Romeoville, Ill.
 
Team scores – 1, Colorado School of Mines 69; 2, Lewis 114; 3, Grand Valley State 157; 4, Augustana (S.D.) 188; 5, Alaska Fairbanks 200; 6, Western Washington 237; 7, Colorado Christian 274; 8, Biola 277; 9, Winona State 303; 10, Colorado Mesa 231; 11, Wayne State (Mich.) 366; 12, Walsh 369; 13, Alaska Anchorage 414; 14, Simon Fraser 415; 15, Findlay 469; 16, Seattle Pacific 486; 17, Ferris State 523; 18, Minnesota Duluth 532; 19, Michigan Tech 562; 20, Truman 562 (Michigan Tech wins tiebreaker); 21, Texas A&M  Kingsville 564; 22, Sioux Falls 593; 23, Northern Michigan 602; 24, Illinois Springfield 643; 25, Saginaw Valley State 683, 26, Roberts Wesleyan 622; 27, Washburn 729; 28, Tiffin 773; 29, Northwest Nazarene 783; 30, Bloomsburg 796; 31, Malone 851; 32, Western Oregon 882; 33, Ashland 908; 34, Davenport (Mich.) 956; 35, Cal Poly Humboldt 957; 36, West Florida 994.
Top 5 – 1, Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge (Colo. Mines) 20:38.46; 2, Kendall Kramer (UAF) 20:49.75; 3, Klaudia O'Malley (Unattached) 20:53.75; 4, Rosie Fordham (UAF) 21:00.53;5, Khot Juac (Sioux Falls) 21:06.67. 
SPU – 13, Annika Esvelt 21:27.75; 43, Maya Ewing 22:08.49; 137, Madelyn Buckley 23:13.20; 173, Alexa Gossett 23:32.68; 196, Matise Mulch 23:41.71; 210, Nicole Pierce 23:52.09.
 
 
Emerald City Open
Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024
6 kilometers at Lower Woodland Park / Seattle
 
Team scores – 1, Club Northwest 37; 2, Western Washington 64; 3, Southern Oregon 69; 4, Seattle Running Club 116; 5, Clark College 124; 6, Seattle Pacific 125; 7, Central Washington 141; 8, Lake Sammamish Running Club 216.
Top 5 – 1, Sydney Stribrny (Club NW) 22:56.4; 2, Alyssa Johnson (S. Oregon) 23:02.1 3, Laura Halsell (WWU) 23:08.2; 4, Cammeo Ramirez (S. Oregon) 23:11.4; 5, Jill Philbin (WWU) 23:20.8.
SPU – 10, Anna Prussian 23:33.0; 23, Ella Milanovich 25:08.2; 29, Nicki Yorges 25:36.7; 44, Katelyn Flolo 27:05.3; 59, Lucia Templeton 28:33.6.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Emerald City Open
Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024
8 kilometers at Lower Woodland Park / Seattle
 
Team scores (unofficial) – 1, Club Northwest 15; 2, Western Washington 51; 3, Southern Oregon 78; 4, Green River College 161; 5, Saint Martin's 174; 6, Seattle Pacific 176; 7, Clark College 195; 8, Seattle Running Club 196; 9, Trolltown Trotters 257; 10, Husky Running Club 265; 11, Lake Sammamish Running Club 298; 12, Olympic College 317.
Top 5 – 1, Matt Welch (Bellingham Distance Project) 25:09.0; 2, Mac Franks (Club NW) 25:31.6; 3, Robert Baraldi (Club NW) 25:33.6; 4, Colin Monagham 25:52.0; 5, Douglas Jordan (Club NW) 25:59.6.
SPU – 18, Silas Demmert 26:55.6; 53, Nathaniel Gale 28:11.6; 65, Jonathan Lieb 28:29.4; 93, Nathan Korth 29:56.2; 96, Ethan Erickson 30:01.3; 102, Ben Sheirbon 30:13.0.
 

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