PORTLAND, Ore. – Although the track and field season is over for the Seattle Pacific men, they still went and set a program record on Wednesday.
 
Led by fourth-time selection David Njeri and third-timer Kainoa Lee, the Falcons placed eight student-athletes onto the men's Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic team.
 
The previous men's record of seven was set 18 years ago in 2006.

 

A nursing major, Njeri carries a 3.30 grade-point average. During his career, he won two conference outdoor triple jump titles, one long jump title, and two indoor titles in the triple. He is an eight-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-West Region selection, with four of those awards in the outdoor triple, three in the indoor triple, and one in the indoor 60-meter hurdles.
 
Njeri is one of nine student-athletes from around the GNAC to make the All-Academic team for the fourth time. Normally, the limit is three times, with eligibility as a sophomore, junior, and senior, But there are several athletes across all sports who are still competing due to an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to compensate for the pandemic-related shutdowns / limits in 2020 and 2021. The conference did continue with its All-Academic awards during that period of time.
 
 

Lee is a senior mechanical engineering major with a 3.81 GPA. In January, he reached his long-sought goal of clearing 15 feet in the pole vault, getting over the bar at exactly that height on Jan. 13 at the UW Indoor Preview. He went on to finish third at the GNAC indoor meet, and also was third outdoors in 2022 and 2023.
 
 

On the team for the second time are senior distance runner Brennan LeBlanc and sophomore distance runner Ben Sheirbon. A senior, LeBlanc is a computer science major with a 3.24 GPA. He scored his first GNAC Championships points on May 10 when he finished seventh in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Sheirbon is a redshirt sophomore and carries a 3.78 GPA as a physiology major. He missed much of the year with injuries, but did pick up his first college win on April 20, finishing first in his heat of the 1500 at the Wildcat Invitational in Ellensburg.
 
 

First-time All-Academic team members are sophomore long jumper Brady Boun, junior distance runner Kade Franco, and sophomore distance runners Nathaniel Gale and Isaac Venable. Boun is an economics major with a 3.87 GPA. Franco is majoring in illustration and carries a 3.36 GPA. Gale is a political science major with a 3.30 GPA. Venable carries a 3.68 GPA as a computer science major.
 
To qualify for the team, student-athletes must be a sophomore or higher and be in at least their second year with the program.
 
 
 
2024 GNAC ALL-ACADEMIC MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
 
Seattle Pacific selections
Name                                     Academic major                           Year       GPA          Hometown
Brady Boun            Economics                 So    3.87    Bothell, WA
Kade Franco           Illustration              Jr    3.36    Santa Ana, CA
Nathaniel Gale        Political Science         So    3.30    Florence, MT
Brennan LeBlanc       Computer Science          Sr    3.24    Duvall, WA
Kainoa Lee            Mechanical Engineering    Sr    3.81    San Leandro, CA
David Njeri           Nursing                   Sr    3.30    Tacoma, WA
Ben Sheirbon          Physiology                R-So  3.78    Wilsonville, OR
Isaac Venable         Computer Science          So    3.68    Tacoma, WA


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