PORTLAND, Ore. – First, it was a pair of All-Conference awards. Then two All-Region honors. Then two All-Americans.
 
Now, tack on another one for Annika Esvelt.

The Seattle Pacific senior distance runner was named on Friday as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

This is Esvelt's first major GNAC postseason award.

 

"It's obviously a big award and a big honor when your conference peers recognize you as the top athlete in the conference," SPU head coach / program director Karl Lerum said. "We have some really outstanding athletes in this conference. So for her to be named the most outstanding, while not surprising, is really a fantastic award and well deserved."

Just last Thursday in Emporia, Kansas, Esvelt ran to the silver medal in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Division II Championships. That was her highest-ever placing in a national meet, two steps higher on the awards podium than her fourth-place in the 10K in 2022. She had enough left in the tank to place seventh in the 5000 meters last Saturday. Both of those performances earned first-team All-American recognition from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
 
 

At the GNAC meet on May 11 in Ellensburg, Esvelt easily won the 5000 meters. She was well in command just 300 meters in to the race and gradually stretched out her lead, winning by a sizable 53.4 seconds. That race came less than two hours after she pulled out a third-place finish in the 1500 meters. Esvelt was fifth coming up the backstretch, fourth coming out of the final turn, then bagged the bronze in the final 10 meters.
 
During the regular season, Esvelt ran fourth-fastest time in D2 for the 10,000, clocking 33 minutes, 41.59 seconds at the Bryan Clay Invitational. That came two weeks after she ran 16:18.94 in the 5000 at the Stanford Invitational. That wound up as the No. 11 time on the Division II list prior to the NCAA meet.
 
Both her 10K and 5K times were No. 1 in the West, thereby earning All-Region status.
 
 

"She had a pretty incredible outdoor season. I would say it was definitely her best season of the three as far as her consistency and the quality of her races," assistant coach / distance coach Eric Hansen said. "Reflecting back on it, I don't' think she had a bad race this entire outdoor season, and she finished in the best possible way at the NCAA Championships. That award is very much earned and deserved."
Esvelt's races at nationals netted 10 team points for the Falcons. She tallied 16 points for her two events at GNAC.
 
Although this is her senior year, Esvelt has one more year of eligibility remaining in all three running seasons – cross country in the fall, indoor track during the winter, and outdoor track in the spring. She plans to compete in all three.
  
 
GNAC TRACK & FIELD SPECIAL AWARDS
WOMEN
Athlete of the Year – Annika Esvelt, Seattle Pacific.
Newcomer of the Year – Isabella Haarer, Central Washington.
Freshman of the Year – Emy Ntekpere, Central Washington.
Coach of the Year – Ben Stensland, Western Washington.
 
MEN
Athlete of the Year – Johan Correa, Central Washington.
Newcomer of the Year – Andrew Nelson, Western Washington.
Freshman of the Year – Joshua Caleb, Alaska Anchorage.
Coach of the Year – Ben Stensland, Western Washington.