PORTLAND, Ore. – The finish line of the cross country season is still three months away. But standing at the starting line, the Seattle Pacific women want to prove that they have what it takes to get from here all the way to Sacramento.
 
The Falcons have been picked seventh in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll that was announced on Thursday. That's precisely where they placed in last year's GNAC Championships.
 
SPU's men have been voged for eighth place, matching their final position in the 2023 GNAC race.
 
 

"Our women are going into the season with a little bit more structure this year. Based on how summer training bas been looking, some of them definitely have a really strong base," SPU assistant coach / distance coach Eric Hansen said. "We're looking at a little more depth and consistency this season and actually trying to mix it up with some good teams time around."
 
"The guys have put in some really good work over the course of this last year, and some of our returners are definitely in a different place fitness-wise then they were a year ago," Hansen added. "We're looking to see them build on those improvements and try to move our pack up in the race a little bit."
 
Defending champion Western Washington is the favorite on both sides. The women were a near-unanimous No. 1 with nine of the 10 first-place votes and 99 points. Seattle Pacific had 42 points in the voting. The other first-place vote went to Alaska Fairbanks, which totaled 81 points.
 
WWU's men were a unanimous pick with all 10 first-place votes and 100 points. Simon Fraser was next with 83. SPU had 31.
 
Everyone who ran for the Falcon women last fall is back for another go, with the aim of reaching the NCAA Division II nationals on Nov. 23 in Sacramento.
 
 

At the front of the pack – and potentially at the front of the conference pack – is senior Annika Esvelt. She ran third at last year's GNAC meet in Anchorage, trailing only the 1-2 Alaska Fairbanks combo of Kendall Kramer and Rosie Fordham (both of whom are on the roster again for the Nanooks).
 
Esvelt went on to place 20th at West Regionals, then went to the NCAAs for both indoor track (10th in the 5000) and outdoor track (second in the 10K, seventh in the 5K).
 
 

Expected to lead the chase group behind Esvelt are juniors Matise Mulch and Maya Ewing. Mulch was 28th and Ewing 51st at GNAC. Both then scored at GNAC outdoors, with Mulch fifth in the 10,000 and Ewing sixth in the steeplechase.
 
Also returning from SPU's conference scoring group are sophomore Anna Prussian (36th overall) and junior Katelyn Flolo (54th), along with senior Nicki Yorges (56th).
 
The Falcons are bringing six newcomers aboard. One potential big-impact addition is grad student Madelyn Buckley. She ran in three straight NCAA Division III championship meets for Whitworth, finishing a personal-best 24th last year. She also was fifth at the Northwest Conference Championships.
 
At last year's Pacific Lutheran Invitational in Tacoma, a meet that also included SPU, Buckley was 25th overall in 23 minutes, 58.5 seconds for 6 kilometers, right on the heels of Prussian (23rd in 23:55.9) and Ewing (24th in 23:58.0). That would have made her the No. 5 Falcon scorer. Buckley later posted outdoor track personal bests in the 5000 (18:00.43) and 10,000 (38:29.68). Both of those times would have scored at GNAC (third in the 5K, sixth in the 10K).
 
Among the freshmen, Ella Milanovich (Wilsonville, Ore.) was 22nd at last year's Oregon Class 5A (large school) state meet. Nicole Pierce ran to back-to-back top-5 finishes at the Class 5A (large school) New Mexico state meet (fifth in 2022, third in 2023).
 
 

Isaac Venable and Silas Demmert give a solid pair of front runners on the men's side. Demmert, a sophomore, was Seattle Pacific's No. 2 scorer (behind Brennan LeBlanc, who has completed his cross country eligibility but still has track eligibility remaining) for the final for meets of the year. He was 38th at GNAC and 84th at West Regionals.
 
Venable is a junior who scored either No. 2 (two meets) or No. 3 (four meets). He was 47th at GNAC and 102nd at Regionals.
 
Junior Nathaniel Gale and sophomore Jonathan Lieb are the other returning GNAC scorers. Lieb was No. 4 (62nd overall), and subsequently was the No. 4 team finisher at Regionals (132nd), as well. Gale was No. 5 at GNAC (71st overall).
 
Senior Gabe Endresen was not a scorer at GNAC, but did score at Regionals as the No. 5 Falcon across the finish line (142nd).
 
The only freshman coming aboard is Nathan Korth from Bonney Lake (southeast of Tacoma). He is a two-time Washington Class 3A (medium-large school) state qualifier.
 
 
2024 GNAC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES POLL
 
Rank   Team (1^st-place votes)    Points     2023 GNAC meet(Score)
1      Western Washington (9)     99             1st (49)
2      Alaska Fairbanks (1)       81             3rd (86)
3      Simon Fraser               78             4th (103)
4      Saint Martin's             67             2nd (71)
5      Alaska Anchorage           65             5th (137)
6      Western Oregon             56             6th (141)
7      Seattle Pacific            42             7th (153)
8      Northwest Nazarene         29             8th (184)
9      Central Washington         23             9th (272)
10     Montana St. Billings       11            10th (273) 
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
 
 
2024 GNAC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES POLL
 
Rank   Team (1^st-place votes)    Points     2023 GNAC meet(Score)
1      Western Washington (10)   100               1st (37)
2      Simon Fraser               83               3rd (80)
3      Alaska Anchorage           79               2nd (51)
4      Western Oregon             77               4th (142)
5      Northwest Nazarene         59               5th (145)
6      Central Washington         51               6th (161)
7      Saint Martin's             39               7th (187)
8      Seattle Pacific            31               8th (217)
9      Alaska Fairbanks           17               9th (220)
10     Montana State Billings     14              10th (259)
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
 

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