FERNDALE, Wash. – The Seattle Pacific Falcons came looking for a taste of some of the best cross country competition their own conference and even the entire West Region could offer.
 
They got what they came for.
 
 

Annika Esvelt ran to a seventh-place finish, and the SPU women put two in the top 25 and four of their five scorers among the top 40 on Saturday morning, placing fifth in the team standings at the Bill Roe Western Washington Classic.
 
Falcons senior Esvelt completed her three loops around the 2-kilometer course at Hovander Homestead Park in 20 minutes, 56.9 seconds. That was her first sub-21 for a 6K. The closest she had come to that previously was 21:04.50 at last year's GNAC Championships in Anchorage.
 
Seattle Pacific finished with 122 points on Saturday. Along with the Falcons, the meet included the top five teams from last year's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, plus perennial West Region power and NCAA qualifier Chico State, along with Trinity Western from Langley, B.C.
 
"We knew it was going to be great competition here today. Teams weren't going to be messing around, and they got after it," Falcons assistant coach / distance coach Eric Hansen said. "It was a fast race and a good preview. I think we got a better idea of what we can expect going into the next few meets coming up."
 




The race also included several of the region's best individual runners, Esvelt among them. On a perfect kind of cross country morning – sunny, temperatures in the upper 50s, no wind – she and Alaska Fairbanks' Kendall Kramer and Rosie Fordham, Trinity Western's Constance Nankivell, Chico State twins Iresh and Della Molina, and Club Northwest's Erin Wagner broke to the front early.
 
Just beyond the mile mark, Esvelt was in third, still right alongside Nankivell, Kramer, and Wagner. Near the end of the second loop, Nankivell had opened a lead, and Kramer also had some space around her, with Esvelt third. Nankivell was clearly in command as the leaders came down the back side of the final loop.
 
By the finish line, she was a full 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Kramer. Wagner wound up third, while Fairbanks' Fordham and the Molina twins from Chico made a late surge to grab fourth, fifth, and sixth.
 
"The first two laps felt pretty good," Esvelt said. "I was feeling kind of tired overall, so I kind of expected to slow down the last lap, so I wasn't quite able to match moves (by the other leaders). But I didn't totally fall off, so I was happy with it. It was a lot of fun."
 
Added Hansen, "Those girls up front are no joke – there's a handful of All-American honors among that group, and it's never going to be easy racing against women like that. Annika's still training hard right now, and we didn't necessarily set up to run a personal-best today, coming up on some bigger targets in the next few weeks that we really want to get after."
 
 

Junior Maya Ewing once again was a solid No. 2 for the Falcons, making a huge closing surge on the final loop that saw her move up nine spots to 21^st, finishing in 21:55.3. That was by far her best 6K time. Her previous best was 23:06, also at last year's GNACs.
 
Grad student Madelyn Buckley came through with her second straight strong race, placing 36th in 22:26.2, as she moved up two spots on the last loop.

Freshman Nicole Pierce, in just her second college race, delivered a breakout performance, placing 38th. She was in 58th, not even among SPU's top five, after the first loop, moved all the way up to 43rd by the 4K mark, then moved up even farther. Junior Matise Mulch rounded out the scoring, placing 41st.
 
At her college debut on Sept. 14 at the Green River Invitational, Pierce was the seventh finisher for the Falcons.
 
"Nicole had a great breakout day for her," Hansen said. "It was awesome to see her step up in the moment."
 
DEMMERT, GALE LEAD SPU MEN
Silas Demmert and Nathaniel Gale both came through with strong final loops on Saturday to set the pace for the Seattle Pacific men.
 
 

Sophomore Demmert placed 67th in 26:07.2 for 8 kilometers, and junior Gale was 80th in 26:24.5. Those were 8K personal bests for both of them. Gale broke 27 minutes for the first time, having gone 27:03.80 in last year's Bill Roe WWU meet, albeit on a different course at Lake Padden Park. Demmert's previous best of 26:35.40 came in that same meet.
 
The Falcons were 11th in the team standings with 303 points.
 
Heading into the last 2 kilometers, Demmert was in 72nd place, but within reach of several runners in front of him. He reeled in five of them, while Gale picked off two.
 
"Our guys have been training really high volume lately, and we knew we were going to be stronger in the second of the race," Hansen said. "The work they've been doing, that's really where they can separate themselves a little bit. It was good to see them move and recognize the work they've been putting in is making a difference, even though they're still tired right now."
 
Sophomore Jonathan Lieb, junior Ben Sheirbon, and freshman Nathan Korth rounded out the scoring. Lieb's time of 26:56.4 was his first sub-27, having gone 27:11.17 at last season's PLU Invitational.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024
Bill Roe Western Washington Classic
6 kilometers at Hovander Homestead Park / Ferndale, Wash.
 
Team scores – 1, Western Washington 68; 2, Chico State 62; 3, Alaska Fairbanks 93; 4, Simon Fraser 108. 5, Seattle Pacific 122; 6, Alaska Anchorage 126; 7, Club Northwest 137; 8, Clark College 265; 9, Saint Martin's 271; 10, Lake Sammamish Run Club 320
 
Top 5 – 1, Constance Nankivell (Trinity Western) 20:18.3; 2, Kendall Kramer (UAF) 20:31.9; 3, Erin Wagner (Club NW) 20:38.5; 4, Rosie Fordham (UAF) 20:45.9; 5, Iresh Molina (Chico) 20:47.6.
 
SPU – 7, Annika Esvelt 20:56.9; 21, Maya Ewing 21:55.3; 36 Madelyn Buckley 22:26.8; 38, Nicole Pierce 22:28.7; 41, Matise Mulch 22:32.1; 53, Alexa Gossett 22:57.9; 58, Ella Milanovich 23:11.5; 64, Anna Prussian 23:29.6; 84, Katelyn Flolo 24:39.3; 85, Nicki Yorges 24:40.7; 93, Lucia Templeton 25:13.5
 
 
NCAA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024
Bill Roe Western Washington Classic
8 kilometers at Hovander Homestead Park / Ferndale, Wash.
 
Team scores – 1, Chico State 28; 2, Western Washington 56; 3, Club Northwest 96; 4, Alaska Anchorage 135; 5, Simon Fraser 150; 6, Trinity Western 159; 7, Alaska Fairbanks 227; 8, Northwest University 238; 9, Saint Martin's 287; 10, Seattle Pacific 303; Lake Sammamish Run Club 416.
 
Top 5 – 1, Tom Anderson (Club NW) 23:28.9; 2, Dylan White (Chico) 24:02.3; 3, Kevin McDermott (WWU) 24:05.4; 4, Matthew Gordon (Chico) 24:11.3; 5, Tom Franks (Premature Acceleration) 24:11.4.
 
SPU – 67, Silas Demmert 26:07.2; 80, Nathaniel Gale 26:24.5; 101, Jonathan Lieb 26:56.4; 120, Ben Sheirbon 27:43.8; 122, Nathan Korth 27:49.8; 133, Ethan Erickson 28:32.9.
 
 
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