BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For the past four years, she has been a distance running force on Great Northwest Athletic Conference ovals.
 
Indoors. Outdoors. Doesn't matter. If there's a long race to be run – or won – count on Annika Esvelt to be on the starting line. And more often than not, first at the finish line.
 
On Saturday afternoon, the fifth-year Seattle Pacific star did it one more time.
 
In the last conference race of her career, Esvelt ran away with the women's 5000 meters title in the GNAC Championships. Her time of 16 minutes, 32.51 seconds at Civic Stadium beat the meet record pf 16:35.10 set in 2019 by legendary Alaska Anchorage runner Caroline Kurgat.
 
Kurgat still holds the all-time NCAA record (all division) of 14:40.45, also set in 2019.

"I saw the record beforehand and I thought, 'If I just run 80s and run faster at a little point, I could get that.' So then I went and did that," Esvelt said. "It was a lot of fun. I just tried not to let off the gas, even thought there was a lot of wind on the back side."
 
It was Esvelt's second straight outdoor 5K title and her third outdoor crown overall to go along with five indoor championships.
 



That this one came in a meet record was an appropriate finish to this portion of her career – although that career isn't over yet. She still has two NCAA races to run in a couple weeks, as she will compete in the 10K and the 5K in Pueblo, Colorado.
 
 

"It's super-fitting for her" SPU assistant coach / distance coach Eric Hansen said "Obviously, Kurgat is pretty well cemented in, not just in our conference, but in Division II. To be able to break a record of someone like that, you're in pretty good company. It's really good to see her put an exclamation point on an already amazing career."
 
Esvelt's only competition on Saturday was the clock. Just 300 meters into the race, she surged into the lead and merely kept extending it.
 
"I just tried not to let off the gas, even though there was a lot of wind on the back side – just keep going hard," Esvelt said; "I knew of (the record) and I wanted to break it."

It was actually her second race of the day for Esvelt. She started off with a third-place finish in the 1500. That was a fun, competitive one from start to finish, as she and four others took turns going to the lead at various points. Coming down the stretch, Western Washington's Jill Philbin took command and won in 4:30.76. Esvelt stopped the watch in a personal-best 4:33.24.
 
"That was super-fun," Esvelt said. "It was weird because it went out pretty slow. I just made a move when I felt I had to get around some girls and stepped up a little bit and ended up getting third. It was pretty exciting – I wanted to get top 3. I love doing that sort of stuff after doing the 5K and the 10K."
 
 
 
 
 
CHANG DOES IT AGAIN
While Esvelt had things all to herself – as expected – Hannah Chang had a stride-for-stride battle with Alaska Anchorage's Liv Heite in the 100-meter hurdldes finals – also as expected.
 
Chang, who pulled off a surprise by winning it last year, was the target this time. No question it was going to come down to her and Heite, and that's precisely how it played out after they traded back-to-back records on Friday – 13.81 for Heite, followed by a 13.76 for Chang, albeit in different preliminary heats.
 
 

This time, they were right next to each other –Chang in Lane 4, Heite in Lane 5. Heite had an ever-so-slight edge midway through the race. Chang pulled closer on Hurdle 7, pulled even on Hurdle 8, nudged ahead at Hurdle 9, then hung on over Hurdle 10 and all the way to the finish line, winning in 13.85. Heite was right behind in 13.91.
 
"I didn't have the start that I wanted," Chang said. "I knew she was going to come out and really give me a good race today, and I was expecting. It. I just gave it my all the last couple meters. Hurdle 9 is where I solidified it."
 
In addition to her consecutive outdoor 100s crowns, Chang also the defending GNAC champion in the indoor 60s.
 
"Everything happens so fast – I'm just really grateful for another championship under my belt," she said.
 
This was the 11th head-to-head race between junior Chang and sophomore Heite. Chang has a 9-2 advantage. The only downer is that both will fall just short of making the NCAA meet. The bubble time coming into the weekend was 13.72.
 
 

A PAIR OF RECORDS
Freshman hurdler Andrew Bell and sprinter Justin Brooks both established school records.
 
Bell clocked 14.48 for third place in the 110 hurdles. He had gone 14.45 two weeks ago in Bellingham, but the wind was 2.1 – just over the legal limit of 2.0. This time, wind was not a factor.
 
Brooks beat his own record in the 400-meter dash with a 47.84, giving him fourth place. His previous mark was 47.86.
 




AND THAT'S NOT ALL
--While Esvelt was winning the 5000, junior Maya Ewing made a big move with about 600 to go and secured se ond place after taking second in the 3000 steeplechase to start the meet on Friday. Ewing broke 17 minutes in the 5K for the first time, coming across in 16:55.22. In that same race, freshman Alexa Gossett was 10th in 17:52.88, her first sub-18.
-- Freshman pole vaulter Kaitlyn Askay picked the right day for her best performance of the year. She cleared 11 feet, 5 ¼ inches to secure third place and a spot on the award podium.
 

-- Also making the podium was the women's 4-by-400 relay team of Hannah Chang, Johanna Brown, Sophie Hanay, and Jada Sarrys. They were third in 3:53.57. It was the first trip to the podium for senior Brown, coming in the final race of her career. Earlier in the day, she was sixth in the 400.
-- Freshman sprinter Robert Joshua was sixth in the 200 dash finals and eighth in the 100.
-- The SPU women tied for fourth in the team standings with 68 points. The Falcon men were seventh with 25. Western Washington won its third straight women's title (228 points) and fifth straight men's crown (a meet record 303 points, first time any team has topped 300).
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Championships
Friday, May 9, 2025
Civic Stadium / Bellingham, Wash.
 
Team scores (through 21 of 21 events) – 1, Western Washington 229; 2, Central Washington 204; 3, Western Oregon 101; T4, Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser 68; 6, Alaska Anchorage 66; 7, Northwest Nazarene 39; 8, Montana State Billings 23; 9, Saint Martin's 15.
 
SATURDAY FINALS
100 – 1, E'lexis Hollis (CWU) 11.33.  No SPU.
200 – 1, E'lexis Hollis (CWU) 23.61 (meet record).  No SPU.
400 – 1, Bec Bennett (WWU) 53.11 (meet record).  SPU – 6, Johanna Brown 57.61.
800 – 1, Mia Crocker (WWU) 2:10.62.  No SPU.
1500 – 1, Jill Philbin (WWU) 4:30.76.  SPU – 3, Annika Esvelt 4:33.24; 8, Madelyn Buckley 4:43.44; 14, Nicki Yorges 4:51.63.
5000 – 1, Annika Esvelt 16:32.51 (meet record, breaks old record of 16:35.10 set by Caroline Kurgat of Alaska Anchorage).  Other SPU – 2, Maya Ewing 16:55.22;  10, Alexa Gossett 17:52.88; 12, Anna Prussian 18:02.08; 14, Matise Mulch 18:10.10.
100 hurdles – 1, Hannah Chang (SPU) 13.85.  No other SPU.
400 hurdles – 1, Carley Huber 1:00.13.  No SPU.
4x100 relay – 1, Central Washington 45.16.  SPU – 5, Seattle Pacific (Jada Sarrys, Johanna Brown, Sophie Hanay, Hannah Chang) 49.42.
4x400 relay – 1, Western Washington 3:41.98 (meet record).  SPU – 3, Seattle Pacific (Hannah Chang, Johanna Brown, Sophie Hanay, Jada Sarrys) 3:53.57.
Pole vault – 1, Lauryn McGough (CWU) 12-5 ¼ / 3.79m.  SPU – 3, Kaitlyn Askay 11-5 ¼ / 3.49m.
Triple jump – 1, Emy Ntekpere (CWU) 41-1 ¾ / 12.54m.  No SPU.
Discus –
Javelin – 1, Lauryn McGough (CWU) 144-1 / 43.92m.  No SPU.
 
FRIDAY FINALS
10,000 – 1, Kyla Potratz (WOU) 36:38.45.  SPU – 6, Anna Prussian 37:30.81; 7, Matise Mulch 37:41.71.
3000 steeplechase – 1, Ila Davis (WWU) 10:26.43. SPU – 2, Maya Ewing 10:34.06; 8, Katelyn Flolo 11:14.11.
High jump – 1, Emy Ntekpere (CWU) 5-8 / 1.73m.  No SPU.
Long jump – 1, Emy Ntekpere (CWU) 19-3½ / 5.88m.  No SPU.
Shot put – 1, Destany Herbert (NNU) 50-0½ / 15.25m.  No SPU.
Hammer – 1, Payton Elenbaas (CWU) 181-10 / 55.44m.  No SPU.
 
 
FRIDAY PRELIMINARIES
100 – 1, E'lexis Hollis (CWU) 11.33.  No SPU.
200 – 1, Emma Cannan (Simon) 23.60.  SPU – 16, Jada Sarrys 26.24.
400 – 1, Bec Bennett (WWU) 54.53.  SPU finals qualifier – 7, Johanna Brown 58.44.  Other SPU – 9, Jada Sarrys 58.60; Sophie Hanay DQ; Evey Rowland DNS.
800 – 1, Mia Crocker (WWU) 2:12.79.  No SPU.
100 hurdles – 1, Hannah Chang (SPU) 13.76 (meet record, breaks old record of 13.81 set by Liv Heite of Alaska Anchorage in Friday's first prelim heat).  No other SPU.
400 hurdles – 1, Carley Huber (CWU) 1:02.68.  No SPU.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Championships
Friday, May 9, 2025
Civic Stadium / Bellingham, Wash.
 
Team scores (through 21 of 21 events) – 1, Western Washington 302.5; 2, Western Oregon 116; 3, Central Washington 105; 4, Northwest Nazarene 104; 5, Alaska Anchorage 76; 6, Simon Fraser 59; 7, Seattle Pacific 25; 8, Saint Martin's 16.5; 9, Montana State Billings 13.
 
SATURDAY FINALS
100 – 1, Joshua Caleb (UAA) 10.25 (meet record).  SPU – 8, Robert Joshua 10.71.
200 – 1, Joshua Caleb IUAA) 21.04.  SPU – 6, Robert Joshua 21.85.
400 – 1, Brennen Murphy (WOU) 47.25.  SPU – 4, Justin Brooks 47.84 (school record, breaks old record of 47.86 set by Brooks on April 12, 2025).
800 – 1, Johan Correa 1:49.68.  No SPU.
1500 – 1, Kevin McDermott (WWU) 3:47.38.  No SPU.
5000 – 1, Kevin McDermott (WWU) 14:24.94.  No SPU.
110 hurdles – 1, David Brown (CWU) 14.32.  SPU – 3, Andrew Bell 14.48.
400 hurdles – 1, Maurice Woodring (WWU) 51.47.  No SPU.
4x100 relay – 1, Central Washington 40.38 (meet record).  SPU – 6, Seattle Pacific (Tarelle Hunter, Robert Joshua, Andrew Bell, Justin Brooks) 42.41.
4x400 relay – 1, Western Washington 3:10.00 (meet record).  SPU – 7, Seattle Pacific (Robert Joshua, Ethan Erickson, Nathan Korth, Justin Brooks) 3:29.22.
High jump – 1, Georhm Rihari (NNU) 6-7 ½ / 2.02m.  No SPU.
Triple jump – 1, Gabe Menicke (WWU) 47-11 ¼ / 14.61m.  No SPU.
Discus – 1, Ray Gerrard (WOU) 169-10 / 51.78m.  No SPU.
Javelin – 1, Jarrett Chong (Simon) 238-2 / 72.60m. No SPU.
 
 
FRIDAY FINALS
10,000 – 1, Ryan Clough (WWU) 30:01.82.  SPU – 11, Isaac Venable 31:36.56; 17, Nathaniel Gale 33:17.19.
3000 steeplechase – 1, Eli Williams (WWU) 8:59.46.  No SPU.
Pole vault – 1, Austin Seals (WWU) 14-9 / 4.50m.  SPU – 6, Mikel Saxon 14-3¼ / 4.35m; 7, Mason Hrcek 14-3¼ / 4.35m.
Long jump – 1, Georhm Rihari (NNU) 23-8 ¼ / 7.22. No SPU.
Shot put – 1, Noah Turner (WWU) 53-3 ¾ / 16.25m.  No SPU.
Hammer – 1, Mark Warren (WOU) 203-5 / 62.01m.  No SPU.
 
 
FRIDAY PRELIMINARIES
100 – 1, Joshua Caleb (UAA) 10.24.  SPU finals qualifier – 8, Robert Joshua 10.72.  No other SPU.
200 – 1, Joshua Caleb (UAA) 21.07.  SPU finals qualifier – 7, Robert Joshua 21.80.  No other SPU.
400 – 1, Justin Brooks (SPU) 47.98.  No other SPU.
800 – 1, Isaiah Rodriguez (WOU) 1:52.19.  No SPU.
110 hurdles – 1, David Brown (CWU) 14.26.  SPU finals qualifier – 3, Andrew Bell 14.53.
400 hurdles – 1, Maurice Woodring (WWU) 52.50.  No SPU.