PUEBLO, Colo. – For 6000 meters, Annika Esvelt had herself right where she wanted to be: front of the pack, stride-for-stride with the leaders.
 
Then it happened. That barrier that can't be seen – but definitely can be felt by any distance runner – was suddenly right in front of her.
 
The Seattle Pacific senior ran to a seventh-place finish in the 10,000 meters on Thursday night, picking up her 10th career All-American award at the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships. Esvelt came across the finish line in 35 minutes, 32.53 seconds.
 
About 90 minutes before Esvelt stepped to the starting line, junior Maya Ewing made her NCAA debut and used a late surge to secure one of the four wild-card spots into the finals of the 3000-meter steeplechase. Ewing will return to Colorado State Pueblo's ThunderBowl on Friday at 6:15 p.m. Pacific time for the title race.
 
ANNIKA ESVELT: 10,000 METERS
As the 10K field of 22 stretched out, Esvelt was part of a pack of four up front, along with seniors Brianna Robles of Adams State, Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge of Colorado Mines, and freshman Allison Kuzma of Hillsdale (Michigan). Every time they checked off another of the 25 laps, they were all within a second of each other.
 
With 10 laps left, the other three gradually pulled farther in front.
 
 

"We were going out really slow, so it felt super-comfortable for a little less than four miles," Esvelt said. "Then around 20 minutes in, I completely hit a wall. I was doing what I could."
 
Falcons assistant coach / distance coach Eric Hansen was seeing the same thing from his perspective.
 
"The 10K, especially up here (at 4,700 feet in altitude) can be pretty unforgiving," he said. "Once you get past 6K, all bets are off. She did everything she could putting herself in the right position. There were a couple people who had a little more at the end today."
 
One of those was Robles, who finally won her first national title. Even when it was still tightly bunched, she was the one at the front. She got passed by Ramsey-Rutledge on the 24^th lap, then made a big move at the start of the bell lap to regain the lead and ultimately won by almost 10 seconds in 34:35.98.
 
This was the first race at altitude for Esvelt, who was second (2024) and fourth (2022) in her two previous NCAA 10Ks.
 
"I think knowing there was altitude explains the time and stuff," she said. "But I didn't feel like, crazy-different. It was just a hard effort."
 
Esvelt will return for the 5000 on Saturday at 7:10 p.m. Pacific time. She is the No. 5 seed for that one.
 
"I'm actually really excited for the 5K," she said. "For whatever reason last year, I was more excited to go with the 10K. This year, I couldn't get it out of my head that I'm more excited for the 5K."
 
MAYA EWING: 3000-METER STEEPLECHASE
Ewing came into her first national prelims as the No. 12 seed. In the steeplechase, the top four from each of the two heats are automatic qualifiers for the final. Then the next four-fastest finishers are added, rounding it out to 12.
 
Being in the second of the two heats, Ewing needed either to be in the top four, or at least somewhere between fifth and eighth just to be in the hunt for one of those four wild-card spots. With two laps to go in the 7½-lap race, she was ninth.
 
 

By the time Ewing started the bell lap, she was up to seventh. She made a big surge near the end to move up to sixth. Her time of 10:54.05 was fast enough to secure the third of the four wild-cards and the No. 11 seed overall for Friday's finals.
 
"I was hurting pretty bad in the middle of the race," said Ewing, the school record-holder with the 10:27.61 that she ran on April 16. "The girl right in front of me fell with about 200 to go, and fell again in the water jump. I was able to pass her at the very end.
 
"I didn't feel the kick (today), but I was pushing as hard as I could."
 
Ewing is known for her strong close. After splits of 88 on the third lap, 89 on the fourth and 91 on the fifth, she went 87 on the sixth and closed with an 82.
 
 

"We knew she had a shot of making that final, but it was going to take a good run to do it," Hansen said. "With her, we know her last 800 is always going to be pretty strong. It gets a little more dicey at nationals because everyone here is capable of running a good last 800. She was able to dig deep and find that last couple gears and pass the people she needed to earn a spot in the final."
 
Ewing already has exceeded her own expectations.
 
"I can't believe that I'll be going to finals," she said. "I was just kind of excited to be here. I felt like the prelims was the big race for me. Tomorrow is a big bonus, and I get to enjoy it – I'm excited."
 
The top seed for the finals is Emily LaMena of Colorado Mines in 10:33.59. But the one to beat still might be Ava O'Connor of Adams State, who was not challenged at all in her heat and won in 10:39.40. But O'Connor came in with the only sub-10 minute time of the season at 9:46.22. The top eight in the finals make the podium, and the No. 8 time coming in is 10:44.80.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Division II Championships
Thursday, May 22, 2025
CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl / Pueblo, Colorado.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
10,000 – 1, Brianna Robles (Adams State) 34:35.98.  SPU – 7, Annika Esvelt 35:32.53.
3000 steeplechase preliminaries – 1, Emily LaMena (Colorado Mines) 10:33.59.  SPU – 11, Maya Ewing 10:54.05 (6th in Heat 2).


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