GREENWOOD, Ind. – They ran different distances on the track.  For Johanna Brown, one lap was start line to finish line. For Annika Esvelt, one lap was just getting warmed up.
 
In the classroom, distance didn't matter. Brown and Esvelt were way out in front.
 
The two Seattle Pacific standouts were rewarded for that success this week when both were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team for cross country / track & field.
 
Brown, a senior, maintained a perfect 4.00 grade-point average through all four years as a nursing major. In May at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships in Bellingham, she capped her career with a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter dash and was part of the third-place 4-by-400 relay team. The latter performance earned her a place on the awards stand and an All-GNAC honor.
 
 

Earlier this month, Brown was the female recipient of SPU's C. Clifford McCrath / 101 Club Scholar-Athlete Award. That honor is presented both the female and male graduating senior with the highest cumulative GPA in their class and are also four-year letterwinners.
 
Esvelt is a fifth-year Falcon with a 3.99 GPA. She completed her applied human biology major in 2024, then wrapped up her exercise science minor while taking advantage of the additional year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to make up for the pandemic-related shutdowns during the 2020-21 academic year.
 
 

She made the most of her extra time. Along with her classroom success, she was invited to the NCAA Division II cross country nationals last fall for the first time in her career and finished an All-American fourth place. She ran to two All-American finishes at NCAA indoor track in March, placing seventh in both the 3000 and 5000 meters. Then in May, it was two more All-American performances at NCAA outdoor track, taking seventh in the 10,000 and ninth in the 5000.
 
Along with that, Esvelt won GNAC titles in the indoor 3000 and mile, and in the outdoor 5000.
 
To qualify for the team, student-athletes must have a GPA of 3.50 or higher, must be a sophomore or older, and must have at least two years of competition at their school.


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