SEATTLE – Annika Esvelt made the most of every single step this year – and in her world of distance running, that's a whole lot of steps.
 
The fifth-year Seattle Pacific standout, who was an All-American in cross country last fall, a double All-American for indoor track during the winter and a double All-American for outdoor track this spring was named the school's Athlete of the Year on Thursday evening at The Talons year-end awards show.
 
She was one of numerous Falcons honored during the show inside McKinley Hal's E.E. Bach Theatre.
 
Among the other honors presented were the Falcon Awards for Excellence, which recognize graduating seniors for their success in athletics and academics. Those went to Esvelt, women's basketball player Hunter Beirne, men's basketball player Trace Evans, men's soccer player Jackson Goode, volleyball players Hannah Hair and Emily Tulino, rower Audrey Rekedal, and women's soccer player Lauren Snedeker.
 
Another rower, Addie Clark, was presented with the John Glancy Award for her efforts both on and off the water. Men's distance runner Ben Sheirbon and sprinter Johanna Brown went home with the C. Clifford McCrath / 101 Club Scholar-Athlete Award for their outstanding work in the classroom through the entirety of their four years.
 
RON GRADY ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
It wasn't until just before cross country turnouts started late last summer that Esvelt decided to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility she had for all three running seasons that was granted as a result of the pandemic-related shutdowns in 2020 and 2021.
 
 

Once she made that decision, she literally ran with it. Her cross country campaign included a third-place finish at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference meet and sixth place at the NCAA West Regionals. As a result of her regional performance, she was invited to the NCAA Division II nationals for the first time in her career. Esvelt raced with the lead pack from start to finish and was fourth across the finish line. Her time of 20 minutes, 34.5 seconds was her fastest ever for 6 kilometers.
 
Esvelt started the winter by setting an SPU school indoor record for the 5000 meters, going 16 minutes, 9.93 seconds. She went on to win the mile and the 3000 at the GNAC meet, then take seventh place in the 3000 and 5000 at NCAAs. This spring, she won her second straight GNAC outdoor crown in the 5000 and went to the NCAAs again, placing seventh in the 10,000 and ninth in the 5000.
 
FALCON AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE
HUNTER BEIRNE: She led the Falcons in scoring, dished a career single-season best 117 assists and was named to the All-GNAC second team this season.. She posted a 3.90 GPA as an undergrad double-major and has a 4.0 GPA as a grad student completing her master of arts in teaching. She was the first SPU women's basketball player to win four GNAC All-Academic awards.
 
ANNIKA ESVELT: Along with seven NCAA meets and 11 All-American awards,  Esvelt posted a 3.99 GPA in applied human biology and is working on her exercise minor. She is an NCAA Postgrad Scholarship winner, and has 15 conference, district or national All-Academic awards.
 

TRACE EVANS: He was All-GNAC second team this past season, averaging 10.9 points on 61 percent shooting, helping the Falcons win the GNAC Tournament for the fifth time and advance to the NCAAs.  He has a 3.71 GPA as a business administration major, with two GNAC All-Academic and a CSC Academic All-District honor.      .
 

JACKSON GOODE: The defender started all 18 games in 2024, and has been on the field for the opening whistle in 31 of 35 games over the past two years. He went the full 90 minutes in 12 of those games, logging more than 3,100 career minutes. Goode has a 3.73 GPA as an economics major and has two GNAC All-Academic and two CSC All-Academic awards.
 

HANNAH HAIR: The middle blocker was a four-time All-American, a five-time All-West Region and four-time unanimous All-GNAC selection. She also was the 2023 GNAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Last fall, Hair broke the GNAC record for total career blocks with 629 and also won the national blocks-per-set title for two straight years. A business admin / finance and exercise science double major with a 3.91 GPA, she won nine conference, district and national academic awards.
 

AUDREY REKEDAL: She went to the NCAA rowing championship with the Falcons for four straight years. Last week, she was in the varsity 8 boat that placed fourth in the grand final. Rekedal served as captain and was on the team's leadership squad. She has a 3.97 GPA as an economics major and last year won the NCAA Elite 90 award for for having the highest GPA among all competitors at the D2 nationals.
 

LAUREN SNEDEKER:. A three-time All-GNAC selection, including twice on the first team and a two-time All-Region pick, Snedeker logged more than 5,000 minutes in an SPU uniform, starting 59 of the 60 matches she played. She is a nursing major with a 3.77 GPA, winning three GNAC All-Academic and three CSC Academic All-District honors.
 

EMILY TULINO: The setter was a three-time All-GNAC pick, and was a first-team choice last fall after racking up a single-season career-best 833 assists, including her career 2,000th. She also had 809 career digs and 38 career assist / dig double-doubles. A nursing major with a 3.73 GPA, Tulino was GNAC All-Academic three times and last fall was CSC Academic All-District for the first time.
 
 
JOHN GLANCY AWARD
Named in honor of the man who served SPU in numerous capacities for 47 years before retiring in 2017, this award is presented to a Falcon who shares their time and talent in service to others within the SPU community, outside the SPU community, or often both.
 
On or off the water, senior Addie Clark made numerous contributions to the team. Last weekend, she was in the eight-oared shell that qualified for the grand final at the NCAAs. She had some disappointments last year, but she came back ready to attack everything. In the weight room, she started picking up heavier weights and challenging herself. She has always been one who comes to practice ready to give it her all, and she's always reliable and on time and present.
 

C. CLIFFORD McCRATH / 101 CLUB SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
This award is presented to the graduating male senior and the graduating female senior with the highest cumulative grade-point average in their class.

Cross country and track runner Ben Sheirbon carries a 3.83 grade-point average as a physiology major. Although injuries sometimes kept him on the sidelines, he still logged 132,000 meter of racing – that's more than 80 miles – during his four years, whether it was on cross country trails during the fall, indoor tracks during the winter, or outdoor tracks during the spring.
 

A sprinter whose best event was the 400 meters, Johanna Brown has a perfect 4.00 GPA as a nursing major. She capped her career last month by getting onto the GNAC outdoor track awards podium for the first time after helping the 4-by-400 relay team take third place. She also made the 400-meter dash finals for the second year in a row, taking sixth. She got onto the GNAC indoor podium in 2023 as part of the third-place 4-by-4.
 
 
SPECIAL AWARDS
For the second year, a series of special awards were presented.

Female Newcomer of the Year: Zoe Garcia helped the first-year SPU women's golf program get into the swing of competition. Garcia rose to the No. 1 spot in the lineup and last September at the True North Classic, she shot a program-record 71. That included four birdies, which also was a program record. She placed 21st at the GNAC Championships in April, and later was voted as the GNAC Newcomer of the Year.
 

Male Newcomer of the Year: Andrew Bell broke the SPU indoor 60-meter hurdles record six times and won the GNAC title in that event. This spring, he broke the 51-year-old outdoor record in the 110 hurdles and made the GNAC awards podium with a third-place finish.

 
Female Award for Perseverance: After spending a year recovering from an ACL injury in one knee, Ella Smith tore the ACL in her other knee the day before her first practice as a Falcons freshman in the fall of 2023 With her work ethic and fierceness, she went through the recovery and rehab process, and by last fall, she played in and started all 19 SPU games.
 

Male Award for Perseverance: Brian Caldera first came through two surgical procedures for ACL reconstruction, then bounced back from multiple facial fractures he sustained while diving for a loose basketball during practice. He was told by his orofacial surgeon that he could be back in action in eight weeks, and remained resolute in his commitment to meet that goal.
 

Female Breakout Athlete Award: Before this academic year, Maya Ewing had never earned a postseason award or won a college race. Last fall, she was All-GNAC and All-West Region in cross country. She won her first race at the indoor track opener in December, then won her first GNAC title in February when she took the indoor 5000 meters. Just two weeks ago, Ewing ran in her first NCAA meet and earned second-team All-American in the steeplechase.
 

Male Breakout Athlete Award: Connor Tollan had career highs of five goals and eight assists last fall. His assist total tied for the most in the GNAC, and his goal total ranked No. 9 in the conference. Tollan was voted to the All-GNAC first team for the first time in his career. He also was named GNAC All-Academic and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District, both for the second time.
 

Moment of the Year: Grant Coleman hit 3-pointer from the left of the lane five seconds left and SPU hung on for a 64-63 men's basketball victory at Western Washington. That ultimately helped the Falcons secure the No. 3 seed for the GNAC Tournament, which they went on to win for the fifth time.