She trained, she ran, she made the books and she is still hunting for more.
Maya Ewing, a junior on the Seattle Pacific University track and field team, has steadily forged herself into a solid competitor and possibly the next great Falcon runner.
Dropping time off her races at every meet, Ewing has progressed further and faster in the span of two seasons than most athletes do in four years. This season alone, Ewing has cleared three personal bests, broken a school record and finally qualified for the national meet.
“I’ve had a really good year so far,” Ewing said. “It’s been fun and exciting to keep running and be getting faster. It’s been a lot of consistency over the years. I was injured before, but I’ve had a lot of good workouts lately.”
Ewing’s recent accomplishment is breaking the SPU record in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Stanford Invitational on April 5. Crossing the finish line at 10:35.63, Ewing beat the old record of 10:37.53 set by Kaylee Mitchell on March 28, 2019, and now ranks No. 7 in the 3,000 in Division II.
Previously, Ewing ran a personal best of 17:2.09 in the women’s 5,000-meter event at the Oregon Preview on March 21. Her previous outdoor best was 17:39.65 from the 2024 Ralph Vernacchia Invitational, and her overall best was 17:24.40 from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Championship on Feb. 17.
She just missed the NCAA provisional qualifying time of 16:59.79.
At the PLU Open on March 8, Ewing posted her first-ever NCAA-qualifying time in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase event at 10:48.00, obliterating her previous best of 11:19.21, set during her freshman season in 2023.
Ever so committed, Ewing is always on the hunt for her next personal record. Despite so much improvement and with her spot on the national list all but confirmed, Ewing’s goal seemingly resets with every meet to break her previous time by another 10 seconds.
“The next goal is sub-10:30 at the Bryan Clay Invitational [on April 16],” Ewing said. “I [am] taking it one meet at a time, but I’m really trying to get that spot confirmed for the NCAAs.”
Assistant coach Eric Hansen said it is an honor to witness Esvelt’s progress and rise through the Falcon ranks.
“Maya’s a great kid [and] been working her butt off for the last year and a half,” Hansen said. “Her trajectory this year has just been incredible to see. She seems like a different person with where her confidence is at as an athlete, and the rate that she’s improving at right now is very rare. It’s very special, and it’s fun to watch in real time.”
Ewing has consistently accomplished top placings at each of her visits to the GNAC Championships, the only exceptions being her 11th-place finish in the mile at the 2024 GNAC Indoor Championships in a personal-best time of 5:18.55 and her 18th-place finish in the mile at 5:36.05 in 2023.
At the 2024 GNAC Outdoor Championships, Ewing placed 6th in the 3000 steeplechase (11:30.69) and 9th in the 5000 (18:38.45). She placed 6th in the 3000 at the 2023 Outdoor GNACs with a then-personal-best of 11:19.21 and 14th in the 1500 meters in 4:58.05.
“From a scoring standpoint, she’s finishing a lot higher in every race this year than she was a year ago [and is] a really big reason why we finish as well as we do,” Hansen said. “She’s been a really big contributor for us in those crucial moments and those big meets. Everyone else recognizes and appreciates just how much she’s improved in this one year, and everyone else wants a piece of that.”
With still so much to race in the season, Ewing is ready to start every visit to the oval stronger and faster than her last.
“I really appreciate what I have,” Ewing said. “I’m not taking it for granted [and] I’m not going down.”
