Strong finishes were made by Maya Ewing and Annika Esvelt.
Seattle Pacific University made great strides at the NCAA on Thursday, May 22, Friday, May 23, and Saturday, May 24, in Pueblo, Colorado. Ewing and Esvelt competed in two races each over three days, with Ewing running in both 3,000-meter steeplechases and Esvelt racing in the 10,000-meter and the 5,000-meter events.
Thursday
At 5:40 p.m., Ewing ran the women’s Division II 3,000-meter steeplechase preliminaries. She squared off against 22 runners and was in ninth place by lap five. She ended the race in sixth place with a time of 10:54 minutes, which landed her lane 11 for the 3,000-meter steeplechase finals on Friday.
At 7:10 p.m., Esvelt raced in the women’s 10,000-mete v against 22 runners. For the first 15 laps, she stayed in fourth place, less than a second behind the top three, but by lap 10, she flagged. Esvelt finished strong in 7th place with a time of 35:32 minutes, achieving her 10th NCAA DII All-American award.
Friday
At 6:15 p.m., Ewing started the 3,000 steeplechase finals alongside 12 finalists. She finished the race in ninth with a time of 10:48 minutes, 5.5 seconds below her prelim time. Ninth place scored Ewing her second-team All-American status, the first All-American award of her career.
Saturday
At 3:55 p.m., Esvelt stepped up to the 5,000-meter against 22 other runners and finished in ninth place with a time of 17:02 minutes. Ninth place earned her a second-team All-American award, the last award of her college career.
What next?
With the wrap-up of the track and field season, SPU women’s rowing will compete in its NCAA championships on Friday, May 30, and Saturday, May 31, in West Windsor, New Jersey.
