2024 Cross Country Preview: Seattle Pacific University...
We started by previewing the state's five Division I schools, all of whom have competed in the last week.
The third in our series of previews is of the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
After a season where the Falcon women finished seventh at the GNAC championships and 14th at the NCAA West Regionals, SPU head coach Karl Lerum and distance coach Eric Hansen have bigger ambitions, including a trip to Illinois for the Lewis Invitational, one of the biggest annual Division II meets in the country.
Annika Esvelt (Paul Merca photo), who finished 3rd at the GNAC championships and 20th at the regionals, is clearly the leader of the Falcons. The senior has surprisingly, never qualified for the NCAA championships in cross country,
With Esvelt's resume, she is certainly in position to win her first ever GNAC individual title and qualify for her first NCAA cross country championship. But, Esvelt must get past Alaska Fairbanks' duo of Kendall Kramer and Rosie Fordham, who finished 1-2 at the conference championships.
Behind Esvelt, the Falcons return Matise Mulch (28th at GNAC, 70th at regionals), Anna Prussian (36th/88th), Maya Ewing (51st/80th), Katelyn Flolo (54th/124th), and Nicki Yorges (56th/148th).
The biggest addition to the Falcon squad is Madelyn Buckley, a grad transfer from Division III Whitworth. Buckley finished 24th for Whitworth at last year's NCAA D3 West Regional. She was also fifth at the Northwest Conference championship meet.
They also add to the mix freshmen Ella Milanovich from Wilsonville, Oregon, who was 22nd at the Oregon 5A, and Nicole Pierce from Kirtland, New Mexico, a two time New Mexico 5A top five finisher.
The biggest question surrounding the Falcon women is how close can they run behind their All American, Annika Esvelt?
In the five meets contested over 6k last season, the Falcons had two races where their 1-5 split (gap between their first and fifth runners across the line) was under 3 minutes, and that was at the GNACs and the NCAA regionals. To move up from their seventh place finish in the conference, they will need to be under 2 minutes to have a realistic shot.
The Falcons were picked by the GNAC coaches to finish seventh in the conference, mirroring their 2023 finish. On paper, this season's version is better than last year's, and a seventh place finish may be a disappointment.
Seattle Pacific's men's squad finished eighth at last year's GNAC championship meet, and 21st at the NCAA West Regional meet.
With front runner Brennan LeBlanc out of cross country eligibility (but has track eligibility left), the leaders of the team are Silas Demmert (38th at GNAC/84th at regionals) and Isaac Venable (43rd at GNAC, 102nd at regionals).
After those two, Jonathan Lieb (62nd/132nd), Nathaniel Gale (71st/147th), Gabe Endresen (73rd/142nd), and Ben Sheirbon (77th/DNC) all return from last year's team that ran at conference and regionals.
The only addition to the team is freshman Nathan Korth from Bonney Lake.
The team's depth is the biggest question mark on the men's side, which has been an issue for the Falcons over the last several seasons. Assuming everyone stays healthy throughout the season, seventh may be the best this squad can get.
Like the women, the men were voted by the GNAC coaches to match their eighth place conference finish from 2023.
Seattle Pacific will see all three Washington GNAC schools three times before the conference championship meet on October 26th in Bellingham: at the Green River Invitational on September 14th; the WWU Bill Roe Classic in Ferndale on September 28th; and the Emerald City Open in Seattle on October 12th.
With a front runner on the women's side in Esvelt, the Falcons will travel to Romeoville, Illinois for the Lewis Crossover on October 12th to match up against nationally ranked teams.
After the GNAC championships in Bellingham, the NCAA West Regionals will be held in Billings, Montana, and the NCAA Division II championships will be contested in Sacramento, California.
NOTE: The sports information office of Seattle Pacific University and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference contributed to this report.
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