PORTLAND, Ore. – Three school records were broken and a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference indoor track & field all-time top-10 marks were produced by the latest GNAC Players of the Week, announced on Monday.
 
WOMEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Annika Esvelt – Seattle Pacific University
Third-career track athlete of the week, first this season.
 
Esvelt put forth a dazzling performance in her season opener, clocking the second-fastest indoor 5,000 meters time in GNAC history at the Sharon Colyear-Danville meet in Boston. The Falcon senior crossed the line in 16:09.93, which was the third-fastest time of any NCAA Division II runner on the opening weekend of competition. Esvelt’s time was 20 seconds faster than her previous indoor best of 16:29.98, which put her at seventh in GNAC indoor history last year. It also passed her overall personal best, which was 16:14.31 set during the 2022 outdoor season. Her recent performance was also an SPU school record, as she surpassed the standard of 16:12.65 set by former NCAA champion Jessica Pixler in 2009. Esvelt comfortably surpassed the 2025 NCAA provisional qualifying time of 17:08.52.
 
SPU Distance Coach Eric Hansen: "She looked very smooth, very comfortable. Having seen her race as many times as we have, when it comes to the 5K, as long as she can come through the 2K feeling good, we know she's probably going to have it. She was very comfortable at 2K and even very comfortable at 3K. So at that point, we're just watching the clock."
 
Also Nominated: Mya Richardson, Montana State Billings; Kayla Baniaga, Northwest Nazarene.
 

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WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Ujunwa Nwokoma – Western Oregon University
Fourth-career field athlete of the week, first this season.
 
Kicking off her senior season with a bang, Nwokoma produced a school-record long jump of 19-3.5 feet (5.88m) at the Silver State Invitational over the weekend. That surpassed her previous indoor best of 19-1.5 feet (5.83m) which she set last year, and moved her up to No. 3 on the GNAC all-time indoor performance list in the long jump. The provisional national qualifying effort was the seventh best by any NCAA Division II athlete on opening weekend.
 
Also Nominated: Jaida Green, Montana State Billings.
   

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MEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
JayCee Herbert – Montana State University Billings
First-career track athlete of the week.
 
Herbert came out of the gates ready to go on the opening weekend of the 2024-25 indoor season, cruising to a PR of 6.94 seconds in the 60 meters at the Bobcat PReview in Bozeman, Mont. That was good enough for a fifth-place finish at the event, with the four runners ahead of the Yellowjacket sophomore all being Division I. Herbert also turned in a time of 23.46 seconds in the 200 meters, and helped the Yellowjacket men’s 4x400 meter relay squad beat Carroll College head-to-head with a time of 3:34.27.
 
MSUB Head Coach Jonathan Woehl: “JayCee had a strong first meet of the indoor season. Training has been going well and it showed on Thursday. We are looking forward to the rest of indoor and outdoor.”
 
Also Nominated: Carter Stedman, Northwest Nazarene.
   

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MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Gabe Burchfield – Western Oregon University
First-career field athlete of the week.
 
Burchfield had a strong showing in his debut meet of 2024-25, placing fourth in the heptathlon at the Silver State Invitational. The junior broke the school record with 4,850 points, a personal best that landed him just off the GNAC all-time top-10 list. Burchfield’s standout effort was highlighted by PRs in the 60 meters (7.37 seconds), shot put (41-2.5/12.56m) and the 60-meter hurdles (8.59 seconds). Burchfield was the runner-up in the decathlon at last year’s GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, after winning the gold medal in the high jump and placing third in the heptathlon at the 2024 GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Also Nominated: Payton Kokot, Montana State Billings; Jonah Groce, Northwest Nazarene.
   

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MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bishop Tosi – University of Alaska Anchorage
First-career player of the week.
 
Tosi delivered a pair of stellar performances on the opening weekend of conference play, recording double-doubles in both of the Seawolves’ home contests. In the conference opener against Saint Martin’s, Tosi scored 11 points while reaching season highs of 11 rebounds and six assists. He added a block to his stat line and committed zero turnovers in 34 minutes on the floor. On Saturday against Western Oregon, the junior made 7 of 8 shots on his way to a season-high 18 points. Tosi added 11 more rebounds, five assists and another blocked shot in the 71-49 victory. Overall on the week, Tosi shot 80.0% (12-for-15) and committed just one turnover in 65 minutes on the floor. After being limited to just three games in his first season with the Seawolves in 2023-24, Tosi has started every game this year and ranks third in the GNAC in field-goal percentage (62.6) and eighth in rebounding (6.2 rpg).
 
UAA Head Coach Rusty Osborne: “Bishop was outstanding this weekend and extremely efficient. His ability to score and facilitate from the forward position adds versatility to our offense and opens up opportunities for his teammates. Defensively, his rebounding was huge. After being forced out for a year with an injury, he is starting to get his timing back with a new group. We are excited to watch him continue to improve.”
 
Also Nominated: Isaiah Saams-Hoy, Alaska Fairbanks; Cavin Holden, Central Washington; Brendon Johnson, Montana State Billings; Easton Reagan, Northwest Nazarene; Myles Samuels, Saint Martin’s; Jaxon Nap, Seattle Pacific; Lenz Dupont, Simon Fraser; Will Wilson, Western Washington.
   

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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emilia Long – University of Alaska Anchorage
Second-career player of the week, second this season.
 
Long was stellar in leading the Seawolves to a pair of wins to open their GNAC schedule, filling up the stat sheet in both games last week. The senior from Port Angeles, Wash., kicked things off by scoring 15 points while adding four steals, three assists and three rebounds in UAA’s 78-58 win over Saint Martin’s. She followed that with perhaps the top single-game statistical performance by a GNAC player this season, scoring a personal collegiate best 26 points and adding nine steals, eight assists, three rebounds and a block while committing zero turnovers in a record-setting 108-41 win over Western Oregon. Long approached triple-double territory in just 24 minutes on the floor against the Wolves, making a season-high 10 field goals. Overall on the week Long shot 53.8% (14-for-26) and made all 11 of her free-throw attempts, while averaging 6.5 steals, 5.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. Long’s 5.2 steals per game this season and 57 total steals are both the most in Division II basketball entering this week. She ranks 11th in the GNAC with 13.9 points per game and second with 4.6 assists per game.
 
UAA Head Coach Ryan McCarthy: “Millie has continued to get better and better the more she learns our system. She is such a dynamic player on both ends of the floor, and she really showed that this past week. She can change a game with her defensive ability and with our depth at the guard position she is able to play a majority of her minutes fresh and aggressive.”
 
Also Nominated: Shelby Blodgett, Central Washington; Dyauni Boyce, Montana State Billings; Kendall Clark, Northwest Nazarene; Jada Travis, Saint Martin’s; Makenna Gardner, Simon Fraser; Bella Pedrojetti, Western Oregon; Olivia Wikstrom, Western Washington.