By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PUEBLO, Colo. – Fort he second year in-a-row Seattle Pacific’s Annika Esvelt finished as an All-American in the 10,000 meters, as her performance on Thursday at the ThunderBowl headlined day one of competition at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
The senior clocked a time of 35:32.53 minutes, placing seventh among 22 runners in the finals. It was her second straight top-eight finish and third overall, after she placed fourth in 2022 and was the national runner-up in the event last year. She joined Western Washington’s Sarah Porter (2009-11) as just the second woman in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history to garner three All-America honors in the event. The reigning GNAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year will compete in her final collegiate event on Saturday, as she runs in the women’s 5,000 meters at 8:05 p.m. (Mountain). Brianna Robles of Adams State won the national title in the 10,000 meters, clocking 34:35.98 minutes to hold off second-place Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge of Colorado School of Mines (34:45.62 minutes).
 
With the aid of a +4.5 wind reading, CWU’s E’lexis Hollis clocked a time of 11.10 seconds in the 100 meters to advance to the finals. Hollis, whose time of 11.27 seconds earlier this year was second-fastest in conference history (wind max +4.0), crushed the competition in her heat on Thursday and posted the second-fastest overall time among the field of 22 competitors. Hollis will return to the track Friday for the preliminary round of the 200 meters, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (Mountain). On Saturday at 6:40 p.m. (Mountain) Hollis will compete in the 100 meter finals, with hopes of becoming just the third woman in conference history to earn All-American honors in the event.
 
The Wildcat women’s 4x100 meter relay squad made the cut for Saturday’s finals, breaking their own conference record in the first heat of the prelims on Thursday. CWU clocked in with a time of 44.76 seconds, topping their time of 45.09 seconds from earlier this spring and becoming the first unit in GNAC history to break the 45-second barrier. The quartet consisted of Elise Hopper, Zoe Gonzales, E’lexis Hollis and Ashlyn Nielsen, and wound up with the sixth-fastest time of the preliminary round overall. New Mexico Highlands ran the top time of the day, breaking the Division II record at 43.98 seconds. The finals are scheduled for 5:10 p.m. (Mountain) on Saturday.
 
Maurice Woodring of Western Washington broke his own GNAC record in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, clocking in at 50.95 seconds in the preliminary round on Thursday. That was good enough for the seventh-best time among the 22 competitors, earning Woodring a spot in the finals on Saturday. A top-eight finish would make Woodring the fourth man – and first Viking – in GNAC history to earn All-America status in the event, and the first since Simon Fraser’s Vladislav Tsygankov earned back-to-back All-America awards in 2017 and 2018. Woodring is set to return to the track at 7:35 p.m. (Mountain) on Saturday.
 
Both GNAC competitors in the women’s steeplechase earned spots in Friday’s finals, with Maya Ewing of Seattle Pacific and Ila Davis of Western Washington each making qualification. Davis posted a time of 10:58.79 minutes in the opening heat of the prelims, finishing 12th overall among the 22 runners. Ewing was just ahead of that pace, clocking in at 10:54.05 minutes in the second heat of the prelims to finish in 11th place. Friday’s finals are scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. (Mountain). Davis is on the hunt for her second straight All-America honor in the event after finishing eighth at the 2024 NCAA Championships. Ewing has her sights set on becoming the second-ever Falcon to earn All-America, after Suzie Strickler took seventh in 2008.
 
Western Oregon’s Mark Warren capped a record-setting career on Thursday evening, representing the Wolves in the men’s hammer throw. The senior posted a toss of 190-6 feet (58.06 meters) on his second attempt, finishing in 11th place among the field of 22 competitors. Warren, the GNAC champion in both the outdoor hammer throw and the indoor weight throw, also finished 11th at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the weight throw this year. Warren’s season-best hammer throw of 203-5 feet (62.01 meters), which earned him the gold medal at the GNAC Championships, was the third-best hammer throw in conference history. Ben Haas of Hillsdale won the national gold medal with a throw of 217-6 feet (66.31 meters).
 
In his first race of the weekend, Alaska Anchorage’s Joshua Caleb posted a time of 10.33 seconds in the 100 meters. That was just off his conference-record time of 10.11 seconds he ran earlier this year. Caleb missed out on the finals, finishing 19th among the field of 22 competitors. He will be back on the track on Friday at 5:45 p.m. (Mountain) to compete in the preliminary round of the 200 meters.
 
Western Washington’s Bec Bennett narrowly missed out on advancing to the finals in the women’s 400 meters, as she competed in the preliminary round on Thursday. The Viking newcomer clocked a time of 53.45 seconds to place 10th among the field of 22 runners, missing the final cut by just 0.13 seconds. In her lone season in a Viking uniform, Bennett made history as she broke the GNAC outdoor record in the 400 meters with a time of 53.11 seconds.
 
Kevin McDermott of Western Washington competed in his first of two events for the weekend, racing in the preliminary round of the 1,500 meters on Thursday. The Viking senior checked in with a time of 3:57.09 minutes, ending up in 18th place among the 22 competitors across the two heats. McDermott will be back on the track on Saturday evening, to compete in the men’s 5,000 meter finals at 8:30 p.m. (Mountain).
 
Making his debut appearance at an NCAA Championship, Nicholas Monro represented the conference in the men’s long jump. The Red Leaf junior landed a mark of 24-2.25 feet (7.37 meters) on his third and final attempt after a pair of fouls. That was good enough for a 13th-place finish among the field of 22 jumpers. Monro hit a jump of 24-6.5 feet (7.48 meters) earlier this year, which stands as the fifth-best long jump in GNAC outdoor history and earned him his spot in the national championships. Alex Meyer of Indianapolis won the national title with a jump of 25-3.25 feet (7.70 meters), just 0.75 feet ahead of runner-up Joseph Oreva of West Texas A&M (25-2.5 feet/7.68 meters).
 
Action at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships resumes on Friday. A complete schedule of GNAC competitors for the final two days of the event is available online here.