SEATTLE – The National Collegiate Athletic Association has selected its postgraduate scholarship award winners, with Seattle Pacific's Annika Esvelt as one of the 42 recipients for the winter quarter.
The NCAA has awarded $10,000 to 42 exceptional student-athletes as part of its Postgraduate Scholarship program. These student-athletes, representing winter sports across all three NCAA divisions, have demonstrated outstanding academic achievements, athletic excellence, and leadership within their communities.
Each year, the NCAA awards 126 postgraduate scholarships to student-athletes who have completed their final year of athletics competition. The scholarships are distributed three times annually — in the fall, winter, and spring — providing 21 scholarships each to men and women per season. The award is a one-time, nonrenewable scholarship to support graduate study at an accredited institution.
Established in 1964, the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship program promotes and encourages graduate education by recognizing the Association's most accomplished student-athletes. The program evaluates candidates on their athletic and academic achievements, campus involvement, community service, and leadership. An equitable selection process ensures that all nominees, regardless of sport, division, gender, or race, are considered fairly.
Esvelt won her NCAA Postgrad award for the winter indoor track season, during which she captured Great Northwest Athletic Conference titles in the mile and 3000 meters, and ran to All-American seventh-place finishes in the 3000 and 5000 at the NCAA nationals. She also broke the school record in the 5000 with a time of 16 minutes, 9.93 seconds on Dec. 7 in Boston.
But it wasn't just on the indoor oval that she shined. Last fall, she ran in the NCAA cross country meet for the first time, finishing an All-American fourth. This spring, she won her second straight GNAC championship in the 5000 and had two more All-American finishes at NCAAs: seventh in the 10K and ninth in the 5K. Speaking of the 5K, Esvelt broke the 16-minute mark for the first time, clocking 15:56.94 on April 4 at the Stanford Invitational.
Academically, Esvelt completed her applied human biology degree with a 3.99 grade-point average and is working on her minor in exercise science with an eye toward a career in physical therapy.
Throughout her career, she collected 15 academic honors encompassing the conference, district, and national levels.
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