Falcon athletes finished strong in Spring Quarter 2025 — soaring to conference titles, school records, and national competitions in multiple sports.
Men’s Basketball
The Falcons Men's Basketball team won their fifth Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship in men’s basketball. It started with an 81-47 rout of Alaska Fairbanks in the first round, a gritty 73-68 victory against Northwest Nazarene in the semifinals, and was capped by a wire-to-wire 72-61 win against top-seeded Central Washington in the title game. That sent Seattle Pacific to the NCAA West Regional tournament, where it battled with No. 1 seed and host Point Loma Nazarene before falling short, 68-54.
Track and Field
In women’s track and field, distance-running star Annika Esvelt capped her career with four more All-American awards for track. At the NCAA indoor nationals in March, she placed seventh in both the 3000 and 5000 meters. Then in the spring, she was seventh in the 10,000 and ninth in the 5000 at the NCAA outdoor nationals. Esvelt also won the GNAC outdoor 5000 meters crown for the third time.
Junior Maya Ewing made it to NCAAs for the first time and took ninth in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase. That made her an All-American.
Those weren’t the only stories on the track. Junior Hannah Chang (pictured above, far left) raced to victory in the GNAC women’s 100-meter hurdles for the second straight year. She set a meet record in the preliminary heats with a 13.76, then came back the next afternoon for the finals and was first across the finish line in 13.85.
In the men's track and field events, Freshman Andrew Bell broke the 51-year-old school record in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.48 in the GNAC finals. Another freshman, Justin Brooks, set a school record twice in the men’s 400-meter dash. He went 47.86 on April 12 in California — the first Falcon man to go below 48 seconds — then beat that with a 47.84 at GNAC.
Rowing and Golf
The Falcon women’s rowing teams earned a trip to the NCAA regatta for the fourth consecutive year under the direction of coach Caitlyn McClain. The varsity 8 reached the grand final and finished fourth. The varsity 4 won the petite final.
The Falcon women’s golf team wrapped up its first-ever season at the GNAC Championships in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The team finished sixth and was led by Natalie Eklund, who tied for 18th overall with a two-round total of 161. Zoe Garcia, who was No. 2 for the team and 21st overall, was named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year.
For more athletic highlights, visit spufalcons.com, where you’ll also find the latest news, ticket information, and more.
This article appeared in the 2025 Spring Quarter issues of In the Loop and Connections.