Tuesday, June 21, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – Four of the conference’s top performers both on the track and in the classroom have earned selection to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Division II Academic All-America Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country Team.

Simon Fraser’s Alison Andrews-Paul was selected as a First Team Academic All-American. Seattle Pacific’s Annika Esvelt earned second-team honors while Simon Fraser’s Emily Chilton and Western Washington’s Amanda Short were elected to the third team.

Andrews-Paul is the GNAC’s first female Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-American since 2018. A junior in terms of athletic eligibility with a 3.89 GPA as a graduate student in Simon Fraser’s Master’s of Public Health program, Andrews-Paul earned five All-American trophies during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.

The 2021-22 GNAC Female Athlete of the Year, Andrews-Paul won the 800-meter title at the Division II Indoor Championships and also earned All-American honors as part of SFU’s 4x400-meter and distance medley relay teams. She set the Division II record in the 800 meters outdoors and went on to place second in the event at the Division II Outdoor Championships. Andrews-Paul set GNAC records in the 800 meters both indoors and outdoors and owns the No. 4 spot on the GNAC all-time list in the 400 and 1,500 meters.

During the cross country season, Andrews-Paul placed sixth at the GNAC Championships to earn all-conference honors and placed 26th at the NCAA West Region Championships. She helped lead Simon Fraser to the GNAC and West Region titles.

Esvelt, a sophomore with a 4.00 GPA in applied human biology, won the GNAC championship in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters indoors and the 10,000 meters outdoors. The GNAC Indoor Championships Female Track Athlete of the Meet, Esvelt earned All-American honors with her eighth-place finish in the 5,000 at the Division II Indoor Championships. At the Division II Outdoor Championships, Esvelt earned her second All-American trophy by placing fourth in the 10,000 meters.

Esvelt ranks No. 4 on the GNAC all-time list in the outdoor 10,000 meters and is just the fourth female athlete in GNAC history to run under 34 minutes in the event.

Chilton, a senior with a 3.91 GPA as a biomedical physiology major, was a key part of the SFU’s GNAC and West Region women’s cross country championship. She placed 10th at the GNAC Championships, earning all-conference honors, and placed 26th at the West Region Championships. Indoors, Chilton placed sixth in the mile at the GNAC Championships and earned an All-American trophy with SFU’s distance medley team at the Division II Indoor Championships.

During the outdoor season, Chilton finished eighth in both the 800 meters and 1,500 meters at the GNAC Championships.

Short, a senior athletically with a 4.00 GPA as a graduate student in kinesiology and exercise science, earned All-American honors in the javelin at the Division II Outdoor Championships with a mark of 149 feet. At the GNAC Outdoor Championships, Short placed second in the javelin and 12th in the shot put. Her season-best of 155 feet, 9 inches ranked her No. 2 in the GNAC and No. 5 in Division II this season.

Nominated by and voted upon by members of CoSIDA, nominees for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program must be of sophomore eligibility or greater, must be in their second year at the nominating institution, must be a starter or important reserve for their team and must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or greater.