OLYMPIA, Wash. – River Scheuerell (So., Sr. academically) from The Evergreen State College men's track and field team is the Evergreen Featured Athlete of the Week for April 10, 2025. He also is a member of the Evergreen men's cross country team. Scheuerell is from OIympia and graduated from Olympia Regional Learning Academy.

He chose to attend Evergreen because of its academic environment. "I was drawn in by the unique interdisciplinary coordinated studies program and the school's strengths in the natural sciences," Scheuerell said. "I initially came to Evergreen with no intention of being a student-athlete and had never competed in track and field before.

"When I got here, I started playing pick-up soccer on campus with a group that included a former track and field assistant coach, and he encouraged me to join the team. When I joined, I was the only men's distance runner. The growth of the program and the addition of cross country has been so exciting."

The Evergreen men's track and field team has 26 student-athletes, including 14 distance runners. The Geoducks compete during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. There were 15 student-athletes on the men's cross country team this past fall.

Last spring, Scheuerell began competing in race walk events at track and field meets. He achieved significant success.

"My top memory is from last spring when I crossed the finish line of my first 5k race walk, earning a qualifying mark for the 2024 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships," Scheuerell recalled. "I've found much more success in the race walk. I know my limitations and I am good at not going out too hard when I'm running (or race walking) and stick to my race."

At last year's Cascade Collegiate Conference Track and Field Championships, Scheuerell set the Evergreen 5-kilometer race walk record with a time of 24:31.93. He went on to compete at the NAIA Championships.

"With my new journey as a race walker, I knew I wanted to come back for a fifth year and try to return to nationals," Scheuerell said. He will be competing in the 5-kilometer race walk at least twice this season, at Corban University on April 26 and at the CCC Championships on May 9-10.

He's thrilled to be a part of the Evergreen track and field and cross country teams.

"I love how positive, engaging, and supportive our team is," Scheuerell mentioned. "It's a really healthy environment that encourages each of us to be the best possible athlete while appreciating each other as multifaceted human beings. We all practice and travel together and it feels like one big family."

Away from running and race walking, Scheuerell is involved in music.

"I've recorded four albums and been lucky enough to perform and teach across the U.S. and Canada and in Peru," he said. "I play largely American roots, bluegrass, and folk music. I have had a chance to play at many notable festivals in that circuit and share the stage with lots of my musical heroes.

"As a music producer and audio engineer, I've been involved in the making of many more albums, and recently mixed a soon-to-be-releases record from a nationally-touring act out of Nashville," Scheuerell added. "This weekend, I'm going to the Alaska Folk Festival in Juneau."

Scheuerell is a student worker in the President's Office at Evergreen. His job provides him with a special look at how a college works and is managed by the administrative team.

"I'm a Strategic Planning Specialist," Scheuerell noted. "In this role, I support planning and implementation work across the college. For much of the past year, I served as co-project manager of Evergreen's five-year strategic planning process (approved in Jan., 2025). Now, my focus has shifted to coordinating implementation of the plan and preparing to launch unit-level planning across the college.

"I've had a window into the nuances of how the college operates, decision-making processes, and the complexity of all the interlocking facets of the college. I'm surrounded by thoughtful thinkers and speakers, and I am continually inspired to approach issues from new angles and refine my communication skills to have the best possible impact."

Scheuerell has experienced success in the classroom, too. He graduated in 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in organization leadership and audio engineering and a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental sciences and applied mathematics. As a post-baccalaureate student, he is studying music.

"After this, I plan on focusing on performing and teaching music for a time, before likely pursuing graduate school in something to do with planning and assessment, similar to my current job," Scheuerell commented.