SEATTLE -- Jessica Pixler, a 12-time NCAA Division II champion who earlier this month earned academic All-American honors for track and field and cross country, has been named the overall Academic All-America of the Year by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and ESPN The Magazine.
Pixler received the top national honor in the College Division (NCAA Divisions II and III and NAIA schools).
Pixler, who graduated in June with a 3.93 grade-point average as an English major, is just the second track and field athlete to win the College Division award.
“I am honored to receive this award,” Pixler said. “It has been a privilege to compete these past four years for Seattle Pacific. I owe my success to the support of my coaches and teachers.”
In the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine program, 12 Academic All-America teams are selected each year at both the College and University (NCAA Division I) levels -- men's and women's track and field and cross country, soccer and basketball, along with football, baseball, softball, and men's and women's at-large (sports that are not among the aforementioned). From each of those teams, an individual Academic All-America of the Year is chosen -- as was Pixler for women's track and field. Those 12 individuals are then considered for the overall Academic All-America of the Year honor.
Pixler was chosen from a remarkable field that had an average GPA of 3.94.
Pixler is the most decorated cross country and track and field athlete in Seattle Pacific history. Her 12 NCAA titles included three in cross country, four in the indoor track mile, one in the indoor 5,000 meters, three in the outdoor 1,500 meters, and one as a member of the indoor distance medley relay. Her collection in the just-concluded school year included cross country, the indoor mile and distance medley, and the outdoor 1,500.
The recipient of an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, Pixler was named as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Athlete of the Year in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track this year. During her career, she was named as the GNAC Athlete of the Year 10 times out of a possible 12 opportunities.
Pixler will use that NCAA postgrad scholarship at the University of Colorado during the upcoming school year. She also will run one season of outdoor track for the Buffs, as she has one year of eligibility remaining in that sport, due to missing her sophomore outdoor season at SPU with an injury.
In addition to winning the GNAC Athlete of the Year award in cross country four times, she was also honored as the GNAC Athlete of the Year in indoor track four times and won the outdoor track award twice.
She also was this year's GNAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
A native of Sammamish just east of Seattle, Pixler was honored as the SPU Athlete of the Year for a record-setting fourth year in a row. In addition, she earned the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Athlete and Scholar Athlete of the Year awards for the third straight year. She earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first-team honors for cross country and track in 2008, and was chosen to the second team last year.
"Every year, there are more than 14,000 outstanding scholar-athletes nominated for Academic All-America recognition in 24 programs,” said Bentley University's Dick Lipe, the chairman of the CoSIDA Academic All-America Committee. “The Academic All-America® of the Year awards are the epitome of what it means to be a successful Scholar-Athlete. It is an incredible honor to be selected as the best of the best and we congratulate Justine and Jessica on their remarkable awards.”
Pixler joins an elite group that includes former overall winners Rebecca Lobo and Stacey Dales-Schuman from women's basketball, Peyton Manning and Chad Pennington from football, and Emeka Okafor from men's basketball.
