Jessica Pixler named USTFCCCA national D-II indoor track scholar of the year...

Making her mark in class as well as in competition is the norm for Jessica Pixler (left, #56/photo courtesy Seattle Pacific).

And the Seattle Pacific distance running star earned more recognition for both on Monday, being named the Division II Indoor Track Scholar Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

In addition, seven Falcon teammates joined Pixler on the women’s All-Academic team that takes into account both indoor and outdoor performances.

Pixler (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake HS), who’ll be a Falcon senior in the fall, won her third straight mile title and added her first 5,000-meter crown at the NCAA D-2 indoor championships in March. Her performance in Houston helped the Falcons take sixth place in the team standings.

Pixler has a 3.92 grade-point average as an English major at SPU. This was her second USTFCCCA national honor for the just-completed school year. Last fall, she was named the D-2 Cross Country Scholar Athlete of the Year after winning her second straight NCAA crown in that sport.

In June, Pixler was named the Seattle Pacific Athlete of the Year for the third straight time. Along with her cross country and two indoor track titles, she won the 1,500 meters at the NCAA outdoor track meet in May. That gave her four NCAA championships this past year and eight for her career.

Joining Pixler on the women’s D-2 All-Academic team were junior Lisa Anderberg (Edmonds, Wash./Kamiak HS, 3.89 in global development studies), senior Kelsey Burns (Seattle/Kennedy HS, 3.47 in psychology), junior Kate Harline (Orem, Utah, 3.59 in education certification), junior Jane Larson (Fall City, Wash./Cedar Park Christian HS, 3.78 in English), sophomore Jennifer Pike (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview HS, 3.61 in biology), senior Jeeni Schantin (West Linn, Ore., 3.92 in Sociology) and senior Lauren VerMulm (Mount Vernon, Wash./Mount Vernon HS, 3.68 in nursing).

To earn a spot on the All-Academic team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher and have posted an NCAA automatic or provisional qualifying mark in their event or events.

NOTE: Seattle Pacific University and the USTFCCCA both contributed to this report.