GNAC Cross Country

Pixler Selected Top Academic All-Star; 17 Make Academic Team

Pixler

Seattle Pacific's Jessica Pixler has been named the 2007 NCAA Division II USTFCCCA Women's Cross Country All-Academic Athlete-of-the-Year.

Pixler, who won the GNAC, West Region and NCAA national cross country titles last fall, was one of 17 GNAC student-athletes - 13 women and four men - named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team.

Seattle Pacific led the selections with six. Alaska Anchorage placed three athletes on the academic team, while Western Washington and Seattle University had two each. Central Washington, Western Oregon, Saint Martin's and Alaska Fairbanks had one each.

A total of 202 females and 127 males were named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic team.

To qualify an athlete must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and also finish in the top 30 percent in their respective regional championship meets. They must also have completed at least 24 semester or 36 quarter hours at their institution.

In addition, 14 of the GNAC's 20 teams (nine of the 10 women's and five of the 10 men's teams) received team academic honors. To qualify for the team honor, athletes who participated in at least 50 percent of their school's competitions had to have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better.

Nationally, 99 women's teams and 67 men's teams received the award. Among the NCAA's 22 Division II conferences, the GNAC ranked third in both the men's and women's division in the total number of teams to receive the award.

Men: Alaska Anchorage - Cornelious Sigei, David Kiplagat, Peter Doner. Alaska Fairbanks - Julia Coulter. Western Washington - Keith Lemay, WWU. Women: Central Washington - Marcie Mullen. Saint Martin's - Jessie Dunnam. Seattle Pacific - Jane Larson, Jessica Pixler, Karin Rohde, Kate Harline, Lisa Anderberg, Suzanne Strickler. Seattle - Katie Hansen, Rachel Yorkston. Western Oregon - Jessica Harper. Western Washington - Keely Kaligis.

Team Academic Award Winners: Men - Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Fairbanks,Northwest Nazarene, Seattle University, Western Oregon. Women - Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Fairbanks, Central Washington, Montana State Billings, Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin's, Seattle Pacific, Seattle University, Western Oregon.

Pixler Finalist For National Athlete-of-the-Year

The Board of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards has named Seattle Pacific University's Jessica Pixler one of 11 nominees for the Division II Athlete of the Year.

Pixler will represent cross country as 11 athletes, each from different sports, will be on the ballot. The other two nominees thus far are Vicky Braegelmann from the University of Minnesota (volleyball) and Jamie Vanartsdalen from Bloomsburg University (field hockey).

The program, in its 33rd year, recognizes the top woman collegiate athlete in each of 11 sports in Divisions II as nominees for the Division II Athletes of the Year. The program also honors the recipients of the Honda-Broderick Cup and the Honda Inspiration Award.

Division II athletes are nominated by national coaches associations for each of the 11 sports: basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, track and field and volleyball. Voting is done by the Senior Women Administrators across the country from Division II participating institutions.

The awards program is sponsored by American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and to celebrate these awards American Honda Motor Co., Inc. donates $1,000 to the women's athletic fund of each Honda Sports Award nominee's university and each Division II nominee's university.

The Division II winner's institution, along with the Honda-Broderick Cup and the Inspiration Award recipients' schools receive $5,000 each.

A press conference will be held June 23 at Columbia University in New York City to announce and present The Divisions II and Division III Athletes of the Year along with the recipients of the Honda-Broderick Cup the Honda Inspiration Award.

Pixler, Riak Win NCAA Division II West Region Awards

John Riak of Saint Martin's and Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific have been named the USTFCCCA West Region Male and Female Athletes of the Year.

Riak and Pixler won individual titles at the West Region championships Nov. 3 at Eagle, Idaho. Riak covered the 10,000 meter distance in a winning time of 30:32.75, while Pixler won her second straight women's title in a 6,000 meter time of 19:52.9.

Doris Heritage of Seattle Pacific was selected the women's West Region Coach-of-the-Year after leading the Falcons to their first region title since 1996.

Heritage will take her nationally fourth-ranked team to Joplin, Mo., this weekend for the NCAA National Championships on the campus of Missouri Southern.

PeeWee Halsell's nationally 16th ranked Western Washington men's team will also compete in the national meet.

Competing as individuals will be Riak, Sam Scotchmer of Central Washington, David Kiplagat of Alaska Anchorage, Ashley Puga of Northwest Nazarene and Sarah Porter of Western Washington.

The women's race begins at 10:30 a.m. (8:30 Pacific) Saturday. The men's race will follow at 11:30 a.m. (9:30 Pacific).

Halsell, Heritage Repeat as Top Coaches in GNAC


Halsell	Heritage

Kelven “PeeWee” Halsell of Western Washington and Doris Heritage of Seattle Pacific have been voted the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Coaches-of-the-Year, respectively. It is the third GNAC Cross Country Coach-of-the-Year awards for both.

Halsell, who led the Vikings to their third GNAC men's title in five years, also won the award in 2003 and 2006. A 1981 graduate of Wayland Baptist, he is in his 21st season as the cross country and track and field coach for WWU.

His team finished second in last Saturday's NCAA Division II West Regional meet, to qualify for the NCAA Division II national meet, Saturday, Nov. 17 at Joplin, Mo.

In all Halsell has won 15 Coach-of-the-Year career awards (eight in the GNAC), including four in men's outdoor track-and-field, four in women's outdoor track-and-field, two in men's indoor track-and-field and five in men's cross country.

Heritage, a 1964 graduate of Seattle Pacific, led the Falcon women to their fourth conference title in the past five years and to a first-place finish in the NCAA West Region meet.

It is SPU's first region title since 1996. Heritage was the GNAC Men's Coach-of-the-Year in 2004 when she led SPU to its first national appearance since 1961 and she won the women's award last year.

In addition to her three GNAC Coach-of-the-Year awards, she also won six other Coach-of-the-Year awards prior to the formation of the conference including three consecutive PacWest awards between 1997 and 1999.

Five Cross Country Athletes Post Perfect 4.00 GPAs


McIntyre	Clarke	Puga	Carlson

A total of 75 student-athletes – 24 men and 51 women - have been named to the 2007 GNAC cross country all-academic team.

Heading up the women's academic squad are Heather McIntyre of Alaska Anchorage, Kirsten Clarke of Central Washington, Ashley Puga of Northwest Nazarene and Krinda Carlson of Saint Martin's, all with perfect 4.00 GPAs.

Teppan

Among the men the top academic all-star is Vahur Teppan of Alaska Fairbanks, who also has a perfect 4.00 GPA.

Eight of the athletes – Kaley Strachan of Alaska Anchorage; Krynn Finstad of Alaska Fairbanks; Kevin Lambert of Northwest Nazarene; Kaleigh Bishop of Saint Martin's; Megan Wrightman, Kaitlin Rohde and Karin Rohde, all of Seattle Pacific, and Keith Lemay of Western Washington, were also honored for the third time. Twenty other athletes were repeat selections.

2007 Cross Country Meet Recaps