Full Release (with 2009-10 Sport-by-Sport Academic All-America® of the Year honorees and All-Time list of Academic All-Americas® of the Year) - PDF
2009-10 Sport-by-Sport Academic All-America® of the Year honorees (PDF)
All-Time Academic All-Americas® of the Year (PDF)
TOWSON, Md. - Six-time national champion swimmer
Justine Schluntz of the University of Arizona and three-time NCAA cross country champion
Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific have been chosen as the 2009-10 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americas of the Year, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Schluntz is the Academic All-America® of the Year in the University Division while Pixler earns the same honors for the College Division.
The Academic All-America® of the Year award, which began in 1987-88, is presented to the most
outstanding student-athlete of the year and is chosen from the student-athletes who have been
awarded Team Member of the Year honors. From over 360,000 student-athletes in the nation, just
816 are selected annually as Academic All-America® Team members; from that group, 24 are selected as Team Members of the Year and two are named Academic All-America® of the Year.
Schluntz, a graduate student holding a perfect 4.0 GPA while studying fluid dynamics, and Pixler, an English major with a 3.93 GPA, join former recipients of Academic All-America® of the Year honorees Rebecca Lobo (1994-95), Peyton Manning (1997-98), Chad Pennington (1999-00), Stacey Dales-Schuman (2001-02) and Emeka Okafor (2003-04).
A complete list of the previous recipients of the AAA of the Year award follows.
Schluntz earned her B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Arizona last year. A summa cum laude graduate, she is first swimmer to be named as Academic All-America® of the Year since the inception of the award in 1988.
In the University Division, there are 12 Academic All-America® teams selected annually - Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Track, Men’s and Women’s At Large, Football, Volleyball, Baseball and Softball. In each program, there is an Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year. Those 12 Team Members of the Year are considered for the Academic All-America® of the Year Award.
Schluntz was selected from a field of 12 scholar-athletes who hold an average grade point average (GPA) of 3.79.
Pixler is only the second track and field athlete to win the award in the College Division. Kristen Shields of Whitworth was honored in 2003-04.
In the College Division, there are also 12 Academic All-America® teams selected annually - Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Track, Men’s and Women’s At Large, Football, Volleyball, Baseball and Softball. In each program, there is an Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year. Those 12 Team Members of the Year are considered for the Academic All-America® of the Year Award.
Pixler was chosen from a remarkable field of 12 scholar-athletes with an average GPA of 3.94.
More on Justine Schluntz, 2009-10 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America® of the Year (University Division)
A Rhodes Scholar who earned 16 All-American honors in her career for the Wildcats, Schluntz is a graduate student who has a 4.00 GPA while studying fluid dynamics. In 2009, she graduated from Arizona with a B.S
. degree in mechanical engineering and a perfect 4.00 GPA. A summa cum laude graduate, she was the Pacific-10 Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s swimming. A native of Albuquerque, N.M., Schluntz was a finalist for the Walter Byers Scholarship.
A member of the Wildcats’ record-setting 200-free and 400-medley relay teams, she is part of two
relay teams that own NCAA and American records. Arizona set the 200-free relay record (1:26.20) in
2009 while the 400-medley relay team owns the record with a time of 3:28.31.
Schluntz helped Arizona win national titles in the 200-free relay and 400-medley relay the last two seasons. As a sophomore, she was a member of the Wildcats’ first-ever NCAA championship team.
She contributed to the Wildcats’ championship effort by swimming on the 800-free relay team which
finished first. She was also a member of the Wildcats’ Pacific-10 Conference championship team in
2008.
In 2010, Schluntz helped Arizona finish fourth at the NCAA Championship Meet. A three-time
Pac-10 All-Academic team member, she will study fluid dynamics next year at Oxford.
“As a student-athlete at the University of Arizona, I was extremely fortunate to have a great support
system of teammates, coaches and other crucial staff members to aid me in all my endeavors,” said
Schluntz. “As early as my first semester, it was evident that a high emphasis is placed on academics
at Arizona. My studies and athletic accomplishments have complemented each other during my time
here and I am grateful for the opportunities that I’ve been given.”
More on Jessica Pixler, 2009-10 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America® of the Year (College Division)
The three-time NCAA Division II Cross Country national champion, Pixler is the most decorated
cross country and track and field athlete in Seattle Pacific history.
During her career at Seattle Pacific, she won 12 NCAA Division II championships, including the 1,500-meter run at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in May. It marked the third time in four years that she won the 1,500-meter run at the NCAA Division II Championship Meet. Her time of 4:11.06 on March 26, 2010 at Stanford ranked fourth in the world at that time.
At the 2010 NCAA Division II Indoor Track Championship, she captured her fourth straight title in the indoor mile and ran the anchor leg on the NCAA champion distance medley relay team.
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 ten times out of a possible 12 opportunities.
In addition to winning the GNAC Athlete of the Year award in cross country four times, Jessica was honored as the GNAC Athlete of the Year in indoor track four times and won the outdoor track award twice.
A native of Sammamish, Wash., Pixler was named as the Seattle Pacific Athlete of the Year for a
record-setting fourth year in a row. She was also named the GNAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and
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® Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country first team honors in 2008 and was
chosen to the second team last year.
“I am honored to receive this award,” said Pixler. “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.”
Academic All-America® of the Year Award
The Academic All-America® of the Year award, which began in 1987-88, is presented to the most
outstanding student-athlete of the year and is chosen from the student-athletes who have been
awarded Team Member of the Year honors. From over 360,000 student-athletes in the nation, just
816 are selected as Academic All-America® Team members each year, 24 are selected as Team
Members of the Year and two are named Academic All-America® of the 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.”
ESPN The Magazine, winner of the 2006 and 2003 National Magazine Award for General
Excellence, is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and
wit, the oversized bi-weekly with a circulation of 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique
perspective on the world of sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America® program, please visit
www.cosida.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact:
Dan O’Connell, Towson University
Academic All-America ® Vice-Chair For Publicity/Communications
doconnell@towson.edu
(410) 704-3102
2009-2010 ESPN THE MAGAZINE SPORT-BY-SPORT
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS OF THE YEAR
University Division
(Name & School and Sport (Class/Hometown/Major and GPA)
• Cole Aldrich, Kansas, M. Basketball (Jr.; Bloomington, Minn.; Communication Studies, 3.32 GPA)
• Chelsea Bramlett, Mississippi State, Softball (Sr., Cordova, Tenn.; Physical Education, 3.64 GPA)
• Simon Ejdemyr, New Mexico, M. Soccer (Sr., Boras, Sweden; Political Science, 4.00 GPA)
• Megan Hodge, Penn State, Volleyball (Sr., Durham, N.C.; Business Management, 3.45 GPA)
• Jim Klocke, Southeast Missouri State, Baseball (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.; Business Admin., 3.94 GPA)
• Phoebe Wright, Tennessee, W. Track & Field/XC (Sr., Signal Mountain, Tenn.; Biochemistry, Cellular Molecular Biology, 3.96 (Gr., Fort Dodge, Iowa; Veterinary Medicine, 3.98 GPA)
• David McNeill, Northern Arizona, M. Track & Field/XC (Sr., Melbourne, Australia; Exercise Science, 3.75 GPA)
• Maya Moore, Connecticut, W. Basketball (Jr., Lawrenceville, Ga.; Individualized Major, 3.70 GPA)
• Beth Reed, Navy, W. Soccer (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind.; Mechical Engineering, 3.97 GPA)
• Justine Schluntz, Arizona, W. At-Large (Gr., Albuquerque, N.M.; Mechanical Engineering/Fluid Dynamics, 4.00 GPA)
• Jeff Spear, Columbia, M. At-Large (Sr., Wyantskill, N.Y.; Evolutionary Biology of the Human Species, 4.07 GPA)
• Tim Tebow, Florida, Football (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla.; Family Youth & Community Studies, 3.66 GPA)
College Division
(Name & School and Sport (Class/Hometown/Major and GPA)
• Jonathan Hall, Carnegie Mellon, M. Soccer (Sr., Venetia, Pa.; Business Admin./Finance, 4.00 GPA)
• Julia Hirssig, Wisconsin-Stout, W. Basketball (Sr., Rochester, Minn.; Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Mgt., 3.96 GPA)
• Chelsea Hoff, Wisc.-La Crosse, W. At-Large (Sr., Middletown, Wis.; ESS-Fitness, Physical Therapy, 4.00 GPA)
• Mark Husted, Colorado School of Mines, M. Track & Field/XC (Gr., Westminster, Col.; Electrical Engineering, 3.85 GPA)
• Beau Kildow, Morningside, Football (Sr., Omaha, Neb.; Chemistry & Biology, 4.00 GPA)
• Dan Laurent, Wisc.-La Crosse, M. At-Large (Sr., Mishicot, Wis.; Biochemistry, Cellular & Molecular Biology, 3.94 GPA)
• Daniel McKeehan, Thomas More, M. Basketball (Sr., Maineville, Ohio; Economics & Business Finance, 4.00 GPA)
• Maria Omondi, Columbia (Mo.), Volleyball (Sr., Nairobi, Kenya; Biology/Pre-Medicine, 3.94 GPA)
• Jessica Pixler, Seattle Pacific, W. Track & Field/XC (Sr., Sammamish, Wash.; English, 3.93 GPA)
• Matt Schuld, St. Thomas (Minn.), Baseball (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.; Business Administration, 3.69 GPA)
• Natalja Stanski, Grand Valley State, W. Soccer (Sr., Tecumsah,Ont.,Canada; Biomedical Science, 4.00 GPA)
• Alison Wright, St. Thomas (Minn.), Softball (Sr., Pewaukee, Wis.; Business Management, 3.93 GPA)
ANNUAL ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® OF THE YEAR RECIPIENTS
2009-10
Justine Schluntz, Arizona (At-Large; Swimming)
Jessica Pixler, Seattle Pacific (Track/Cross Country)
2008-09
Galen Rupp, Oregon (Men’s Track/Cross Country)
Greg Micheli, Mount Union (Football)
2007-08
Sarah Pavan, Nebraska (Volleyball)
Troy Ruths, Washington of Mo. (Men’s Basketball)
2006-07
Sarah Pavan, Nebraska (Volleyball)
Jamie Wolf, Clarion (At Large)
2005-06
Christine Sinclair, Portland (Soccer)
Josh Lamberson, Northwest Missouri St. (Football)
2004-05
Alex Smith, Utah (Football)
Carli Dale, Juniata (Volleyball)
2003-04
Emeka Okafor, Connecticut (Basketball)
Kristen Shields, Whitworth (Track & Field)
2002-03
Theresa Kulikowski, Utah (Gymnastics)
Ashley Rowatt, Kenyon (Swimming)
2001-02
Stacey Dales-Schuman, Oklahoma (Basketball)
T.J. Hess, Widener (Football)
2000-01
Ruth Riley, Notre Dame (Basketball)
Emily Bloss, Emporia State (Basketball)
1999-00
Chad Pennington, Marshall (Football)
Korey Coon, Illinois Wesleyan (Basketball)
1998-99
Matt Stinchcomb, Georgia (Football)
Kelly Schade, Simpson (Softball)
1997-98
Peyton Manning, Tennessee (Football)
Brad Gray, MIT (Football)
1996-97
Danny Wuerffel, Florida (Football)
Julie Roe, Millikin (Basketball)
1995-96
Todd Fuller, North Carolina St. (Basketball)
Chris Palmer, St. John's (Minn.) (Football)
1994-95
Rebecca Lobo, Connecticut (Basketball)
(tie) Rob Zatechka, Nebraska (Football)
1993-94
*Carl Erikson, Oberlin (Tennis)
1992-93
*Jim Hansen, Colorado (Football)
1991-92
*Tommy Vardell, Stanford (Football)
1990-91
*Al Parker, Tennis (Georgia)
1989-90
*Alec Kessler, Georgia (Basketball)
1988-89
*James Martin, Penn St. (Wrestling)
1987-88
*Michael Smith, Brigham Young (Basketball)
* From 1988-1995 only one winner was chosen per year. Beginning in 1996 the format was changed to select one winner per year in each division (College and University).