2007 was very good to Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler. It began with the 2007 indoor track season where Jessica won the National title in the mile. In the 2007 outdoor track and field season, Jessica won the 1500m and came in second in the 800m. This past summer she came in second in the USA Junior games in the 1500m and this earned her a berth to the Pan American games in Brazil where she won a gold medal in the event. Then in this past Cross Country season, Jessica took ten seconds off her time from Division II National race last year and won the individual title in 20:29 over the 6k course. Jessica first remembers running in elementary school. “I would have to pinpoint my beginnings as a runner to the PE “mile” in elementary school. My ability to beat all the boys and girls in the seven laps around the soccer field was my only claim to fame in elementary school, so I took the “mile” run quite seriously” she said adding ,“ It wasn’t until seventh grade PE that I finally lost to a boy. I cried when I got home that day.” Jessica continued to run in high school. “In high school I did not take running very seriously. I did not even like running very much, and thought my future as an athlete was as a soccer player. Despite this attitude I managed to run pretty decently in high school thanks to my insane competitiveness and my wonderful coach, who worked around my soccer schedule and didn’t load me down with too many miles. However, as my running career progressed in high school I found myself slowly developing a love for running, and by my senior year I chose to run cross country for the first time” she explained. Her dual love of running and soccer is what brought Jessica to Seattle Pacific. “Seattle Pacific first came to my attention because the athletic department offered me the unusual opportunity to both play soccer and run in college. I ultimately made my decision because I had a strong feeling that attending this university fit in with God’s plan for my life” she said. It seems to have been a good decision for Jessica. Her freshman year, Jessica first had success by placing tenth at the NCAA Division II National Cross Country meet. She followed that up by taking the individual national title in the indoor mile and the outdoor 1500m. Perhaps, one of her most impressive achievements came that summer when she qualified for the Pan-American games and won the gold in the 1500ms. “I am still in a state of disbelief that I was blessed with such an incredible experience this summer” she said, “In the race to qualify I knew I had a good chance of making the team, but I had to fight hard the last 200m to take second place to qualify.” She goes on to explain that the experience was by far the best reward. “My trip to Brazil was an absolutely incredible experience, I had never traveled outside the country before, and so I spent most of the trip stuck in a state of awe. While I enjoyed seeing another country and its culture, the best part of the trip was being a member of the U.S Jr. Team. My teammates were all from a wide variety of colleges and high schools, and it was amazing to meet so many wonderful people and become friends with people from all over the United States. I was very fortunate to win a gold medal in the 1500m, but the biggest blessing of the trip was meeting so many incredible athletes and genuinely nice people” she explained. With this summer success, Jessica made a big decision about the upcoming season and decided to quit soccer. “Last year during Cross Country my training was very inconsistent and limited because my focus was on soccer. I did not attend too many team workouts and would mostly train on my own by fitting a run in before soccer practice. This year I was able to build up my base this summer and train consistently throughout the season” she said. This decision was the right one for Jessica claimed the individual title at the NCAA Division II National Cross Country meet. “I came into Nationals with the goal of winning, but had no idea whether that would happen or not” she said. With all this success, one would think that Pixler would have a hard time picking her favorite achievement of the past year. When asked to pick, she responded “Seattle Pacific taking second at the National Meet”. Her greatest achievement was not an individual one but rather a team achievement. “We came into the race facing a lot of adversity with one of our top girls running on a bad knee, a couple other girls feeling under the weather, and two of our runners having battled anemia throughout the season. Despite all these problems, our team went into the race completely trusting in God and each other. Our team placing second was incredible, I am extremely fortunate to be on a team of some of the bravest and toughest girls I have ever met. What our team did this season was a small miracle that was only possible through God.” She added. Jessica also credits her coach, Doris Heritage with the success of her cross country season. “Even now I don’t feel as though I fully comprehend just how fortunate I am to be coached by the woman who at one point held all the national and world records from the 440 yards up to the mile. Having Doris as my coach I am constantly motivated by the example she set as an athlete and continues to set as a person. Under Doris’s guidance I feel that I have not only grown as an athlete, but as a person. Her incredible faith has guided me and helped my own faith grow. I have learned from her what a gift my ability to run is, and the responsibility I have to use this gift to honor God” she said in praise. With 2007 behind, Jessica is focused upon doing well in the current indoor season and the upcoming outdoor season. “Right now I am training to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the 1500m” she adds. By the end of her college career, she hopes to have broken Seattle Pacific’s school record in the 1500m that currently stands at 4:13. After that, well she does not know quite what she wants to do. “Right now the options are: continuing my running career (depending on how things go), teaching high school English, going to graduate school, or becoming a librarian. All I really know is that I like running and books, so I think my future will have something to do with those thing” she said. Races from the weekend of January 11-13 After a lovely break for the holidays, the 2008 indoor track and field season was in full swing this past weekend. Badger Track Class -Wisconsin-Parkside’s Jessica Lamp and Namoi Fulton took first and second in the mile run with the times of 5:02 and 5:04 at this unscored event. Joe Hilton Tar Heel Invitational-St. Augustine’s Sharif Nash took top honors in the men’s 60 meters with a time of 6.70. His teammate, Chris Cox won the 400ms in 48.71. St. Augustine’s Chayce Smith also won the mile in 4:25. PSAC East Challenge-Shippenburg’s women took the team award with 194 points followed by Kutztown with 156. West Chester’s Danielle Scardino tripled in the 55meters, 200ms, and 55 meter hurdles winning in 7.4 seconds ,26.29 and 8.34. Kutztown’s Doofan Tor-Agbidye won the 400 meters in 59.74. Shippenburg’s Abigail Huber won the 800m in 2:21 while her teammate Mary Dell won the mile in 5:12. Kutztown’s Steph Williams won 3,000 meters in 10:38. Bloomsburg’s Andrea Kellock won the 5,000 meters in 18:15. Shippenburg’s men took the team award with 219.5 points followed by Kutztown with 131 points. Cheyney’s Cyrus Wesley doubled in the 55 meters and 200 meters with times of 6.48 and 22.09. Shippenburg’s Joe Wagner won the 400m in 51.50. West Chester’s Matt Gordon won the 800m in 1:57. Millersville’s Adam Malloy won the mile in 4:32. Shippenburg’s Dillan Gracey won the 3,000m in 9:05. West Chester’s Tammy Pearson won the 5000m in 15:47. East Stroudsburg’s Russell Smith won the 55 meter hurdles in 7.72. MSU Alumni Meet Minnesota State sophomore sprinter Brittany Henderson (Milwaukee, Wis.) set a new MSU school record in the 60-meter dash Saturday at the MSU Alumni Open. Henderson also grabbed top honors in the 200-meter dash as she burned around the track with a time of 25.34. Junior pole vaulter Katelin Rains set another NCAA automatic mark in the pole vault, as she cleared 13 feet, 2 ¼ inches. Sophomore Kelsey Leonard finished first in the 500-meter run with a time a 1:20.99.Wayne State’s Kylie Herian won the 60 meters hurdles in 9.01. On the men’s side, MSU’s Josh Robertson won the high jump with 2.00m. His teammate James Krasja won the mile in the time of 4:10. MSU’s Sam Lance won the 800m in 1:56. MSU also grabbed the top two spots in the pole vault, as both senior Nick Wilson and freshman Bryan Atwood cleared 14 feet, 8 inches, with Wilson taking the top honors. MSU’s Senior Nate Pieper won the 400-meter run with a time of 49.45 and MSU’s Emmanuel Asamoa won the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.6 seconds. I’ll be back next week, same time and same place well if this 298 question coaching exam does not kill me first. Picture from Seattle Pacific’s athletic site