Pixler, Spevak 2009-10 GNAC Athletes-of-the-Year

Spevak	Pixler

Seattle Pacific's Jessica Pixler, who won four national titles in three sports and was selected the NCAA Division II National Athlete of the Year in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field, has been selected the 2009-10 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Female Athlete of the Year.

Central Washington football standout Johnny Spevak won the GNAC Male Athlete of the Year. It is the second year in a row a CWU football player has won that award. CWU quarterback Mike Reilly was the 2009 winner.

The awards are voted upon by the athletic directors at the GNAC's nine member institutions. Pixler also won the GNAC Athlete-of-the-Year award in her freshman (2006-07) and junior seasons (2008-09) and is the only athlete to win that award more than once.

Last fall Pixler won her fourth straight GNAC cross country title, her fourth straight regional title and her third straight national title becoming the first female in Division II history to win three individual titles and only the third in any division to accomplish that feat.

She won the conference title in a time of 21:03, then added regional and national titles in times of 20:08.9 and 20:22.6. Both her conference and regional times established course records.

Last winter, she won her fourth straight NCAA Indoor national title in the mile in a time of 4:46.42 and also led the Falcons to a national title in the distance medley relay. She ran the anchor leg as the Falcons posted a winning time of 11:29.88.

In the indoor conference meet, she won the 800 meters and mile in meet-record times of 2:08.28 and 4:40.39, respectively, and also led SPU to a conference title in the distance medley relay in a time of 11:36.32.

This spring she won the 1500 meters at the NCAA national meet – her 12 th career national title - with a time of 4:15.43 after earlier sweeping the 800 and 1500 meters at the conference meet with meet-record times of 2:06.38 and 4:24.01 and anchoring SPU to a win the 4x400 relay in a time of 3:53.78.

In addition to winning 12 national titles including three in cross country, six in indoor track and three in outdoor track, she won 10 career GNAC Athlete-of-the-Year awards, including four in cross country (2006-09), four in Indoor Track and Field (2007-10) and two in Outdoor Track and Field (2007, 2010). She also set conference records during the regular-season in the 800 meters (2:04.89), 1500 (4:11.06) and 5000 (15:44.07).

Spevak, who was also a four-year starter and an outstanding defensive player for CWU's basketball team between 2005-06 and 2008-09, capped a brilliant football career last fall, nearly leading the Wildcats to a berth in the NCAA Division II national semifinals. CWU's only loss of the season was a 21-20 heartbreaker to eventually national champion Northwest Missouri State in the quarterfinals.