University of Arizona Athletics

July 15, 2010

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).

A graduate student with a 4.00 G.P.A. while studying Fluid Dynamics, Schluntz is the Academic All-America® of the Year in the University Division. She 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 with an average G.P.A. of 3.79.

An English major with a 3.93 G.P.A., Pixler was honored as the Academic All-America® of the Year in the College Division. She 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 G.P.A. of 3.94.

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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 G.P.A. while studying Fluid Dynamics. In 2009, she graduated from Arizona with a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering and a perfect 4.00 G.P.A. 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."

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, she was also honored as the GNAC Athlete of the Year in indoor track four times and won the outdoor track award twice.

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 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."

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."

Former recipients of Academic All-America® of the Year honors include 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.

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:

            Dan O'Connell, Towson University  (doconnell@towson.edu)          (410) 704-3102

            Academic All-America ® Vice-Chair For Publicity/Communications