Seattle Pacific's NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners (PDF)

SEATTLE – Add Kelsey Jenkins and Natty Plunkett to the ever-growing list of Seattle Pacific NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners.
 
The two Falcon seniors – Jenkins a top-flight women's soccer player, Plunkett a star distance runner on the cross country and track teams – were among those on the list of recipients announced by the NCAA.
 
They become the 31^st and 32^nd SPU athletes since 1981 to earn the postgrad scholarships, which currently are valued at $7,500.
 
In the classroom, Jenkins (Kent, Wash./Kentwood HS) has an almost-perfect GPA, carrying a 3.94 as a political science major.
 
On the field, she has been a driving force behind Seattle Pacific's annual participation in the NCAA Tournament. Last fall, Jenkins tallied four goals (three of them game-winners) and racked up a team-high 11 assists in 20 games. The Falcons went 17-3-0 overall, including 13-1-0 in GNAC play to win the conference crown for the third year in a row.
 
Jenkins set up two of SPU's goals in a 4-0 rout of Grand Canyon in the first round of the NCAAs in Los Angeles. During her four years, she started 64 of the 81 games in which she played, recording 17 goals (nine game-winners) and 23 assists for 57 points.
 
This past fall, Jenkins was voted to the Daktronics All-American third team, and was a first-team All-West Region choice for both Daktronics and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. She is a three-time GNAC All-Academic selection and also has been named to the CoSiDA Academic All-District squad.
 
“Kelsey is a very intelligent and talented young lady,” Falcons head coach Chuck Sekyra said. “She's so efficient at everything she does – and that's very impressive.”
 
Plunkett (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) also has a near-perfect GPA, sporting a 3.97 as a psychology major, and already has started graduate-level work.
 
She has been a steady, reliable contributor to the Falcons' success, both on the trails and on the track. Last fall, she won both the long-course and short-course races at the season-opening Alaska Nanook Invitational cross country meet, then placed seventh at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships and 23^rd at the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships.
 
Plunkett earned All-GNAC recognition for the third time in four years, having been the Freshman of the Year in 2008. She was an All-Region selection for finishing in the top 25 at that meet in Spokane, and was one of the five scorers when SPU brought home fourth-place trophies from the NCAA national meet in 2008 and 2009.
 
“That award couldn't go to a finer individual who is really such a great example of what being a student-athlete is all about,” head cross country and assistant track coach Erika Daligcon said. “She's already in grad school and is continuing to participate in collegiate sports and being a team captain. She's really showing that this is well deserved.”
 
Plunkett is a three-time GNAC All-Academic and CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, has been named an academic All-American by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for four straight years.