SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Jessica Pixler felt as if she could have kept running, even after crossing the finish line in Saturday's NCAA Division II cross country championships.
But there was no need. When the Seattle Pacific junior did cross the line, she was nearly half a minute in front of her closest challenger and way in front of most everyone else to capture her second straight national title.
Capping a season in which she came back from a major track injury, Pixler pulled away after the first mile of the 6,000-meter race at Cooper's Lake Campground and won easily, leading the Falcons to a fourth-place finish in the team standings on a cold morning that was speckled with snow flurries.
“It was really kind of amazing. Even at the end, I felt good,” said Pixler, whose time of 20 minutes, 59 seconds broke the two-week-old course record and made her the first woman to beat the 21-minute mark on the Cooper's Lake layout. “I had no idea how the race was going to go. I really had no plan going in it. My only plan was to give it my best shot.”
At the wire, Pixler (Sammamish, Wash., Eastlake HS) was 28 seconds in front of Shippensburg (Pa.) freshman Neely Spence, who was considered the primary challenger to Pixler. Spence, who ran 21:27 on Saturday, had set the previous course record of 21:09 when the won the Atlantic Regional meet on Nov. 8.
“This was my first time racing her. I had heard there was quite a bit of hype about her gong into the race,” Pixler said. “But I try not to worry too much about the competition. With cross country, you really can't tell based on people's times (because of the different courses).”
Pixler's performance helped the Falcons place fourth among the 24 teams with 194 points. Defending champion Adams State of Colorado won again, this time with 79 points. Grand Valley State was second with 102, and Western State took the third-place trophy with 183.
Among the teams the Falcons beat was Chico State, which had been ranked No. 1 in the West and won the West Regionals over SPU on Nov. 8 in La Jolla, Calif., 60-92. beat Chico finished seventh on Saturday with 241 points.
Falcons junior Jane Larson (Fall City, Wash., Cedar Park Christian HS) delivered another strong performance, finishing 12th. Natty Plunkett (Bellevue, Wash., Newport HS), who earned GNAC Freshman of the Year honors on Oct. 25, placed 40th. Junior Kate Harline (Orem, Utah) was 69th, junior Lisa Anderberg (Edmonds, Wash., Kamiak HS) was 72nd, senior Katie Hart (Pasadana, Calif.) placed 87th, and freshman Mary Williams (Lake Jackson, Texas) was 91st.
CLOSE, BUT ONLY FOR A WHILE
The race between Pixler and Spence was still close at the one-mile mark on a day marked by snow flurries and temperatures in the mid 20s at race time. But Pixler then took control and kept it the rest of the way.
“That's the first time I cried while watching someone run, just knowing what she had been through to get to this point,” Falcons coach Erika Daligcon said of Pixler's performance. “Just to see her run with freedom … it was poetry in motion.”
Daligcon was not surprised that Pixler eventually won by such a convincing margin.
“Over the last month, seeing her progressing, I really felt Jessica had a shot at doing that,” Daligco said. “It was just monitoring a few things her body had been giving her issues with -- shins and a tight back. But we went over it (on Friday), and she's such a competitor, I knew that if we took care of things that were in our control, she would be fine.”
After winning last year's NCAA cross country title in Joplin, Mo., Pixler suffered a fractured femur and fractures in her back during the indoor track season. She was sidelined for three months and missed the entire outdoor track season this past spring.
IMPRESSIVE RETURN
Pixler's return to competition came on Sept. 20 at the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle. She finished third in that race, trailing only two runners from the University of Washington, which currently is the favorite to win the NCAA Division I women's title on Monday in Terre Haute, Ind.
From there, Pixler went on to win the Triton Cross Country Classic in La Jolla, Calif., on Oct. 11, captured her third straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship on Oct. 25 in Naches, Wash., then won her second consecutive West Regional crown on Nov. 8 in La Jolla. At the Triton, she broke the UC San Diego course record, then shattered it again at the regionals, winning in 20:57.
Pixler was the first women to break 21 minutes on the La Jolla course, and her run on Saturday made her the first women to break 21 on the Slippery Rock course.
“I think this one meant a lot more than last year,” Pixler said in comparing her two NCAA crowns. “The whole race, it really felt like God was giving me this wonderful sense of peace and calm. It really meant a lot coming back from the injury.”
Of the seven Falcons who ran on Saturday, six of them (including Pixler) will return next fall.
“Except for Katie (Hart), these people have another year. We're real excited at the prospect of what can be,” Daligcon said.
NCAA Women's Cross Country
Division II Nationals
Saturday, November 22, 2008
6,000 meters at Cooper's Lake Campground, Slippery Rock, Pa.
Team scores -- 1, Adams State 79; 2, Grand Valley State 102; 3, Western State 183; 4, Seattle Pacific 194; 5, Augustana 203; 6, Shippensburg 212; 7, Chico State 241; 8, Minnesota-Duluth 249; 9, Alaska Anchorage 266; 10, Western Washington 301; 11, Slippery Rock 313; 12, Wayne State 323; 13, Cal State Los Angeles 324; 14, Tampa 334; 15, Midwestern State 335; 16, Missouri Southern 342; 17, Ferris State 381; 18, Pittsburg State 402; 19, Metropolitan State 441; 20, Harding 505; 21, Stonehill 582; 22, UMass Lowell 590; 23, Lees-McRae 670; 24, Augusta State 685.
Top 10 -- 1, Jessica Pixler (SPU) 20:59; 2, Neely Spence (Shippensburg) 21:27; 3, Shannon Payne (UC Colorado Springs) 21:29; 4, Heather Wood (Adams) 21:37; 5, Jessica Monson (Wis.-Parkside) 21:38; 6, Rachelle Malette (Wayne) 21:44; 7, Morgan Place (Minn.-Duluth) 21:49; 8, Vivien Wadeck (CSLA) 21:55; 9, Kimi Shank (Miss. Sthrn) 21:57; 10, Mary Ballinger (Sthrn Ind.) 21:58.
Other SPU placers -- 12, Jane Larson 22:02; 40, Natty Plunkett 23:02; 69, Kate Harline 23:36; 72, Lisa Anderberg 23:40; 87, Katie Hart 23:53; 91, Mary Williams 23:55.
