ALBUQUERQUE -- She wasn't racing on a full tank. But even then, Jessica Pixler had more fuel than anyone else.
The Seattle Pacific senior ran to her fourth consecutive NCAA Division II indoor mile championship on Saturday afternoon at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Pixler posted a time of 4 minutes, 46.42 seconds, pulling away from Alexis Skarda of Mesa State on the fifth of the eight laps.
No one else has won four straight titles in that event. And Pixler did it after coming from way behind on her 1,600-meter anchor leg to help Seattle Pacific win the 4,000-meter distance medley relay on Friday night, about 20 hours prior to Saturday afternoon's mile final.
“I really didn't have a lot left,” she said. “I had a pretty good race plan going into (the mile), and I just wanted to make sure I executed my plan, which I did. So it ended up working out just fine. I was able t give myself enough of a lead, so that if I didn't feel good on the last two laps, I would be OK.”
Pixler acknowledged that she was indeed starting to feel the fatigue when those last couple of laps still to go. But if her energy was running low, her confidence definitely was not.
“I had set a pace, and I knew if I could stick on that set pace, I should be able to win it,” she said. “If there had been someone with me, I would have been able to pull it out.”
Monica Kinney of Grand Valley wound up second in 4:50.48, out-leaning SPU senior Jane Larson at the wire for second place. Larson, who had finished second to Pixler the past two years, was third in 4:50.74.
“It was a tough one,” said Larson, who led off Friday's victorious distance medley relay effort with the 1,200-meter leg. “But every time I come to a big meet like this, I'm always running to win it. I was going into the race with that goal. The race actually played out like I thought it would -- Jessica taking it out, and one of the younger runners going with her. And that kind of helped me at the end.
“It didn't come together like I hoped,” Larson added. “At the same time, I felt I was able to run a smart race and pick up in the second half, try to use my kick in the end, and came back when I needed to.”
Pixler and Mesa State's Skarda quickly went to the front of the nine-runner field on Saturday. Skarda hung close with Pixler through the first three laps. Pixler started to open up some distance on Lap 4, then took clear command early in Lap 5.
"It was a pretty dominant performance," Lerum said. "She came out and was intentional and confident from the start, and just controlled the race. She showed herself as a four-time national champion.
"She definitely left it on the track (Friday) night, but was able to take care of herself and come back,” Lerum added.
In addition to it being her fourth indoor mile championship, it was Pixler's 10th individual NCAA crown and now her 11th overall, including the distance medley relay.
“The focus was on the DMR -- and that was probably the best race of my career,” Pixler said. “There's nothing like running in a relay. The mile the next day was kind of survival tactics. I ran way below empty the night before. On Saturday, I just needed to get out there and needed to run smart and take care of business.
“So I took care of business.”
Seattle Pacific finished seventh in the team standings with 26 points. Defending champion Lincoln of Missouri repeated, tallying 56.
