Four Bearcats are Academic All-District in Women's Track & Field/Cross Country

Four Bearcats are Academic All-District in Women's Track & Field/Cross Country
June 8, 2023

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, Ore. -- Four student-athletes on the Willamette University women's track and field team, including one who also competed in cross country, have been named to the 2022-23 NCAA Division III Academic All-District Women's Track and Field/Cross Country Team as chosen by the College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly CoSIDA). Willamette's Academic All-District selections were Leila Fischer (Jr., Wenatchee, WA/Wenatchee HS), Abigail House (So., Oakland, OR/Oakland HS), Avery Mickelsen (Sr., Ephrata, WA/Ephrata HS), Sami Riggs (Sr., La Verne, CA/Bonita HS).

All of the Academic All-District selections are eligible for the College Sports Communicators NCAA Division III Academic All-America Men's Track and Field/Cross Country Team, which will be announced on June 29. Players nominated for the CSC All-District Team were starters or key reserves with cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Each nominated student-athlete was at their current college or university for at least one academic year.

Willamette's track and field teams had a strong season. The Bearcats won individual Northwest Conference championships in the men's pole vault and the women's high jump. Nine Bearcats received All-NWC recognition for top three finishes in individual or relay events. Whitley Stepp (Fy., Silverton, OR/Regis HS) was named NWC Women's Co-Rookie of the Meet and later competed at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Three WU athletes were chosen All-West Region. 

NCAA Division III Academic All-District

Headshot of Leila Fischer Leila Fischer (Jr.) competed in cross country and track field for the Bearcats. In cross country, she placed 48th at the 2022 NWC Championships in a personal record of 24:58.0 for 6 kilometers. She set a personal record for 5 kilometers at 20:34.0 during the Lewis-Clark State Invite on Oct. 8, 2022. She registered a career-best 4K of 17:20.3 at the Ash Creek meet on Sept. 10, 2021. In track and field this spring, she set personal records of 2:23.62 in the 800-meter run at the Willamette vs. Corban Dual on March 23, in the 1,500-meter run at 5:03.91 in the Pacific Open on April 1, and in the 5,000-meter run at 20:44.70 during the Willamette Opener on March 4. She placed third in the 800 at the WU vs. Corban meet.

Fischer was inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma student-athlete honor society this spring. She presented a poster with two other students at Student Scholarship Research Day in 2022 about Soil Acidification in Agriculture and presented with three other students at SSRD in 2021 regarding an Oak Salvage Project. Fischer is double majoring in Environmental Science and Chemistry. She ended the 2022 fall semester with a 3.84 cumulative GPA.

Headshot of Abigail House Abigail House (Jr.) set a personal record in the shot put this season with a toss of 32' 11" to take second place at the Willamette vs. Corban Dual on March 23. A bit earlier, she was third in the shot put with a toss of 32' 4.25" at the 2023 Willamette. She recorded her career-best hammer throw of 120' 4" at the Willamette vs. Corban Dual in 2022. Her personal-best mark in the discus was 96' 3" at the Willamette vs. Corban Dual in 2021.

House was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma in 2023. She is working toward a double major in Global Cultural Studies as well as Politics, Policy, Law and Ethics. She has a 3.63 cumulative GPA and is planning to complete a minor in Archaeology.

Headshot of Avery Mickelsen Avery Mickelsen (Grad.) was eighth in the hammer throw with a distance of 125' 11" at the 2023 NWC Track and Field Championships. She set a personal record of 109' 9" in the discus throw at the John Knight Twilight on April 7, 2023 and was second in the discus at 100' 11" during the Willamette vs. Corban Dual on March 23, 2023. She earned her career best in the hammer throw of 132' 1" at the West Coast Invite in 2019.

She was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma in 2022. She served as a member of the Willamette SAAC Executive Board.

Mickelsen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Religious Studies in 2002 and completed an MBA degree at the Atkinson Graduate School of Management this spring. She achieved a 3.77 undergraduate GPA and a 3.92 graduated GPA.

Headshot of Sami Riggs Sami Riggs (Sr.) earned second place in the 400-meter dash at the 2023 NWC Championships in a personal record of 57.82 seconds. She also helped the 4 x 100-meter relay team (49.83) and the 4 x 400-meter relay (4:04.14) take third place at the NWC Meet in 49.83 second and 4:04.14, respectively. Riggs was named First Team All-NWC in all three events. She set a career-best time of 25.97 second in the 200-meter dash at the John Knight Twilight this spring. She placed fourth in the 400-meter dash in 59.99 seconds at the 2022 NWC Championships. She was sixth in the 200-meter dash in 26.63 seconds and sixth in the 400-meter dash in 1:00.37 at the 2021 NWC Meet.

Riggs also was guard on the women's basketball team all four years, and received Second Team All-NWC honors this season. She graduated this year with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Health Science and a minor in Psychology. She held a 3.62 cumulative GPA at the conclusion of the 2022 fall semester.