May 8, 2008

GREELEY, Colo. -- Jessie Schoepflin isn't just fast. She's smart, too.

Her eight triples led the Bears this season and ranked eighth among all NCAA Division I players, but the Bears sophomore received an academic honor today when she earned an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII First-Team selection from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Schoepflin is majoring in visual arts at Northern Colorado and has a 3.93 cumulative GPA. She is just one of two sophomores to be placed on the this year's District VII first team, joining Creighton pitcher Tara Oltman.

To be eligible for selection, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with a minimum 3.20 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) for their career. The athlete also must have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution.

With her district selection, Schoepflin will now be forwarded to the national ballot, where she will have a chance to earn academic all-america honors. Voting for that award is done by a committee of sports-information directors across the country and will begin on Tuesday, May 13.

The honor caps Schoepflin's stellar second season with the Bears. She started all 52 games for Northern Colorado this season, and she ended the year second on the team in batting average (.343) after leading the squad with a single-season school-record 59 hits. Her 17 stolen bases and 84 total bases were also tops on the team. Defensively, she committed just six errors.

DISTRICT VII FIRST TEAM

• Kelly Cantrell, North Dakota State, Jr., 3.29, Art
  
• Colleen McGlaughlin, Iowa, Jr., 4.0, Actuarial science
  
• Valerie Chapple, Kansas, Jr., 4.0, Secondary education/physics
  
• Megan McDonald, S.E. Missouri State, Sr., 3.62, Communication disorders
  
• Amanda Renth, Missouri, Sr., 3.62, Biomedical Engineering
  
• Jessica Wakasugi, Creighton, Jr., 3.60, Business entrepreneurship
  
• Samantha Heinzman, South Dakota State, Jr., 3.73, Business economics
  
• Jessica Schoepflin, Northern Colorado, So., 3.93, Visual arts
  
• Molly Hill, Nebraska, Jr., 4.00, Speech-language pathology
  
• Tara Oltman, Creighton, So., 4.0, English/secondary education
  
• Aimee Enzler, North Dakota State, Sr., 3.81, Physical education/adapted P.E.