Ball State University Athletics
Scully Earns Academic All-District Accolades
June 01, 2006 | Track & Field
Ball State graduate student Jill Scully (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) has been selected to the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Her name will now be placed on the national ballot for Academic All-America to be voted upon and released later this month. A first-time recipient of Academic All-District honors, Scully is one of just three Mid-American Conference athletes to earn first-team all-district recognition. She is also one of only three student-athletes from a university in the state of Indiana to be named to the Academic All-District V First Team.
The Academic All-District Team is voted on by members of CoSIDA from District V, which includes all NCAA Division I universities in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin. To qualify, student-athletes must be of at least sophomore academic status, own a minimum grade-point average of 3.20 and be a key member of their respective teams.
A four-year letterwinner in indoor and outdoor track & field plus cross country and a two-year captain in all three sports, Scully was honored last month as the Mid-American Conference's Outdoor Track & Field Most Outstanding Performer after successfully defending her 2005 league crowns in both the 10,000 and 5,000 meter runs. Her four titles over the two-year span earned her First-Team All-MAC accolades both seasons. Scully also reaped 2005 and 2006 MAC Indoor Track & Field Most Outstanding Performer honors after capturing league championships in the 3,000 and 5,000 both years. She was also a recipient of First-Team All-MAC honors both seasons in indoor track & field.
Scully is a two-time recipient of All-MAC distinction in cross country. She was runner-up at the 2004 MAC Championship, qualified for the NCAA Regional meet -- where she finished 10th -- and then later competed in the NCAA Championship event -- where she posted a 52nd-place finish. She was also runner-up at the 2003 MAC meet, when Ball State captured its first-ever league crown.
Scully has automatically qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the second-straight season in the 10,000. She earned a 16th-place finish in the event in 2005. Her career-best 33.54.67 mark -- the fastest ever for a MAC runner -- achieved earlier this spring at Stanford, gives her the 16th-best time in the nation this spring heading into next week's NCAA Championship. Scully fell short of her bid to qualify for the NCAA's premier meet in two events with a ninth-place finish in the 5,000 at last weekend's NCAA Regional Qualifier. She will represent Ball State in the 10,000 Thursday, June 8 at the NCAA Championship at the Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif.
"This is another huge accomplishment for Jill," BSU head track & field and cross country coach Sue Parks said. "To be recognized among an outstanding list of winners from this district is a tribute to the remarkable career Jill has had in both track and cross country. She has been able to successfully juggle the challenge of both academics and athletics. She works incredibly hard at everything she does and I cannot think of a more deserving person. Without a doubt, Jill is one of the most decorated student-athletes to ever compete in our program."
A three-time Academic All-MAC selection in track and cross country, Scully graduated in December with a 3.53 GPA as a mathematics education major. She posted a 3.89 mark this spring in her first semester of graduate school.
The Academic All-District V First Team is rounded out by Cassie Hunt of Illinois; Sara O'Mara of Illinois-Chicago; Liz Podominick of Minnesota; Stacey Cowan, Maryann Erigha and Stephanie Madia of Notre Dame; Amber Ferner of Purdue; Amarachi Ukabam of Southern Illinois and Katrina Rundhaug of Wisconsin-Madison.
