Nebraska Wesleyan University track & field athlete Jackie Spelts was one of 29 women in the nation in all divisions selected to receive a $7,500 postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA for the spring 2010-11 sports season.

Nebraska Wesleyan now has 42 athletes that have earned NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, which is fifth among Division III schools. In the past five years, NWU student-athletes have earned the scholarship 14 times with 12 of those award winners being coached by Dr. Ted Bulling in cross country, indoor & outdoor track & field.

Spelts (Burwell, Neb.) graduated with a 3.83 GPA as a Health & Fitness Studies major. Spelts was a three-time All-American during her track & field and cross country career at NWU. She was unable to compete during the 2011 outdoor track season due to injury.

In 2010 she earned her first All-American honor in track & field by placing seventh in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA III Outdoor Championships. She won four GPAC individual titles in 2010, two in 2009 and one in 2008 during her outstanding track career. She earned 11 All-GPAC awards, holds five school records and appears on 12 all-time charts in track.

In cross country, Spelts was a two-time All-American earning the honor in 2008 and 2009. As a junior she placed fifth at the NCAA III Championships, which was the highest ever finish for a NWU women’s cross country runner. She was named the Journal Star State College Female Athlete of the Year in 2010.

Fifty-eight scholarships (29 men and 29 women) were awarded to spring sports participants in all three NCAA divisions.

To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must meet minimum GPA requirements and have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which he or she was nominated. The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.