SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University distance runner Michaela Freeby ('15) has been named to the 2014-15 Northwest Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team. The award honors the top male and female athlete from each NWC college and university based on athletic, academic and community achievement.

Football player Jack Nelson ('15) of Willamette also received All-Academic First Team honors.

Freeby, from Milwaukie, Oregon and Rex Putnam High School, competed in cross country as well as track and field all four years for the Bearcats and was a team captain each year in both sports. This year, she placed fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships to earn All-America status.

It was the second time Freeby registered All-America honors in the steeplechase in four trips to the NCAA Championships. She also placed fourth in the nation in 2013. She was 13th in 2012 and placed 17th in 2014 despite an injury.

Freeby won NWC titles in the steeplechase three times (2012, 2013, 2015) and was the NWC champion in the 1,500-meter run in 2014. She led the nation in the steeplechase during the regular season this spring with a time of 10:30.09 at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival. She ranks second on WU's all-time list.

In cross country, Freeby received All-America recognition in 2012 when she took eighth place at the NCAA Championships. She also competed for Willamette at the NCAA Championships in 2011, 2013 and 2014. She was named West Region Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 2013 after earning first place at the NCAA West Regional.

She placed second at the West Regional in 2014 and took ninth place in 2011 and 2012. She won the NWC individual title in 2013, placed third in 2012 and 2014, and was fifth in 2011.

Freeby was chosen as the Jean Williams Award winner for 2014-15. The Williams Award goes to the top senior female student-athlete at Willamette each year. She has been nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

At Willamette, Freeby majored in Biology with a minor in German. She recorded a 3.44 cumulative grade point average. She was named First Team Capital One Academic All-District VIII for 2014-15 in cross country/track and field. She earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors all four years in both sports.

Freeby helped Gladstone Elementary School (Oregon) as a classroom reorganization volunteer in 2014 and participated as a school lunch program volunteer in 2012. She was an organizer and volunteer with the Talbert Run 5k/10k in 2013. She also contributed to SOLVE beach clean-up efforts in 2013. She helped organize Bearcat Day for Bush Elementary Students (Salem) at Willamette in 2012 and 2013.