Jessica Parker Earns Marquette’s Prestigious 72nd McCahill Award
1/10/2019 11:36:00 AM | General, Cross Country, Track & Field
Former cross country/track & field athlete honored for her success in athletics, scholarship and service
MILWAUKEE – Former Marquette University women's cross country and track and field student-athlete Jessica Parker is the recipient of the 72nd Robert L. and William P. McCahill Award, the highest honor bestowed upon an MU student-athlete.
She will be honored at the Marquette men's basketball game against Creighton (2 p.m. CT) at Fiserv Forum on Sunday, March 3.
Parker is the fifth cross country student-athlete to be honored and first since Brianna Dahm in 2005. She is also the 11th track and field athlete to be honored and joins Tatyana Pashibin as the second such honoree in the past three years.
"It is always an incredible challenge to select one senior out of such an impressive group of student-athletes," said Marquette Vice President and Director of Athletics Bill Scholl. "Of course, it means the honoree for our most prestigious award is truly special. Jessica certainly fits that description. Her contributions as an athlete are stellar, as are her accomplishments in the classroom and in the community. The list of prior winners reads like a who's who of Marquette athletics. Jessica's addition to the group is truly well deserved."
The Neenah, Wisconsin, native was voted a team co-captain in each of her final two seasons with the cross country and track and field programs and helped lead Marquette to a pair of indoor and outdoor BIG EAST Conference team titles – the first-ever league championships for the program.
"Jessica made a tremendous impact on our program, not only as an athlete, but as a student and a leader as well," said Marquette cross country head coach and track and field assistant Mike Nelson. "She was our number one runner in cross country on multiple occasions as well as a school record holder on the track. She was a two-time NCAA qualifier and was involved in multiple community service projects, including service trips abroad.
"She did all of this while maintaining an outstanding GPA. We couldn't possibly ask more of a student-athlete. She completely embodies everything that the McCahill Award stands for. She and her family made a lasting impression on Marquette and we're all better off because she was a part of our program."
Parker is the current school record holder in both the indoor and outdoor 800 meters, while ranking fourth in the indoor mile and outdoor 1,500 meters, and fifth in the indoor 600 meters.
She was a combined seven-time All-BIG EAST honoree during indoor and outdoor competitions and qualified for the NCAA West Prelims in the 800-meter run twice during her career, advancing as far as the quarterfinals during her junior season in 2017.
In the classroom, Parker graduated with honors (cum laude), compiling a 3.56 GPA while majoring in biomedical sciences with minors in neuroscience and psychology. She was a three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic individual honoree and a four-time BIG EAST All-Academic award recipient.
She was actively involved within the community, volunteering as a patient care companion at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center and serving as a peer mentor to a freshman student-athlete. Last January, Parker assisted in a three-day, free medical clinic for community members in Nicaragua where she worked in triage and built sanitation stations for rural families in order to minimize disease.
About the Robert L. and William P. McCahill Award:
The McCahill Award was named after Captain Robert L. McCahill, a former Marquette student-athlete who gave his life for his country at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II in 1945. Established by his brother, Colonel William P. McCahill, also an MU student-athlete, the award was first presented in 1946 and has been awarded annually as the highest honor bestowed upon a Marquette student-athlete.
After Colonel McCahill's death in 1999, Marquette University officially renamed the award to recognize the lifetime accomplishments of both Captain Robert and Colonel William McCahill.
The award is given annually to a student-athlete who has achieved in athletics, scholarship, and service to the university.
Past recipients of the award include Olympic silver medalist John Bennett (1954), two-time NBA All-Star Don Kojis (1961), Naismith Award-winner Butch Lee (1978), and NCAA 10,000-meter run champion Keith Hanson (1986).
She will be honored at the Marquette men's basketball game against Creighton (2 p.m. CT) at Fiserv Forum on Sunday, March 3.
Parker is the fifth cross country student-athlete to be honored and first since Brianna Dahm in 2005. She is also the 11th track and field athlete to be honored and joins Tatyana Pashibin as the second such honoree in the past three years.
"It is always an incredible challenge to select one senior out of such an impressive group of student-athletes," said Marquette Vice President and Director of Athletics Bill Scholl. "Of course, it means the honoree for our most prestigious award is truly special. Jessica certainly fits that description. Her contributions as an athlete are stellar, as are her accomplishments in the classroom and in the community. The list of prior winners reads like a who's who of Marquette athletics. Jessica's addition to the group is truly well deserved."
The Neenah, Wisconsin, native was voted a team co-captain in each of her final two seasons with the cross country and track and field programs and helped lead Marquette to a pair of indoor and outdoor BIG EAST Conference team titles – the first-ever league championships for the program.
"Jessica made a tremendous impact on our program, not only as an athlete, but as a student and a leader as well," said Marquette cross country head coach and track and field assistant Mike Nelson. "She was our number one runner in cross country on multiple occasions as well as a school record holder on the track. She was a two-time NCAA qualifier and was involved in multiple community service projects, including service trips abroad.
"She did all of this while maintaining an outstanding GPA. We couldn't possibly ask more of a student-athlete. She completely embodies everything that the McCahill Award stands for. She and her family made a lasting impression on Marquette and we're all better off because she was a part of our program."
Parker is the current school record holder in both the indoor and outdoor 800 meters, while ranking fourth in the indoor mile and outdoor 1,500 meters, and fifth in the indoor 600 meters.
She was a combined seven-time All-BIG EAST honoree during indoor and outdoor competitions and qualified for the NCAA West Prelims in the 800-meter run twice during her career, advancing as far as the quarterfinals during her junior season in 2017.
In the classroom, Parker graduated with honors (cum laude), compiling a 3.56 GPA while majoring in biomedical sciences with minors in neuroscience and psychology. She was a three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic individual honoree and a four-time BIG EAST All-Academic award recipient.
She was actively involved within the community, volunteering as a patient care companion at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center and serving as a peer mentor to a freshman student-athlete. Last January, Parker assisted in a three-day, free medical clinic for community members in Nicaragua where she worked in triage and built sanitation stations for rural families in order to minimize disease.
About the Robert L. and William P. McCahill Award:
The McCahill Award was named after Captain Robert L. McCahill, a former Marquette student-athlete who gave his life for his country at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II in 1945. Established by his brother, Colonel William P. McCahill, also an MU student-athlete, the award was first presented in 1946 and has been awarded annually as the highest honor bestowed upon a Marquette student-athlete.
After Colonel McCahill's death in 1999, Marquette University officially renamed the award to recognize the lifetime accomplishments of both Captain Robert and Colonel William McCahill.
The award is given annually to a student-athlete who has achieved in athletics, scholarship, and service to the university.
Past recipients of the award include Olympic silver medalist John Bennett (1954), two-time NBA All-Star Don Kojis (1961), Naismith Award-winner Butch Lee (1978), and NCAA 10,000-meter run champion Keith Hanson (1986).
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