Jill (Theeler) Schlekeway - Inducted 2015
The 1997 Mitchell High grad blazed to three state records in an incredible final two years of high school track.
In 1997, she set state records in the 100 meters (11.66), 200 (24.27) and 400 (55.25). She won the 100, 200 and 400 and ran on the winning 1,600 relay at the state Class AA meet in 1996 and ’97, and she set state meet records in the 100, 200 and 400. Both years she was named the most outstanding female athlete of the meet, the state's High School Female Athlete of the Year by the S.D. Sportswriters Association and an All-American by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association.
At the 1995 state meet, she was runner-up in the 100, 200 and 400 and ran on the winning 1,600 relay.
She was a 14-time letterwinner at Mitchell: six in track, five in gymnastics and three in basketball. She helped the Kernel basketball team go unbeaten in 1994, and the 1995 team was state runner-up. She also helped the gymnastics team to two runner-up finishes.
At North Dakota State, she was a 12-time North Central Conference champion and a 19-time NCAA Division II All-American (in the open 400 plus the 400 and 1,600 relays). As a sophomore at NDSU, she won the 200, 400 and triple jump and ran on winning 400 and 1,600 relays as the Bison won the 1999 NCC outdoor meet. She was part of the national champion 1,600 relay team as NDSU won the 2002 national indoor title. In 2002, she received a number of national academic honors as well: NCAA Woman of the Year for North Dakota, NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Woody Hayes National Scholar Athlete Award and the Verizon Track/Cross Country Academic All-American of the Year. She also was the recipient of two NCAA postgraduate scholarships.
She began her career as an athletic administrator in 2002, interning with the North Central Conference, the NCAA and the University of Washington before spending a year as compliance coordinator at Southern Cal. She was an associate athletic director at USD for five years. She now is the community relations coordinator in the Augustana College athletic department.
