Former Seneca Valley standout runner Ruth Mick, right, crosses the finish line during the WPIAL Cross Country Championships in 2000. Butler Eagle File Photo

Contributing to a team was Ruth (Mick) Mischler’s main focus as a high school athlete. In the process, she left a deep imprint on two programs at Seneca Valley.

She qualified for the WPIAL and PIAA championship meets all four years in both cross country and track and field. At the time of her graduation in 2002, she held the school record in the 800-meter run.

“Cross country is running on trails and through the woods, and I enjoyed that more than just running around the track,” Mischler said. “But the track and field team was much bigger. There were the sprinters, the hurdlers, the throwers and jumpers ... and I loved the camaraderie with my teammates and the coaches.”

Her incredibly consistent career earned Mischler induction into the SV Sports Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024.

She said she always enjoyed running, but was provided structure while at Connoquenessing Valley Elementary School when teacher Drew Kysel formed a youth team. She went on to join another team in sixth grade that was, according to Mischler “somewhat competitive, but more casual.”

After running in junior high, she was primed for a strong freshman season in both sports. She was named MVP of SV’s cross country team in the fall of 1998, her first varsity season. She would receive the honor again as a junior and senior.

“I remember having pretty lofty goals that year, but it was still very exciting for me to do well enough at districts to make the state meet in the fall and spring,” Mischler said. “In track, I ran the 800 and both distance relays. I really liked the team aspect of relays but was willing to do whatever the team needed.

“It was a great atmosphere, everybody striving to do their best.”

Mischler’s head coaches were Randy Huey in cross country and Wayne Roccia in track. Current head track coach Ray Peaco was her distance running coach.

“Coach Peaco was really good about helping us set goals and holding us to it,” she said. “If he sees potential in an athlete, he wants them to know that if they work hard, good things are attainable.”

In the spring of her junior year, Mischler broke the school record in the 800 with a time of 2 minutes, 16.43 seconds. It was nearly five seconds faster than the previous standard.

Mischler earned an athletic scholarship to Lipscomb University, a Division I school in Nashville. She won an Atlantic Sun Conference championship in the 800 her senior year, set school records in the 800 and steeplechase and became the first Lipscomb runner to qualify for NCAA Cross Country Regionals.

But when asked what stands out most for her nearly 20 years after competing in college, Mischler focused on an impressive feat for the cross country team.

“We were named NCAA All-Academic in 2005 and had the highest GPA of any cross country team in the U.S.,” she said. “I’m really proud of that. We took being students very seriously.”

Mischler, who is a professor at Goshen College in Indiana, has remained active. She ran in the Boston Marathon in 2008.

“I do a lot of recreational running,” she said. “Staying active is still a part of my life.”

Of her hall of fame induction, Mischler said: “It had been so long since I was at the high school. It was good to go back and see all the changes on campus. I’m so honored to be chosen for the hall of fame.

“I have to thank my parents, Stevie and Joann, my brother and sister, Stephen and Teri, and my grandmother, Kathleen, who still lives in Portersville. My family has always been so supportive of me.”