Gibson, McMillen named Zaxby's Athletes of the Week

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University guard Trenton Gibson and cross country runner Nicole McMillen have been named the Zaxby's Athletes of the Week.  McMillen earns this honor for a fourth time this fall.

Gibson, a sophomore from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, recorded the second triple-double in program history as he tallied 17 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in TU's 93-63 season-opening win over 2019 NCAA II Tournament participant USC Aiken. 

Gibson averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game as he led the Pioneers to a 2-0 record to start the 2019-2020 campaign.  He also chipped in 12 points, six rebounds and two assists in TU's 78-61 win over Clayton State.

In the USC Aiken game, the 2019 SAC Freshman of the Year sparked a 27-2 run and dished out 11 assists in the second half alone.

McMillen, a graduate student from Pickering, Ontario, qualified for the NCAA II National Championship following her second-place finish at the Southeast Regional on Saturday. She becomes the first TU runner since Amanda Musick (Hale) in 2003 and 2004 to earn a trip to nationals in consecutive years.

McMillen, who won the South Atlantic Conference championship on the same course two weeks earlier, crossed the line in 21:02.1 over the six-kilometer course to cut 35 seconds off her time from the conference championship meet.

McMillen, who was also honored as All-Region for her performance, now has four wins and two runner-up finishes in six races this season, and has eight top-five results in nine career starts. She was fifth at regionals last season and went on to a 59th-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Championship.

The Tusculum University Athlete of the Week Award is sponsored by Zaxby's, located at 3280 Andrew Johnson Highway in Greeneville.  The Zaxby's Athlete of the Week Award honors one male and one female athlete each week from an in-season sport.

2019-2020 Zaxby's Athletes of the Week