Mitchell, McMillen named Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month for January

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University forward Brandon Mitchell and distance runner Nicole McMillen have been named the Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month for January.

Mitchell, a junior from Virginia Beach, Virginia, averaged 12 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocked shots per game in the Pioneers' eight games in the month.  Four of his team-leading six double-doubles came in January, including his 18 points and career-high 17 rebounds in TU's 70-54 home win over Anderson on Jan. 4. In that game, he matched a career-best with six blocked shots. Mitchell closed out the month last Wednesday matching his season-high with 19 points to go along with 10 boards in a 77-70 road victory at Lenoir-Rhyne.

He is third on the team in scoring (10.0 ppg – 28^th in SAC) and is TU's top rebounder posting 8.1 boards per contest (3^rd in SAC) and is the league's leader in blocked shots with 2.32 rejections per game (12^th in SAC).

McMillen set two South Atlantic Conference records and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships in both the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters during competition in January for the Pioneers. On Jan. 18, McMillen won the 5,000 meters at the Gamecock Opener on the campus of the University of South Carolina, running 17:01.33 to break her own school record of 18:20.47. Her winning time also broke the conference record of 17:10.78 set in 2018, and broke the facility record as well. On Jan. 31, the Pickering, Ontario native won the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:39.38, breaking her own school and facility record of 10:01.77 and the SAC record of 9:48.65 set in 2018.

McMillen, who won the mile and was second in the 3,000 meters at last year's SAC Indoor Championships, is currently ranked sixth in Division II in the 3,000 meters and 13th in the 5,000 meters. She is a six-time SAC gold medalist spanning cross country, indoor track and outdoor track, and is the reigning SAC Cross Country Runner of the Year and SAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Meet.

The Tusculum Student-Athlete of the Month Award is sponsored by Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar of Greeneville.  The Applebee's Student-Athlete of the Month Award honors one male and one female student-athlete each month from an in-season sport during the 2019-2020 academic year, recognizing their hard work, effort and performance.

2019-2020 Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month