ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum University distance runner Nicole McMillen has been named the 2020 recipient of the South Atlantic Conference Elite 20 Award for the sport of women's outdoor track and field, league officials announced Thursday.
The SAC Elite 20 Award honors the student-athlete with the top grade point average (based on a minimum of 48 credit hours) in each of the league's 20 team championship sports.
McMillen, a native of Pickering, Ontario, is a graduate student in business administration after graduating last spring with a degree in business management while carrying a cumulative 3.922 grade point average. McMillen is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Dean's List, President's List, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List and the Alpha Chi Honors Society.
McMillen was honored as the SAC Women's Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year and the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as the Southeast Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year after winning three gold medals at the SAC Indoor Track & Field Championships and setting four school and conference records during the 2019-20 indoor season. She was scheduled to run in two events at the NCAA Division II Indoor championships prior to the meet's cancellation.
McMillen helped the Pioneers to a third-place finish in the team standings at the SAC Indoor Championships, winning the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters and running the anchor leg in the gold-medal winning distance medley relay for the Pioneers. During the season, McMillen set school and conference records in the mile, 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters.
Last spring, McMillen was the SAC Outdoor Championships Women's Track Athlete of the Meet after winning gold in the 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters and steeplechase. She earned All-America honors in the steeplechase last year with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
In the fall, McMillen was honored as SAC Runner of the Year and Scholar-Athlete in women's cross country after winning the conference championship and finishing second at the Southeast Regional meet. McMillen, who had four wins and two runner-up finishes in seven races, qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships for the second straight year.
McMillen has been honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as a Academic All-America selection in both cross country/track and field and women's soccer, becoming the first student-athlete in school history to be selected CoSIDA Academic All-America in two different sports.
