NEW ORLEANS, La. --- Tusculum University distance runner Nicole McMillen has been honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association with her selection to the 2020 USTFCCCA Division II Women's All-Academic Team.
The three-time All-American from Pickering, Ontario earned All-Academic Team honors for the second straight year from the USTFCCCA. Qualifiers must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.25, and must have achieved an automatic or provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. Overall, there were 321 women from 93 institutions who were named All-Academic Athletes.
McMillen earned her undergraduate degree from Tusculum in business management where she finished with a 3.92 cumulative grade point average in 2019. She enrolled in graduate school at Tusculum in business administration and has a 4.00 GPA. She is a member of the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll, Tusculum Athletic Director Roll, Dean's List, President's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List.
McMillen was honored as the SAC Women's Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year and the USTFCCCA 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 track & field season. McMillen also qualified for nationals in the mile, but did not declare for the event in order to focus on the 3,000 and 5,000 meter events.
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 (4:53.57), 3,000 meters (9:39.38) and 5,000 meters (16:53.86).
She was named the SAC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year last fall as she won four races including the SAC Championship by 25 seconds with a time of 21:37.4, and was second at the NCAA II Southeast Region meet with a time of 21:02.1 to qualify for nationals for a second straight year, where she finished in 92nd place out of 260 runners.
She was named the 2019 SAC Women's Cross Country Scholar Athlete of the Year and was recognized as the SAC Women's Track & Field Scholar Athlete of the Year in both 2019 and 2020.
In May, McMillen was named to the USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field All-America team both in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. She finished sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2019 NCAA II National Outdoor Championship to earn All-America accolades.
Last month, McMillen earned first-team Academic All-America® honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for the second straight year. She is the only student-athlete in school history to earn Academic All-America® in separate programs, having done so in both women's soccer and cross country/track & field.
