ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum University distance runner Nicole McMillen has been named the 2020 South Atlantic Conference Women's Track & Field Scholar Athlete of the Year announced league officials on Thursday.
McMillen earns this honor in back-to-back seasons and is her second SAC Scholar Athlete of the Year award this season as she was the women's cross country winner in the fall.
The SAC Scholar Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the conference's championship sports and is selected by the league's faculty athletic representatives committee. Winners are selected based on their achievements in academics and athletics.
McMillen earned her undergraduate degree from Tusculum in business management in May 2019 where she finished with a 3.92 cumulative grade point average. She is 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. Earlier this spring, she was tabbed the 2020 recipient of the SAC Elite 20 Award for Women's Track & Field.
She is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American® as she was named to the 2018 women's soccer Academic All-America® second team and was a first team honoree for cross country / track & field last season. McMillen is the only student-athlete in school history to earn Academic All-America® honors in two separate programs.
"We are extremely proud of Nicole," said Tusculum head coach Cory Pratt. "Earning this award three times across two sports is indicative of the high standard she set not only as an athlete, but as a student first."
The Pickering, Ontario native was honored as the 2020 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.
With the NCAA II National Indoor Championship being cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, McMillen was named to the UTFCCCA 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.
McMillen helped the Pioneers to a third-place finish in the team standings at the 2020 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. She finished second at the NCAA II Southeast Regional Championship 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.
McMillen has also garnered CoSIDA Academic All-District honors this year for cross country / track & field and is on the ballot for the 2020 Academic All-America® team which will be announced later this month.
