Women’s track & field team, three individuals garner USTFCCCA academic honors

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Olivet College women's track and field team has been named a United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team, while student-athletes Lillian Albaugh, Hayden Germain and Chase Mendham have been tabbed as USTFCCCA All-Academic Athletes for the 2021-22 academic year.

Under the leadership of head coach Karen Lutzke, the Olivet women have posted a 3.67 cumulative grade point average (GPA). To earn the team recognition, a team must have a cumulative team GPA of all student-athletes who used a season of eligibility must be at least a 3.1 on a 4.0 scale through the most recent semester/quarter. Olivet's 3.67 GPA ranks 31st among the 213 NCAA Division III women's programs honored and first among the seven Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) schools.

Albaugh, Germain and Mendham were named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Athletes. The criteria for the award are 3.30 or higher cumulative GPA and met one of the following athletic standards, 1) must have finished the indoor or outdoor track & field season among the top 50 individuals as listed on the descending order lists on TFRRS. 2) Must have competed as a member of one of the top 35 relay teams (one relay team per institution is eligible) as listed on the indoor or outdoor track & field descending order list on TFRRS, or 3) competed at either the NCAA Division III Indoor or Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2022.

A sports recreation management major, Albaugh was No. 30 in the shot put on the TFRRS indoor list and 21st on the NCAA outdoor list, as well as she finished 15th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Albaugh is Olivet's indoor (13.65m/44'9-1/2") and outdoor (13.59m/44'7") record holder in the event. She is being recognized with this award for a fourth straight year. Overall, Albaugh is a seven-time MIAA shot put champion, All-MIAA selection and USTFCCCA All-Great Lakes Region honoree. She won the shot put at every possible league championship during her career (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 indoors, and 2019, 2021 and 2022 outdoors).

Germain, a double major in psychology and sports psychology, and Mendham, an insurance and risk management major, were a part of the 32nd-ranked indoor distance medley relay (DMR). Their time, 10:10.54, is a school record mark. Both also earned All-MIAA honors after winning the DMR at the 2022 MIAA Indoor Championships. In addition, the duo also ran legs of the school-record 4x800-meter indoor (8:10.09) and outdoor (7:57.18) relays.