Beckwith earns first-team Academic All-America® honors

OLIVET, Mich. – Olivet College junior Kellen Beckwith (Farmington Hills/North Farmington) has been named to the 2010 ESPN The Magazine College Division Academic All-America® At-large First-team, as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He has earned the national honor by virtue of being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District IV first-team. Beckwith is the 15th Academic All-America® selection in school history, including the sixth to earn first-team honors.

Beckwith carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average (GPA) in mathematics. He has earned three varsity letters as a member of men's swimming and diving team. In addition, Beckwith is a three-time Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) selection. He has also competed at the 2008, 2009 and 2010 NCAA Division III National Championships. In the 100-yard backstroke, he earned All-American honors with a seventh-place finish in 2010 and eighth-place finish in 2009. In 2008, Beckwith placed 11th for honorable mention All-American honors.

Beckwith is the school record holder in the 100-yard backstroke (:50.16) and 200-yard backstroke (1:52.31). He also swam the backstroke leg of the school record setting 200-yard medley (1:33.52) and 400-yard medley (3:26.46) relays. Beckwith also swam a leg of the school record 200 (1:23.22) and 400 (3:05.31) freestyle relays.

Out of the pool, Beckwith is the leader of the Comet Christian Fellowship, vice president of Mathletes and a member of the Washington Gladden Society and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

The Academic All-America® program recognizes student-athletes who have succeeded in athletic competition and in the classroom. A national committee of sports information directors select the members of the Academic All-America® team. The at-large teams consist of student-athletes who have competed in bowling, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, men's volleyball, water polo and/or wrestling.

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America® honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

ESPN The Magazine – winner of the 2006 and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence – is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized biweekly with a circulation of 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.