Beckwith named Academic All-America® of the Year

OLIVET, Mich. – Olivet College's Kellen Beckwith (Farmington Hills/North Farmington) has been named the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year for the College Division Men's At-Large program. By virtue of this honor, he is also a first-team Academic All-America® selection, and teammate Mike Harden (St. Johns) has earned third-team Academic All-America® honors.

The men's at-large team recognizes athletes who compete in the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo and wrestling. Beckwith is a two-time first-team Academic All-America® selection, as he also earned the honor in 2010. He is the first student-athlete in Olivet history and only the fourth in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) history to be selected as the Academic All-America® of the Year in any sport.

A mathematics education major, Beckwith graduated in May with a perfect 4.00 grade point average (GPA). A four-time All-MIAA selection, he was a four-year letterwinner on the Comet swimming team. Beckwith is the only swimmer in school history to compete at the national championships each year of his collegiate career, finishing as high as seventh in the 100 backstroke in 2010. He is a two-time recipient of the NCAA Elite 88 award, which is given annually to the student-athlete competing at each of the 88 championships with the highest GPA.

Beckwith holds the school record in three individual events, 100 backstroke (:50.16), 200 backstroke (1:51.20) and 200 individual medley (1:56.68). He also swam a leg of four school record setting relays, 200 and 400 medley and 200 and 400 freestyle.

Out of the pool, Beckwith was a member of Mathletes (math competition team), Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Comet Christian Fellowship, Washington Gladden Society Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He also participated in community service projects in Olivet as well as his hometown.

Harden carries a 3.95 GPA in biology with an environmental science minor. Also a swimmer, he in the school record holder in the 50 freestyle (:20.84) and swam a leg of the record setting 200 freestyle and 200 medley relays. Harden also holds the second best time in the 100 freestyle (:46.59).

Out of the pool, Harden is the FCA president and a member of Sigma Zeta honor society, Science Club and Tri-Pi society. He also serves a senior resident advisor.

Beckwith and Harden are the 16th and 17th Olivet student-athletes in school history to earn Academic All-America® honors. Beckwith is the fifth in school history to earn first-team Academic All-America® honors. The others were Travis Sleight in 2005, Dustin Meisner in 2007 and 2008, Anna Braner in 2009 and Kyle Vanderhyde in 2009.

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 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.