A new group of highly accomplished student-athletes joins the Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Kayla Caldwell, one of the best pole vaulters in school history, is the youngest member of the Class of 2020, which will be honored in a ceremony on campus on March 28. She will be joined by Tim Mustapha, whose excellence and versatility as an athlete are virtually unmatched in school history.
Those two individuals will be joined by the collective men's cross country teams covering the 1992, 1993 and 1994 seasons. Coached by Bill Lundberg, those teams dominated their region and landed in the top 5 nationally in the NAIA throughout their three seasons of dominance.
KAYLA CALDWELL '13
A seven-time All-American and national runner-up, Kayla Caldwell turned into an elite pole vaulter during her career with the Charger women's track program. She burst onto the national scene during the 2012 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, when she became the first woman in school history to hit the four-meter mark in the pole vault, finishing second in the nation. On April 6, 2013, she set the all-time Division II record in the outdoor pole vault at Michigan State University. Since competing at Hillsdale, Caldwell has competed professionally in pole vault and has qualified for the Olympic trials in both pole vault and weight lifting. She finished fourth at the 2015 Indoor USA Championships and has competed in a total of seven USA Championship track meets.
TIM MUSTAPHA '03
One of the most versatile and accomplished male athletes of the past quarter-century, Tim Mustapha was one of the busiest Chargers during his athletic career that spanned from 1998-2003. He was the first Hillsdale College football player to earn All-American honors in the 21st century, when he earned that status during the 2000 season. That year, he led Division II with 11 interceptions, four of them coming in one game vs. Wayne State, both school records that still stand. In his football career, Mustapha accumulated 205 tackles, a school-record 21 interceptions and broke up 46 passes. But his exploits on the diamond might have been even more impressive. He still holds Hillsdale's career records for runs scored and walks, and ranks in the top 10 in a total of nine career and single-season baseball statistical categories. Not content with excelling in those two sports, Mustapha also played basketball and saw time on the Charger men's track team during his collegiate career.
1992, 1993, 1994 MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS
Few teams in Charger athletic history have held dominance over a period of years like the men's cross country teams of the early 1990s. Led by head coach Bill Lundberg, these teams won three straight GLIAC titles, compiling close-to-perfect scores in all three of those meets. The 1992 team finished second at the NAIA national championships and featured five All-Americans, all finishing in the top 30 overall. In 1993, the Chargers took eight of the top 15 overall spots at the GLIAC championship meet and went onto a third-place NAIA national finish with three All-Americans. The trifecta wrapped up in 1994 when Hillsdale runners took each of the top four spots individually at GLIACs and finished second in the NAIA national meet, placing three in the top 26 overall. All three of those teams were NAIA District 23 champions. Mike Boruta was a common athlete on all three of those teams, earning All-American status three times.