Lea Mitchell Garners CoSIDA Academic All-America Honors
6/15/2022 12:00:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
Becomes just the second Spartan gymnast all-time to reach CoSIDA Academic All-American status.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Lea Mitchell of Michigan State gymnastics has been voted to the 2022 Academic All-America Division I At-Large Third Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and announced Wednesday. Â
See the full list of honorees here. Â
The at-large program for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo, bowling, crew and field hockey. To be considered for All-America status, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.Â
A native of Boynton Beach, Florida, Mitchell was a five-year member of the gymnastics team and graduated this spring with her Master's in international reporting, having completed the degree in just one year. She finished out the year with a 4.0 GPA, her ninth consecutive semester with a perfect grade point average. Â
Mitchell is just the second Spartan gymnast all-time to reach CoSIDA Academic All-American status, with Angela Howard having received the honor consecutively in 1994 and 1995.
Â
Additionally, Mitchell was named to the Academic All-District list last month, earning eligibility for All-American status. Throughout her career as a Spartan, she has been a four-time Academic All-Big Ten and WCGA Academic All-American selection and was named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar three times. In 2021, she received the illustrious Big Ten Conference Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award, the first MSU female student-athlete to receive this honor and only the second Spartan overall. She has also been recognized by MSU Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) several times, including receiving the Provost's Award her freshman year.Â
Mitchell was a mainstay in MSU's lineup since the beginning of her time as a Spartan, competing all-around for four seasons before moving to consistent spots on bars, beam and floor in 2022. She earned Second-Team All-B1G honors in 2019 and was named to the First Team list in 2020. This season, Mitchell posted season and career-high scores of 9.900 on bars and 9.925 on beam, and a season-best of 9.900 on floor.
Â
See the full list of honorees here. Â
The at-large program for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo, bowling, crew and field hockey. To be considered for All-America status, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.Â
A native of Boynton Beach, Florida, Mitchell was a five-year member of the gymnastics team and graduated this spring with her Master's in international reporting, having completed the degree in just one year. She finished out the year with a 4.0 GPA, her ninth consecutive semester with a perfect grade point average. Â
Mitchell is just the second Spartan gymnast all-time to reach CoSIDA Academic All-American status, with Angela Howard having received the honor consecutively in 1994 and 1995.
Â
Additionally, Mitchell was named to the Academic All-District list last month, earning eligibility for All-American status. Throughout her career as a Spartan, she has been a four-time Academic All-Big Ten and WCGA Academic All-American selection and was named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar three times. In 2021, she received the illustrious Big Ten Conference Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award, the first MSU female student-athlete to receive this honor and only the second Spartan overall. She has also been recognized by MSU Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) several times, including receiving the Provost's Award her freshman year.Â
Mitchell was a mainstay in MSU's lineup since the beginning of her time as a Spartan, competing all-around for four seasons before moving to consistent spots on bars, beam and floor in 2022. She earned Second-Team All-B1G honors in 2019 and was named to the First Team list in 2020. This season, Mitchell posted season and career-high scores of 9.900 on bars and 9.925 on beam, and a season-best of 9.900 on floor.
Â
Players Mentioned
All-Around
/ Women's GymnasticsNot Done Yet | Spartans All-Access
Tuesday, April 08
Competing Together | Spartans All-Access
Thursday, March 13
Breslin Debut | Michigan State Gymnastics
Wednesday, January 22
Spartans All-Access: Back to Back B1G Titles
Friday, March 15