Track and field athlete Kayla Caldwell ‘13, multi-sport athlete Tim Mustapha ‘03, and the 1992, 1993, and 1994 men’s cross country teams will make up the 22nd Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Fame class. They will all be inducted into the Hall of Fame in an on-campus ceremony on March 28.
Caldwell earned seven All-American honors during her collegiate career while setting school and national records. Caldwell finished second in the 2012 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field National Championships when she became the first woman in school history to clear four meters on the pole vault. The following year, Caldwell set the all-time Division II record in the outdoor pole vault. Nevertheless, Caldwell said her most memorable collegiate experience came in the 4×400 relay, in which her team won All-American honors.
“Our women’s 4×4 team was not supposed to even make it into nationals and we got in at the last second at the end of season meet,” Caldwell said in an email. “We gave everything we had and ended up All-Americans. It is my only All-American title outside of pole vaulting and I love everything that trophy stands for.”
After graduating, Caldwell qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials in the pole vault. In 2018, she switched her focus to competitive weightlifting. Caldwell has competed in eight USA championships.
Mustapha competed at the varsity level in track, basketball, football, and baseball for Hillsdale and holds school records in football and baseball. Mustapha said that one thing that attracted him to Hillsdale was the ability to play multiple sports.
“The variety of playing different roles from the main player to a role player was so critical in my development of working well in a team,” Mustapha said in an email. “I knew it would benefit me later in life. And I just love to compete, so it offered the chance to always be training and competing.”
During the 2000 football season, Mustapha earned All-American honors by intercepting 11 passes, the most in Division II for that season. Four of the interceptions were in the same game. Both of those achievements remain school records. Mustapha went on to set the school record with 21 total interceptions. In baseball, Mustapha continues to hold the career records for walks and runs scored.
The 1992, 1993, and 1994 men’s cross country teams will be the first cross country teams ever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. All three teams won the GLIAC conference championship and finished on the podium at the NAIA national championships.
Bill Lundberg, assistant professor and director of Hayden Park, was the head coach of all three teams and was awarded the NAIA National Coach of the Year award in 1994. Lundberg said there were many reasons those teams dominated but said the culture of dedication was what separated them from other teams.
“The distinction on those particular teams was the drive and determination of those guys just wanting anything and everything,” Lundberg said. “They had that tremendous desire and work ethic. To see their talent applied with that, we were blessed, we were blessed.”
Lundberg said he still keeps in touch with some of the runners, but said he’s looking forward to reconnecting with some of the athletes at the Hall of Fame ceremony.
“When you think about when you give and you do things as a professor and a coach, I’ve been blessed just to receive so much back,” Lundberg said. “I still recall that camaraderie and those special relationships.”