NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Central’s John Crain was named both the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) and United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week Tuesday.

Crain, a senior from Dunlap, Illinois and Dunlap High School (Sociology major), won the Madison Kiwanis Invitational at Hanover College on Saturday. Crain won the 8,000-meter (five-mile) race by 15 seconds, finishing in a time of 25:36.6. North Central won the team title with 19 points.

The USTFCCCA began naming a national athlete of the week this season. Nominations are open to the public and can be submitted by clicking on the 'Awards' tab at ustfccca.org.

USTFCCCA Release

2013 CCIW Men's Cross Country Athletes of the Week
John Crain – North Central (9/10/13)
Mark Giannis – Illinois Wesleyan (9/4/13)

The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services eight member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2012-13 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,400 academic all-conference recipients, 15 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans, 30 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, 68 all-Americans and one national championship team.