NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Central’s John Crain took home a pair of honors this week, winning his third College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week, as well as his third United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Division III Athlete of the Week.

Crain, a senior from Dunlap, Illinois and Dunlap High School, won the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational on Saturday, finishing with a time of 24:20.74 in the 8K. The Cardinals won the 37-team event with 33 points.

Crain became the first athlete in the nation, regardless of division, to earn the USTFCCCA’s weekly athlete of the week award three times with his personal-best time on Saturday. Crain has also won the CCIW’s weekly honor three times this season including on September 10 and October 8. Crain and the Cardinals are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation by the USTFCCCA.

2013 CCIW Men's Cross Country Athletes of the Week
John Crain – North Central (10/22/13)
James Waterman – Wheaton (10/15/13)
John Crain – North Central (10/8/13)
Brent Gaither – North Central (10/1/13)
Aron Sebhat – North Central (9/24/13)
Will Cross – Elmhurst (9/17/13)
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.