NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Central’s John Crain and Derek Nelson were named the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week on Tuesday.

Crain, a senior from Dunlap, Illinois and Dunlap High School (Sociology-Criminal Justice major), became the first athlete in any division to win the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national athlete of the week award six times after his performance at the Stanford Invitational last Friday. Crain placed 24th in a 75-man field full of NCAA Division I and post-collegiate athletes in the 10,000-meter run, turning in a time of 28:52.73, which knocked nearly a minute off of his previous personal best and stands as the second-fastest 10,000 ever run by a Division III athlete.

Nelson, a senior from Davis, California and Davis High School (Sport Management major), won the javelin at Saturday’s Wheaton Invitational, finishing with a distance of 52.55 meters (172-5). His mark was a personal best and currently leads the CCIW.

2014 CCIW Men's Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week

Track
John Crain – North Central (4/8/14)
David Voland – Augustana (4/1/14)
Keith Cline – Augustana (3/25/14)

Field
Derek Nelson – North Central (4/8/14)
Justin Davidson – Augustana (4/1/14)
Dave Anderson – North Park (3/25/14)

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.