2017 Associated Press Little All-America Division III Football Team
 
PICTURED (Clockwise): North Central's Austin Breunig, Illinois Wesleyan's Jordan Hassan, Wheaton's Chase Greenlee, North Central's Joe Fehrle, Wheaton's Zach Lindquist and Illinois Wesleyan's Trevor Staley.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Associated Press (AP), in conjunction with the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), named six College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) student-athletes to the 2017 AP Little All-America Division III Football Team on Thursday.
 
The first team featured North Central senior running back Austin Breunig (Sandwich, Ill./H.S.) and Illinois Wesleyan senior linebacker Jordan Hassan (Wheaton, Ill./Glenbard West), while the second team featured Wheaton senior defensive lineman Chase Greenlee (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), North Central senior offensive lineman Joe Fehrle (Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic), Wheaton senior tight end Zach Lindquist (Mahtomedi, Minn./H.S.) and Illinois Wesleyan junior defensive back Trevor Staley (Lake Zurich, Ill./H.S.).
 
Breunig was named the CCIW’s Art Keller Offensive Player of the Year in 2017, becoming the first running back since Elmhurst’s Scottie Williams in 2012 to earn this honor. He led the Cardinals with 1,266 rushing yards on 212 carries and 15 touchdowns. Breunig also caught 26 passes for 411 yards and four touchdowns this past season while helping lead the Cardinals to a share of the CCIW title and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship.
 
Hassan, the CCIW’s 2017 Don Larson Defensive Player of the Year, helped lead the Titans to a share of the CCIW title and an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship. He led Illinois Wesleyan with 108 tackles (76 solo), 11 tackles-for-loss and added 5.5 sacks and two interceptions for 50 yards. The 76 solo tackles broke the school’s single-season record of 72 set by Sean Garvey in 2014.

Greenlee was a first team all-conference selection for the second-straight year. He led Wheaton with 21.5 tackles for lost yardage (-98 yards) including 15.5 sacks (-86 yards) this past season. Greenlee's 15.5 sacks were the third-highest single-season total in school history and ranked second this year in Division III. He ranked fourth among Wheaton's defensive players this season with 44 total tackles (28 solo).
 
Fehrle completed his third-straight season as North Central’s starting left tackle and was an all-conference first team selection for the second year in a row. The Cardinals averaged 37.5 points and 438.0 yards per game this season, leading the CCIW in first downs (267) and fewest quarterback sacks allowed (14). They also ranked 11th nationally in red-zone offense (89.2%).
 
Lindquist earned All-CCIW First Team honors for the third-straight season as he was second on the Thunder with 24 catches for 306 yards and three touchdowns in conference games and totaled 27 catches for 324 yards and four touchdowns overall.
 
Staley, a 2017 All-CCIW First Team selection, led the Titans with three interceptions with a long return of 56 yards and he was third on the team with 56 tackles (44 solo). He also finished with three tackles for a loss of eight yards.
 
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), 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 2016-17 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,900 academic all-conference recipients, 10 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 33 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, one CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year and over 100 all-Americans.