The Associated Press Division III All-America Team

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- 10 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) football student-athletes were selected to The Associated Press Division III All-America team, including six players from North Central and four from Wheaton.

For the Cardinals, senior running back Ethan Greenfield was named to the First Team along with senior wide receiver Andrew Kamienski, senior offensive lineman Sharmore Clarke, and defensive back Jake Beesley. Offensive Lineman Jeske Maples and defensive lineman Dan Gilroy earned Second Team honors.

Wheaton senior tight end Spencer Peterson, senior offensive lineman Jake Hibben, and senior defensive lineman Dallas McRae were all First Team honorees. Senior linebacker Ryan Schwartz was a Second Team selection.

North Central takes on Mary Hardin-Baylor this evening in the Division III National Championship at 7 p.m. CST in Canton, Ohio. Live coverage of the game can be found on the North Central football schedule page.

A three-time CCIW Art Keller Offensive Player of the Year winner and the 2019 D3football.com North Region Offensive Player of the Year, Rutter broke North Central's single-season records for pass completions (291), passing yards (4,328) and passing touchdowns (54). With 14,002 career passing yards, Rutter is the leading active passer in all divisions of college football and is 247 yards shy of matching the all-time Division III record of 14,249 yards set by Alex Tanney of Monmouth College from 2007-2011.

A repeat AP All-American after leading the nation in rushing in 2019, Greenfield enters Friday's National Championship game 40 yards shy of repeating as the Division III national leader in rushing yards with 1,672 and ranks fourth nationally with 1,800 all-purpose yards. He also ranks third nationally with 23 rushing touchdowns.

The 2021 Art Keller CCIW Offensive Student-Athlete of the year, Kamienski is also a repeat AP All-American. He ranks 12th nationally with 1,150 receiving yards and ranks in the top-30 nationally with 11 touchdown receptions. One of five finalists for the prestigious Gagliardi Trophy, he ranks fourth in Division III history in career receiving yards (4,904), sixth in touchdown receptions (58) and eighth in total receptions (329).

A first time All-American in 2021, senior tight end Spencer Peterson was a First Team All-CCIW selection. Peterson led the Thunder with 13 receiving touchdowns, a mark that is tied for 14th in Division III. Peterson ranked second on the Thunder in receiving yards with 481 and his 31 catches was third-best on the team.

Clarke is a three-time CCIW Offensive Lineman of the Year recipient and has been the highest graded offensive lineman as the team's starting left guard. He is a four-time all-conference player and was a D3football.com All-American in 2018 and 2019 as well as an AP All-American and AFCA All-American in 2019.

A Third Team All-American selection by D3football.com in 2019, Jake Hibben is a first time AP All-American this season. Hibben was a repeat First Team All-CCIW selection this fall and carried the ball five times for 32 yards and a touchdown.

McRae, the repeat winner of the CCIW Don Larson Defensive Player of the Year, led the Thunder with 13 sacks (91 yards) this season. His 22 tackles for loss (-118 yards) led the Thunder defense and he was second on the team in total tackles with 51, including 37 solo stops. He registered eight quarterback hurries this season, breaking up five passes. McRae is ranked 15th in Division III in sacks per game (1.08 SPG) and is 16th in the nation in tackles for loss per game (1.8 TFLPG).

Another repeat selection as an AP All-American, Jake Beesley ranks second all-time at North Central in pass breakups (36) and passes defended (44). He ranks second in the CCIW and 20th in the nation in passes defended per game (1.4) this season while ranking second nationally in pass breakups (17).

Second Team selections Jeske Maples and Dan Gilory are each first time All-American selections. Maples earned All-Region honors from D3football.com earlier this fall and was a First Team All-CCIW honoree after starting every game this season at right tackle. Gilroy led the outstanding Cardinals defense with a team-high 15 tackles for loss along with 8.5 quarterback sacks

Ryan Schwartz was a First Team All-CCIW honoree earlier this fall and was a Third Team All-American honoree by D3football.com in 2019. Schwartz led the Thunder defense 82 tackles this fall including 9.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions.
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 2018-19 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,200 academic all-conference recipients, 18 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 43 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.