NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The North Central College men’s cross country team was the unanimous selection of College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) head coaches to repeat as conference champions at the 2026 CCIW Cross Country Championships this weekend. The Cardinals, who have won every CCIW men’s cross country title since 1974, received 64 points and all eight possible first-place votes in the poll.
The 2026 CCIW Cross Country Championship will take place Saturday, Oct. 31, at St. James Farm in Warrenville, Ill., with Carroll University serving as the host institution. The women's 6K race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., followed by the men's 8K race at 11:45 a.m.
North Central enters the CCIW Championships ranked fourth in the nation and second in the regional rankings. The Cardinals have posted six of the top seven 8K times in the conference this season, with a neck-and-neck finish between Daniel Kasperan (23:51.3) and BJ Sorg (23:52.0) two weeks ago taking both of the top spots.
Among the pack hoping to challenge North Central's dominance is Carthage College, which finished second in the poll with 54 points and took second at last year’s CCIW Championships. The tandem of Harlan Matson (25:13.9) and Andrew Schaer (25:28.7) rank ninth and 10th, respectively, in the CCIW this season, while Matson finished in eighth place individually at last year’s championship meet.
Finishing third in the poll with 52 points and one first-place vote was Millikin University. Reece Peters has recorded the fastest time of the season for the Big Blue (25:12.2), but three others have also broken the 26-minute mark and Millikin will look to use that consistency to lock up a top finish on Saturday.
Wheaton College took fourth in the poll with 42 points. After a third-place finish last season, the Thunder will be led by Michael Osielski, who set a season PR last time out at the Interregional Invitational with a time of 25:53.8.
Augustana College was the program picked to make the biggest rise at this year’s championship, coming in fifth with 33 points. The Vikings were seventh at last season’s CCIW Championships, but have three sophomores – Lukas Nykaza, Milo McLeer, and Ben Gricius – rounding into peak form.
Sixth place in the poll went to Illinois Wesleyan University with 28 points. Jack Thomas has posted the top time of the season for the Titans (26:50.7) and he came in 26th last season at the CCIW Championships with a 26:30.4.
Carroll and Elmhurst University tied for seventh place with 21 points apiece. Both have individuals separated by mere seconds for their season PR, with Elmhurst’s top time belonging to Michael Bailey (25:55.5) at the Interregional Invitational and Carroll’s Spencer Kirsteatter posting a 26:03.7 at the Gene Davis Invitational.
North Park University was slotted into ninth in the poll with nine points. The Vikings have one of the top runners in the CCIW and it is freshman Gunner Silva and his 24:49.6 at the Bradley “Pink” Classic that has kept North Central from occupying all of the top six spots in this season’s CCIW leaderboard entering championship weekend.
| Projected Finish |
Team |
Points |
Firsts |
Seconds |
Thirds |
| 1. |
North Central |
64 |
8 |
|
|
| 2. |
Carthage |
54 |
|
6 |
2 |
| 3. |
Millikin |
52 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
| 4. |
Wheaton |
42 |
|
|
3 |
| 5. |
Augustana |
33 |
|
|
|
| 6. |
Illinois Wesleyan |
28 |
|
|
|
| T7. |
Carroll |
21 |
|
|
1 |
| T7. |
Elmhurst |
21 |
|
|
|
| 9. |
North Park |
9 |
|
|
|
Game One | Shop Official CCIW Cross Country Championship Gear
Game One is the official merchandise provider of the CCIW. As one of the largest and fastest-growing sports equipment and apparel suppliers in the country. CCIW Cross Country fans can shop championship-branded apparel and gear through the CCIW's official Game One store. Click here to be taken directly to the Official CCIW Cross Country Championship Store!
CCIW Championship Central
Championship Central provides direct access to each CCIW sport's championship page, where sport-specific championship information can be found. Information will be updated throughout the year and is subject to change. Visit the Cross Country championship page for the most up-to-date event information.
Follow the CCIW
| CCIW on X | CCIW Instagram | CCIW Facebook | CCIW YouTube | CCIW on TikTok |
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).