WARRENVILLE, Ill. – Augustana College’s Keira Nelson is the 2026 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Women's Cross Country Elite 26 Award recipient, the conference announced Saturday at the conclusion of the 2026 CCIW Women's Cross Country Championship at St. James Farm.
Nelson earned the prestigious academic honor after maintaining a perfect 4.00 GPA while studying psychology and business management. Nelson has played a key role in the Vikings' success this season. At the CCIW Women's Cross Country Championship, Nelson finished 13th with a time of 22:32.8 in the women's 6K race, earning All-CCIW Second Team honors. Behind her contributions, Augustana secured a fourth-place team finish with 84 points.
The CCIW's Elite 26 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA competing at the championship of their respective sport. All GPAs are based on a straight-grading scale to ensure consistency among nominees. All ties are broken by the total number of credit hours completed through the most recently concluded semester.
To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be sophomores or above and have participated in their sport at their institution for at least two years. They must also be active members of their teams and travel to and compete at the CCIW championship event or, for bracketed tournaments, be on one of the final two teams while also earning All-CCIW honors.
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 |
CCIW Network
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.).