NAPERVILLE — Augustana’s Mara Walker and Wheaton’s Jaxon Powell have been selected as co-recipients of the 2026 Chris Martin Perseverance Award, the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) announced Thursday.
 
The Chris Martin Perseverance Award honors a student-athlete who demonstrates an unwavering commitment and perseverance to overcome a physical challenge in order to compete at the highest levels of CCIW athletics. The CCIW Council of Presidents established the award in April 2019. Senior Woman Administrators at each CCIW institution brought forth nominations and voted for Walker and Powell to be the award's first-ever co-recipients last month.
 
Walker, a sophomore swimmer from Le Roy, Ill., has been a regular contributor for Augustana in the pool. She holds four school records, including three individual marks and one relay record, and has been part of a conference-champion relay team in each of her first two seasons. Walker also has recorded at least two individual victories in each season of her career. She was named the 2024 CCIW First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year and received the CCIW Dennis Ryan Award earlier this year.
 
Her continued success followed a serious health setback that required a 21-day hospitalization, including 10 days in the intensive care unit, while being treated for a severe lung infection. Walker’s treatment included a thoracotomy, chest tube and intubation. Doctors initially projected a lengthy recovery that could have kept her out of competition for much of the season, but Walker progressed ahead of schedule and was cleared to return to the pool nearly a month earlier than expected.
 
Powell, a senior defensive lineman from Cedar Crest, N.M., joined Wheaton’s football program in 2023 after transferring from the University of New Mexico. He appeared in two games during the 2024 season, finishing with five tackles, four solo stops and two sacks. Powell was expected to be part of Wheaton’s defensive tackle rotation in 2025 before a medical emergency interrupted his season.
 
A Type 1 diabetic, Powell contracted a MRSA infection in his knee in August 2025 that developed into sepsis, septic arthritis in his shoulder and severe pneumonia. He was placed in a medically induced coma for two weeks and faced an extended recovery after losing more than 70 pounds of body mass and initially struggling with speech and movement. Powell has since returned to football activities and was recognized at Wheaton with the 2025 RESPECT Award for his character and leadership.

Chris Martin was the first full-time commissioner of the CCIW and served in that capacity from 2002 through 2019. This award recognizes his legacy of perseverance enduring the challenges of a lifelong hearing disability and a highly accomplished tenure leading the CCIW through a period of growth and success.

CCIW Chris Martin Perseverance Award Winners
2026: Mara Walker, Augustana (Women's Swimming & Diving); Jaxon Powell, Wheaton (Football)
2025: Corey Phillips, North Central (Men’s Track & Field)
2024: Annie Tate, Wheaton (Women's Basketball)
2023: Delaney Walsh, Augustana (Women’s Bowling)
2022: Hayley Earl, Illinois Wesleyan (Softball)
2021: Gabrielle Coulthard, Millikin (Women's Volleyball)
2020: Sinead Molloy, North Park (Women's Basketball)