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Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

North Central Winter 2010 Academic All-CCIW Selections

May 3, 2010 - North Central College recently announced its winners of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Jack Swartz Academic All-Conference Awards for winter 2010, as well as its 57 Academic All-CCIW honorees for the winter season. North Central's Jack Swartz honorees for the winter are junior track and field athletes Joe Schneiderbauer and Michelle Criscione.

The Jack Swartz Award, named after the former Wheaton College tennis coach and athletic director and CCIW Commissioner, honors one male and one female individual from each of the eight CCIW institutions each season for combining academic and athletic excellence.

Schneiderbauer, an exercise science major from Sterling, Ill., competed in his first NCAA Division III National Championship meet this past indoor season, qualifying as one of 12 individuals to compete in the pentathlon after placing second in the event at the CCIW Championships. Schneiderbauer finished 10th at the national meet as the Cardinals won the program's second-ever indoor national title.

"It was phenomenal," Schneiderbauer said of his experience at the championships. "That was a goal of mine, to get there and experience that, and try to contribute to the team effort. I had never been to anything that high-caliber, so I didn't know what to expect from an individual or a team perspective.

"It was such a great atmosphere. Everyone on the team who didn't participate came down and watched, and it felt like our conference track meet, which is really the pinnacle of our season, multiplied by 100."

Also an All-CCIW performer on the football field and a provisional qualifer for the Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the decathlon, Schneiderbauer applies the mentality of a multi-event athlete to his daily schedule, balancing a rigorous academic regimen with his athletic pursuits.

"Scheduling can be pretty tough," he says. "I try to get all my classes scheduled in the morning, but it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes I have to schedule them for the evening, so the afternoon is set aside for athletics.

"We cut down on the number of repetitions that an athlete might do for a specific event, because we have to practice other events each day to get ready for the decathlon," he says. "And we use meets as opportunities for practice as well. It does take time but it's fun. It's never boring at all."

Schneiderbauer's goals for the spring season include a return to the national championships, this time in the decathlon, as the Cardinals attempt to sweep the indoor and outdoor national titles for the first time.

"The CCIW meet is my last chance to improve my qualifying mark for nationals," he indicated. "There are some events, like the discus and javelin, where I can improve a lot. Hopefully I can get into nationals and earn some points to help the team win the title again."

Criscione, an elementary education major from Plainfield, Ill., and a five-time CCIW Champion in the high jump, competed in her third straight Indoor National Championship in the event. Her clearance of 5 feet, 3 1/4 inches was good enough for All-America honors at the 2009 championships, though the same clearance this season put her in a tie for 13th place.

"I was very nervous at nationals this time," she said. "I had some knee issues at the beginning of the year, so I had to take quite a bit of time off. I missed a few meets early in the season, but I was able to come back for conference. It's going to take a little more to be an All-American this year because there's quite a lot of talent in the high jump."

Criscione's academic demands, which include weekly observation hours at area schools, can require some creative scheduling for athletics, though she has seen some benefits in doing so.

"I have to practice alone on Mondays due to a class conflict, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm observing during practice time, so I have to practice alone on those days, too. Those are typically jumping days, and my high jump coach, Coach (Tom) Roderick), is able to help me out.

"I wouldn't say it's a negative thing, but not quite a positive either because I do like to be with my teammates. We all help one another out, and it's tough being away for so many practices. When I am alone in practice, I do get that one-on-one focus with my coach, and we can really critique my technique and focus on what I can do to improve."

Criscione's provisional qualifying mark for this season's Outdoor National Championships (5'5 3/4") is currently tied for 10th-best in Division III, which would put her in position for a second straight berth in the meet. Improvement to a personal best in the event and helping the Cardinals contend for a CCIW Championship are foremost among her goals for the spring.

"I would love to hit the automatic qualifying mark (5'7 1/4")", she said. "It's been my goal to make 5'7" since I was younger. As far as the conference meet is concerned, our team is very comparable to (defending CCIW Champion) Illinois Wesleyan. This is the closest we've been to them in a few years, so we'd like to pull off that team championship."

The CCIW will announce all of its winter Academic All-CCIW honorees in July.