FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

CCIW Release

Feb. 7, 2012-- North Central College sprinter Dan Benton was honored by the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin on Tuesday, earning Track Athlete of the Week accolades.

Benton captures the honor after winning the 400-meter dash on Friday at the Squig Converse Invitational in Whitewater, Wis., finishing the race in a season-best time of 48.95 seconds. His performance is currently the second fastest time in NCAA Division III this season.

This is the second straight week Benton has earned the honor and the sixth time this season a Cardinal has earned Athlete of the Week honors. Benton earned Track Athlete of the Week accolades last week along with Mustapha Olaoye, Dionte Hackler and Bai Kabba as members of the 4x400-meter relay while Tim Hird was Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 17. John Wood (Jan. 17), Zach Heerspink (Jan. 24) and Josh Winder (Jan. 31) have all earned Field Athlete of the Week honors.

Benton helped the top-ranked Cardinals finish third at the meet featuring four of the nation's top six teams. No. 2 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse won the meet, amassing 168 points while the sixth-ranked and host University of Wisconsin-Whitewater was second with a team tally of 129. North Central was third with 120.5 points while third-ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh was fourth with 91.5 points

The Cardinals return to action on Saturday, hosting the Chicagoland Indoor Championships at the Al B. Carius Track. Events are slated to begin at 10 a.m.