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

CCIW Press Release

Oct. 22, 2013 - North Central College's John Crain has been selected as the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week for Oct. 14-20.

Crain received the distinction after leading the No. 1-ranked Cardinals to a first-place finish over eight other nationally-ranked opponents in the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational on Saturday. Crain's personal-best time of 24 minutes, 20.74 seconds on the 8,000-meter (five-mile) course was six seconds better than his closest challenger and helped lead the Cardinals to a winning total of just 33 points against the 37-team field.

Crain also received the distinction twice in September after leading the No. 1-ranked Cardinals to the team championship at the Hanover College Madison Kiwanis Invitational and the Country Financial Illinois State University Invitational. He is the only CCIW men's cross country runner to earn three Runner of the Week Awards this season.

North Central athletes have won the five of the CCIW's eight weekly awards this season, as Aron Sebhat received the distinction on Sept. 24 and Brent Gaither got the nod on Oct. 1. Crain has also been named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Athlete of the Week three times this season, making him the only athlete in the nation, regardless of division, to be so honored.

North Central will host the 2013 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2 at St. James Farm in Warrenville. The Cardinals will be pursuing their 40th consecutive CCIW team title.