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

CCIW Press Release

Sept. 12, 2017 - North Central College junior Zach Hird has been named the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week for Sept. 4-10, marking the second straight week a Cardinal has been selected for the award. The CCIW announced its selection Tuesday.

An NCAA Division III All-America honoree in 2016, Hird received this week's distinction after leading North Central to victory against an all-NCAA Division I field at the Illinois State University Invitational on Friday. Hird covered the 8,000-meter (five-mile) layout at D.A. Weibring Golf Course in 25 minutes, 4.2 seconds to place second overall, just 1.5 seconds behind the individual winner. The Cardinals placed six individuals in the top 10 and won the meet with 24 points, 44 ahead of the second-place hosts.

North Central's Dhruvil Patel was named the CCIW's Athlete of the Week the previous week after winning the Principia Invitational on Sept. 2.

The Cardinals will compete in the Wheaton College GIl Dodds Invitational on Saturday at St. James Farm in Warrenville.