Contact: Emily Zadny, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

USTFCCCA Release
CCIW Release

Oct. 2, 2018 – North Central College senior men's cross country runner Dhruvil Patel added two more awards to his growing list of accolades this season after being named the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Athlete of the Week on Monday and winning his third College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Athlete of the Week honor on Tuesday.

Patel had an impressive performance at the Greater Louisville Classic, hosted by the University of Louisville, on Sept. 29, completing the 8,000-meter course with a personal best time of 23:51.0 and placing fourth overall. The last time he raced that course at the 2016 NCAA Division III National Championship, his finishing time was 24:41.6.

The No. 1-ranked Cardinals, one of the few Division III teams in attendance, won the meet with 102 points, beating out Division I teams including the University of Kentucky, Belmont University, and the host university.

North Central competes at the Benedictine University Eagle Invitational on Friday, Oct. 5 at St. James Farm in Warrenville. Race time is set for 4:45 p.m.