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

Feb. 12, 2019 - Improvements upon their already nation-leading efforts in their respective events have landed North Central College men's track and field student-athletes Dhruvil Patel and Luke Winder their second College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Athlete of the Week awards for the 2019 indoor season. The pair were announced as this week's honorees on Tuesday.

Patel was the lone NCAA Division III entrant in the 5,000-meter run at the Iowa State Classic on Friday and turned in a lifetime-best finishing time of 14 minutes, 0.07 seconds, placing eighth among 64 entrants and slashing more than 20 seconds off his previous best indoor time in the event. He was recognized as the CCIW's Track Athlete of the Week for the second time this season, the first of which came after he recorded his previous nation-leading time of 14:28.45 on Jan. 11 in the Cardinal Opener at Al B. Carius Track. Patel is the defending CCIW indoor champion at 3,000 meters and the defending Division III indoor national champion at 5,000 meters.

Winder snagged his second CCIW Field Athlete of the Week award this season after achieving a season-best clearance of 17 feet, 8.50 inches to win the pole vault in North Central's Pat Heenan Invitational on Friday. Winder was also previously recognized after the Cardinal Opener, when his mark of 17'6.50" established what had been Division III's leading performance in the event. An indoor and outdoor national champion in 2015, 2016 and 2017, Winder will seek to become the first vaulter in collegiate history to win seven national titles at the Division III Indoor Championships in March. Winder will also be chasing a fourth CCIW indoor championship in the event later this month.

The Cardinals have claimed seven of the 10 CCIW Athlete of the Week awards that have been bestowed this season. Distance runner Gabe Pommier and pole vaulter/triple jumper Izaiah Webb swept the awards on Jan. 22 and the distance medley relay team of Pommier, Michael Anderson, Peyton Piron and Brendon Sebastian was collectively recognized as the Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 29.

North Central hosts the F. Lee Slick Invitational on Friday.