Orion Martin and Ellie Hong Claim CCIW Swimmer of the Year Honors

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Rose-Hulman’s Orion Martin and Ellie Hong were the recipients of the 2016 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Swimmer of the Year awards as announced by the CCIW on Wednesday.

For Martin, a senior physics & computer science major from Dublin, Ohio and Coffman High School, this is the fourth-straight year he was named the CCIW Male Swimmer of the Year. He earned all-America honors with a sixth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly (48.51) at the NCAA Championship for the third year in a row. He also won the 100 butterfly (48.36) for the fourth-straight year at the CCIW Championship and set CCIW open records in the 100 freestyle (44.92), 200 freestyle (1:39.70), and 200 butterfly (1:47.73). His 100 butterfly time (48.00) was the 2nd fastest time in CCIW history behind only his time of 47.92 from 2015.

For Hong, a junior mechanical engineering major from Dayton, Ohio and Oakwood High School, this is her first such honor after winning all-America recognition in two events this past season. She placed fourth in the 200-yard backstroke (1:58.77) and seventh in the 100-yard backstroke (55.70) at the NCAA Division III Championship and was the only CCIW athlete to place in the top eight in two individual events. Additionally, Hong was the conference champion in the 200 backstroke (2:00.66) and finished second in both the 100 backstroke (56.49) and 50-yard freestyle (24.22) to earn all-conference honors in those two events.

The CCIW Swimmer of the Year award was established in 2011 to recognize the student-athlete with the overall best performance from the regular season to the national championships. The winner is voted on by the conference’s head swimming coaches.

CCIW Female Swimmers of the Year
2016 Ellie Hong – Rose-Hulman
2015 Kirsty Nitz – Wheaton & Kirsten Slaughter – Illinois Wesleyan
2014 Kirsty Nitz – Wheaton
2013 Kirsty Nitz – Wheaton
2012 Katie McHugh – Illinois Wesleyan
2011 Amanda Croix – Carthage

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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services eight member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2014-15 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,500 academic all-conference recipients, 19 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 46 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients and 102 all-Americans.