NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) announced its Spring 2026 Jack Swartz Academic All-Conference Award recipients on Tuesday, with Augustana's Landon Wierenga (men's outdoor track & field) and Keira Nelson (women's outdoor track & field) earning the conference's highest academic honor.

The Jack Swartz Academic All-Conference Award is the CCIW's premier academic distinction and is named in honor of former Wheaton College Director of Athletics and CCIW Commissioner Jack Swartz. Swartz served as Wheaton's athletics director from 1975–82 before becoming CCIW Commissioner from 1987 until his passing in 1997. The award recognizes student-athletes who exemplify the highest standards of academic and athletic excellence across the conference.

Each CCIW member institution selects one male and one female student-athlete from each sport season to be nominated for the honor. Selections are made internally by each athletic department based on academic achievement, athletic participation, and overall representation of their program. To be eligible, student-athletes must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.50.

In addition to the Jack Swartz honorees, Augustana placed 122 student-athletes on the Spring 2026 Dave Wrath Academic All-Conference Team, the third-highest total among the CCIW's nine member institutions and an increase of 13 honorees from last spring. The complete list of Academic All-Conference honorees is available HERE.

Men's outdoor track & field paced the Vikings with 25 Academic All-Conference selections, matching its total from last spring. Women's outdoor track & field followed with 22 honorees, while men's golf boasted 14 selections, five more than last spring. Softball rounded out the top four with 13 honorees, an increase of three from 2025.

The Dave Wrath Academic All-Conference award is named in honor of former Augustana athletics administrator Dave Wrath, who retired in 2021 after a 40-year career with the Vikings. Wrath also served as the CCIW Sports Information Director from 1996-2005 and played an instrumental role in establishing the conference's Academic All-Conference program. To be eligible, student-athletes must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.30 and have completed two full-time terms at their institution.