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.
Martin became the first four-time winner of the CCIW Male Swimmer of the Year award. He earned all-America honors with a sixth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly (48.51) at the NCAA Division III Championships for the third year in a row.
Martin 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.
Martin caps his career with three All-American awards; four CCIW Male Swimmer of the Year awards; four Scholar All-American honors; CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades; five individual and five relay CCIW championship performance; 16 total all-CCIW marks; and four individual and five relay Rose-Hulman school records.
Hong earned her first CCIW Female Swimmer of the Year award after capturing two All-American honors at this year’s NCAA Division III Championships. She placed fourth in the 200-yard backstroke (1:58.77) and seventh in the 100-yard backstroke (55.70) 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.
Hong completed her junior year with a school record tying four All-American awards; eight all-conference performances, highlighted by one conference title; and four individual and five relay school record performances.
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.
Swimming news courtesy of Rose-Hulman Swimming & Diving.
