CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – Champaign Central standout runner Caleb Mathias was named the WCIA 3 Athlete of the Week on Thursday.

Mathias recently broke the Maroons’ indoor track record in the 1,600 with a time of 4:24. Despite the personal best, his record-breaking performance left him just outside the top 10 in the Batavia meet full of talented distance runners. Racing against the top competition in the state is a priority of coach Steven Kesler after Central made the jump up to 3A last spring.

“Iron sharpens iron,” Kesler, Central’s head cross country coach and distance coach for track, said. “Just seeing what’s out there and knowing that it’s gonna take to compete against the best I think has been good for our whole distance squad.”

Mathias didn’t finish as high as he’d hoped in the state cross country meet, racing through illness, which means he’s all the more motivated to make his junior track campaign a good one.

“I was really upset that I ended my season off being sick at state,” Mathias said. “I still did really good but was hoping to do a little better there. I’m ready for this season and ready to crush [track season.]”

Mathias is now eligible for a $1,000 scholarship WCIA will give away to one boy and one girl at the end of the school year.

If you know a deserving high school athlete for this award, nominate them here.