Five CCIW football players named to AFCA Division III All-America team
Five student-athletes from the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) have been named to the 2025 Division III Coaches’ All-America Team, according to an announcement by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The honorees include three First Team selections and two Second Team picks, representing Carroll University, North Central College, and Wheaton College.
Carroll senior tight end Reed Breckheimer was chosen for the AFCA First Team. He is only the second player in Carroll University history to earn this distinction. Breckheimer finished the season with 46 receptions for 488 yards and one touchdown. He also had 49 rushing attempts, totaling 308 yards and nine touchdowns.
North Central College had two athletes on the First Team. Senior wide receiver Thomas Skokna leads Division III with 23 receiving touchdowns and has accumulated 73 catches for 1,143 yards. Skokna was recently named a semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy. Senior defensive lineman John Sullivan joined him on the First Team, earning his second consecutive AFCA All-America honor after leading his team with 19.5 tackles for loss, which ranks him 21st nationally.
On the Second Team, Wheaton senior defensive lineman Peter Johanik was recognized after earning his third straight All-CCIW First Team award. Johanik is now Wheaton’s all-time leader in tackles for loss with a career total of 60. This season he led the conference with 16.5 tackles for loss and tied for first place with 8.5 sacks. North Central’s Aidan Ellison was selected as Second Team kicker; he ranked second in Division III in field goal percentage at 92.9%, converting 13 of his 14 attempts. Ellison also kicked a nation-leading field goal of 57 yards against Augustana.
The selection marks North Central’s sixth consecutive season with at least one AFCA All-American, while Wheaton extends its streak to eleven years—currently the longest among Division III programs—for having at least one player honored by AFCA since its inception of annual All-America teams in 1945.