Wheaton, Ill. - A career-best effort by running back Sola Olateju helped the sophomore earn this week's CCIW Offensive Player of the Week award as announed by the conference office on Monday afternoon. Wheaton student-athletes have earned CCIW Player of the Week recognition five times this season. The award is the first of his career for Olateju.

Olateju played a key role in Wheaton's 62-14 victory against Millikin on Saturday as he ran for a career-high 193 yards, averaging 14.8 yards per carry with three touchdowns. He also caught three passes in the game for 37 yards.

Olateju scored all three of his touchdowns in the second quarter to break a 14-14 tie and give Wheaton 20 of its 48-unanswered points. His first touchdown was a two-yard run that broke the score in the tied game and gave Wheaton a 20-14 lead. His second touchdown was a career-long 85-yard run that increased Wheaton's lead to 27-14 midway through the second quarter. His third touchdown came in the final minute of the first half and the 15-yard TD run gave Wheaton a 34-14 lead that the Thunder held at halftime.

Olateju has run for 560 yards this season, averaging 93.3 yards per game with seven touchdown runs. He has carried the ball 67 times and his average of 8.4 yards per carry is ranked third in Division III. The sophomore trails only Tyler Donahue of Saint Vincent (10.10 YPC) and Sam Frasco of Augustana (8.90 YPC). He also has caught seven passes for 78 yards this year.