Caleb Ashby is named as a finalist for the 2016 Cliff Harris Award

Wheaton, Ill. - Wheaton senior linebacker Caleb Ashby has been named as a finalist for the 2016 Cliff Harris Award, which is given to the nation's top small-college defensive player. The finalists are chosen from over 5,000 defensive players representing more than 500 NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA institutions.

Ashby is one of only 29 finalists from Division III institutions and was the only nominee from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). He is the second Wheaton player to be named as a finalist for the award in its three-year history joining Adam Dansdill, a finalist in 2015. Ashby and Dansdill are the only CCIW players to ever be nominees or finalists for the award.

The winner will be announced on December 24 and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards banquet January 19, 2017. The winner will receive the Cliff Harris Award and the top vote getters from each division will also be announced.

Last month, Ashby became the 11th Wheaton student-athlete to win the CCIW's "Don Larson Defensive Player of the Year Award". A senior at linebacker for the Thunder, he is a two-time All-CCIW performer.

Ashby registered 86 total tackles this fall, including 47 solo stops. The senior recorded 16.5 tackles for lost yardage (-80 yards), including 10 quarterback sacks (-67 yards). His 10 sacks this year is tied for the seventh-highest single-season sack total in program history.

In his four seasons with the Thunder, Ashby tallied 231 total tackles, including 35 tackles for lost yardage (-131 yards). He registered 12 career sacks (-79 yards) and snagged five interceptions

Originally published by Wheaton College Athletics: /news/2016/12/16/caleb-ashby-finalist-harris.aspx