Oakland’s Cislo, Goetz Awarded Horizon League Post-Graduate Scholarships
INDIANAPOLIS – Oakland women’s swimming student-athlete Madelyn Cislo and men’s cross country and track student-athlete Connor Goetz have been named the recipients of this year’s Horizon League Post-Graduate Scholarship Award, as voted on by the League’s Faculty Athletic Representatives, announced the League on Friday.
“It is a distinct pleasure to recognize Madelyn and Connor as our Horizon League Post-Graduate Scholarship Award winners,” said Horizon League Commissioner Julie Roe Lach. “These extraordinary students exemplify our core values as they embody our commitment to maximize educational opportunity through sports. We are proud of their achievements and wish them the best as both pursue their post-graduate degrees at Oakland in the engineering management program.”
Since 2014, the Horizon League has annually provided a post-graduate scholarship to a male and female student-athlete who exhibit excellence in the areas of academics, leadership, service, and athletics. Each of this year’s recipients will receive $5,000 to be used for graduate school expenses.
Cislo majored in industrial and systems engineering at Oakland University and graduated last month with a grade-point average just over 3.90. She has been accepted to continue her education at the Masters of Science in Engineering Management program at Oakland.
“I am extremely honored to be awarded this scholarship,” said Cislo. “It means very much to me as well as the Oakland Swim and Dive program to not only be recognized for success in the pool but also academics, community service, and leadership. Being the first Oakland swimmer recognized for the Horizon League Post-Graduate scholarship is a tremendous honor and I am proud to continue Oakland’s legacy of greatness. I am incredibly grateful that the Horizon League has chosen to help me pursue my Master’s degree and has recognized what I have done in and out of the pool.”
Cislo is a four-time Horizon League champion as she helped the Golden Grizzlies claim titles in all four years she competed. She is a two-time individual champion in the 400-yard individual medley, touching the wall first in the event in both her freshman and senior seasons. Cislo was a member of the winning 800 freestyle relay team in 2019 and also added eight top-8 individual finishes at the League’s championship meet over her career. The Milan, Mich. native ranks top-10 in program history in the 400 IM.
Goetz majored in computer engineering and maintained a perfect GPA while at Oakland. Along with Cislo, he has also been accepted to Oakland’s Masters of Science in Engineering Management program.
“Winning the Horizon League Post-Graduate Scholarship is an extremely exciting and humbling opportunity,” said Goetz. “It was so rewarding to compete at such a high level across the conference for four years. By using this scholarship to continue my education into graduate studies at Oakland, and with the hard work and discipline acquired through sports, I know I will certainly be propelled forward as I step into this next stage of life. I could not be more excited or grateful.”
Goetz has excelled on both the cross country course and on the track during his time with the Golden Grizzlies. In cross country, he was named the 2019 Athlete of the Year after crossing the tape first at the League championship in the 8K race with a time of 24:06.7. On the track he is a two-time individual champion in the 3,000-meter run at the indoor League championship, while also being a two-time champion in both 5,000-meter and 10,000-meters runs at the outdoor League championships. The native of Fort Wayne, Ind. ends his career as the school record holder in the indoor 3,000-meter run.
To be eligible for the scholarship, student-athletes must meet criteria in four distinct categories — academics, athletics, service and leadership. The recipient must have an overall minimum GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent, have competed with distinction as a member of a varsity sport, exhibited quality time working in the community/university in providing service to others, and demonstrated leadership qualities as a student at their institution and as a member of their intercollegiate program.