For Immediate Release
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
NSIC Elite 18 Award

BURNSVILLE, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul's Cole Oslin earned the NSIC Elite 18 Award for men's outdoor track & field as he held the highest grade point average and most completed credits among the 12 men's outdoor track & field teams. Oslin is the fourth student-athlete from Concordia-St. Paul to earn the NSIC Elite 18 Award, joining Jena Berkland (2019 - Soccer), Kara Lindberg (2019 - Indoor Track & Field) and Adam Hildebrandt (2018 - Baseball) as the only Golden Bears to earn the NSIC Elite 18 Award.
 
The Mora, Minnesota native has been a part of CSP’s track & field and cross-country teams for the past four years. His work ethic on the track and in the classroom has earned him seven NSIC All-Academic awards throughout his career in addition to being awarded the NSIC Myles Brand Academic with Distinction honor earlier this year. Oslin was also named to the second All-NSIC team during his senior cross-country season for his performance at the conference championships.

His freshman year, Oslin held the school record at CSP for the indoor 3000m which he broke at his first NSIC Indoor Championships. The distance runner’s track and field career consisted of nine top-ten finishes. Oslin’s senior year began with a major contribution to the Golden Bears cross-country team where he helped lead them to a fifth place-finish at the NSIC Championships after scoring 17 points for his team.

"Cole will be remembered for his resolve and desire to work through adversity during his time at CSP. A high achiever both in the classroom and in competition, Cole battled through a number of significant injuries and a student-teaching placement and handled it all with grace and maturity. Cole's race at the cross country championships this past fall was a big-time, clutch performance that garnered him All-Conference recognition and helped his team secure a 5th place finish," - CSP Head Track & Field Coach Sam Johnson.

As part of the NSIC 25th Anniversary celebration during the 2016-17 academic year, the NSIC Elite 18 Award was instituted to recognize the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the NSIC Championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The NSIC Elite 18 award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NSIC’s 18 Championships.