Todd Ciesielczyk '87 set the bar for throwers on Ripon College's Track & Field team. A six-time conference champion and four-time National qualifier, Ciesielczyk is the only four-time All-American in program history, accomplishing that feat three times in the shot put and once in the discus. Also a member of the Redmen football and wrestling teams, Ciesielczyk was inducted into Ripon's Athletics Hall of Fame, posthumously, in 2020.

"I remember recruiting Todd because he came from Seymour High School and the coach there was a strong UW-LaCrosse guy," former Ripon Head Football and Track & Field Coach Larry Terry said. "I really wanted to win the recruiting game with Todd mostly because I thought he was a great fit for our school and a great athlete in both Football and Track & Field, but I also wanted to show that we could compete in the recruiting battle against a powerhouse like UW-LaCrosse."

Ciesielczyk made his presence known almost immediately after stepping foot on Ripon's campus, becoming a conference champion in his first appearance at the Midwest Conference Outdoor Championships when he won the Discus as a freshman with a throw of 155-02. For an encore, Ciesielczyk became an indoor conference champion during his sophomore season, winning the shot put with a throw of 51-02.5 at the conference meet.

As great as his career ended up being, it didn't truly take off until his junior campaign, which saw him win his first conference championship in the outdoor shot put with a throw of 51-05.75 to qualify him for the Division-III National Championships for the first time in his career. He would go on to finish sixth in the event at Nationals, which secured his first-ever All-American honor.

"Todd was a National talent and dominated the Midwest Conference meets in both shot put and discus," Terry said. "I have many fond memories of Todd traveling to meets and watching him compete with great composure and one of the national meets was at UW-LaCrosse, so it was awesome to showcase his talents in his home state."

He saved the best for last when as a senior, Ciesielczyk qualified for Nationals in three different events. He won his second career conference title in the indoor shot put (50-00.5), finishing seventh in D-III in that event to earn All-American status for the second time in his career, before repeating as the MWC's outdoor shot put champion with a school and conference-record throw of 54-02, which has since been broken. That year, he also won the outdoor discus for the second time in his career with a throw of 164-08. He would finish sixth in both events at D-III Nationals to become the first (and only) four-time All-American in school history.

Ciesielczyk also contributed on the wrestling mat and the football field, where he was a versatile student-athlete during his collegiate career.

"Todd was a big target on the football field and he had huge hands, so he could catch almost anything thrown his way," Terry said. "He was also an exceptional blocker at the tight end position."


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLICK HERE to view and read all of Ripon's archived '100 For 100' profiles, which will have each profile added to it once it is posted online.