Laiying Alvarado and Kijana Caldwell Selected as Mancuso Award Winners

Findlay, Ohio - The University of Findlay athletics department announced the winners of the 2022 Mancuso Awards, given annually during the Universisty of Findlay Symposium for Scholarship and Creativity. The two winners of the Mancuso Award are women's tennis player Laiying Alvarado and football player Kijana Caldwell.

The Mancuso award is named after, and sponsored by, Iggy Mancuso, a 1945 graduate and highly successful wrestling coach from 1948 to 1958. The award is intended to bring distinction and honor to the top female and male athlete each year while encompassing factors such as academic achievement, contribution to the university and community, sportsmanship, integrity and humility, and athletic ability.

Laiying Alvarado came to Findlay all the way from Barquisimeto in Venezuela and is a senior on the women's tennis team. She will graduate this year with a degree in business and holds a cumulative GPA of 3.63. A captain on the women's tennis team, Laiying is the most decorated player in program history, earning G-MAC Freshman of the Year in 2019 and earning G-MAC Player of the Year last season. A repeat honoree on the Dean's List, Laiying has given her time and talents to many areas of campus and the community. She has helped with pro-ams and Adaptive Tennis programs at Findlay Country Club, playing the sport she loves with those who experience a disability. She has also represented Findlay at the national level, serving as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee liaison at the regional convention in Chicago, Illinois. Laiying has also volunteered with City Mission, Habitat for Humanity, and Clothe a Child here in Findlay. 

Kijana Caldwell came to Findlay from Oswego, Illinois and is a safety on the football team. Kijana, a Dean's List honoree in the spring of 2021, is a business administration major in undergrad, holding a cumulative GPA of 3.58, and is currently pursuing his MBA with a plan to graduate next fall. Kijana has been a member of the Oilers football program since 2017 and has earned multiple all-conference honors including being named first team all-conference in the spring of 2021. Kijana was also a leader for the Oilers football team that, this past fall, won the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship, the programs first conference title in 24 years. Along with success on the field, Kijana is very active on the Findlay campus and works closely with the marketing department, helping give virtual tours of different areas on campus to prospective students. Over the summer, people saw Kijana's face all over social media as he often took over the Findlay Instagram account, talking about all the great things that the University has to offer. There are few people on our campus who are as genuine and as excited about Findlay and his character and leadership are attributes that make him a vital part to his team and the University as a whole.