Winger is Selected First Team Capital One Academic All-District

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University sprinter Paul Winger (Sr., Bonney Lake, WA/Bonney Lake HS) has been named First Team Capital One Academic All-District VIII on the 2011-12 NCAA Division III Men's Track & Field/Cross Country Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

As a First Team Academic All-District selection, Winger is now eligible for the Capital One NCAA Division III Academic All-America Team, which will be released on Tuesday, June 19.

First Team Capital One Academic All-District

Paul Winger, a Philosophy major, achieved a 3.48 cumulative grade point average through the 2011 fall semester. He graduated this spring.

Winger won four Northwest Conference titles in the 400-meter dash and was named NWC Men's Track Athlete of the Meet at the 2012 NWC Championships.

He also won NWC individual championships in the 200-meter dash in 2010 and 2011. He finished fourth in the NWC in the 200 this spring. In addition, he competed on Willamette's 4 x 100-meter relay and 4 x 400-meter relay teams that won NWC titles in 2010.

He established a personal record of 48.55 seconds in the 400-meter dash late this season at the Gregory Invitational on May 18 in Naperville, Ill. He achieved his personal record of 21.98 seconds in the 200-meter dash during the finals of the NWC Championships in 2010.

Winger was chosen as the winner of the J. Henry Booth Award for 2011-12. The Booth Award is presented annually by the Willamette Athletics Department to a graduating senior male student-athlete who has developed and demonstrated strong leadership skills and outstanding athleticism, while maintaining a high rank of scholarship during his collegiate career.

He finished his Willamette career ranked in Willamette's all-time top 10 in two events, finishing second in the 200-meter dash and fifth in the 400-meter dash.

CoSIDA District VIII

CoSIDA District VIII includes colleges and universities in the western United States. Athletes nominated for the Capital One Academic All-District Team were starters or key reserves with cumulative GPAs of 3.3 or higher (4.0 scale). Each athlete was at his current college or university for at least one academic year.