National Champion Hammer Thrower Rudy Winkler Transferring to Rutgers
Dec 04 | Men's Track & Field
2017 NCAA champion and 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials champion set to use his final year of eligibility “On the Banks”
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Dec. 4, 2017) – Rutgers men's track and field bolstered its throwing roster with a national championship-caliber graduate transfer, as head coach Mike Mulqueen announced on Monday that reigning NCAA hammer throw champion Rudy Winkler will use his final year of eligibility with the Scarlet Knights, and will be immediately cleared to compete in the spring of 2018.
Winkler, who earned a biological engineering degree from Cornell University, won the 2017 NCAA outdoor national title in the hammer throw and represented the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio after winning the U.S. Olympic Trials, also in the hammer.
"We are very excited to have Rudy join our program," said assistant coach Robert Farrell, who coaches the throws at Rutgers. "He's an outstanding young man who has competed at the highest levels. He epitomizes what it is to be a successful student-athlete, excelling both in the classroom and in the hammer. I can't wait to get started and help him accomplish his dreams."
Winkler, a three-time NCAA First Team All-American, captured the 2017 NCAA hammer throw crown last June in Eugene, Oregon with a toss of 74.12 meters (243' 2"). One year earlier, the Averill Park, New York native recorded his personal record in the event at the perfect time: the U.S. Olympic Trials. The mark of 76.76 meters (251" 10') earned Winkler the win in the trials and a trip to Rio 2016, where he placed 18th.
"A big part of my decision to come to Rutgers was the competition in the Big Ten," Winkler said. "Having a season where I'm competing at bigger meets consistently will be good for me. The Big Ten a few years ago in the hammer was ridiculous. Training for the 2020 Olympics is going to be a big thing. I think I have some potential to get back there.''
The fifth-year senior will enter Rutgers' graduate program in pursuit of a Masters of Business and Science. In addition to his world-class throwing accolades, Winkler is thoroughly decorated for his work in the classroom. He earned Dean's List and Ivy League All-Academic distinctions all four years of his undergraduate career, and made the NCAA Division I All-Academic Team five times.
At Cornell, he was a member of the Red Key Athlete Honor Society and the Quill and Dagger Senior Honor Society. With the hammer, he was named a three-time NCAA Northeast Region Field Athlete of the Year and the Ivy League's Most Outstanding Performer in 2014 and 2015.
Winkler's first meet is scheduled for Rutgers' outdoor opener at South Florida's Bulls Invitational on March 22-23, 2018 in Tampa.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers men's cross country, follow the program on Twitter (@Rutgers_MensTF). The team is also on Facebook (facebook.com/ RutgersMensTF/).
Winkler, who earned a biological engineering degree from Cornell University, won the 2017 NCAA outdoor national title in the hammer throw and represented the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio after winning the U.S. Olympic Trials, also in the hammer.
"We are very excited to have Rudy join our program," said assistant coach Robert Farrell, who coaches the throws at Rutgers. "He's an outstanding young man who has competed at the highest levels. He epitomizes what it is to be a successful student-athlete, excelling both in the classroom and in the hammer. I can't wait to get started and help him accomplish his dreams."
Rudy Winkler gives new meaning to putting the hammer down on the way to becoming @CornellTFXC's 4th men's nat'l champion EVER! #ncaaTF pic.twitter.com/wyFnjNIYKf
— ESPNU (@ESPNU) June 8, 2017
Winkler, a three-time NCAA First Team All-American, captured the 2017 NCAA hammer throw crown last June in Eugene, Oregon with a toss of 74.12 meters (243' 2"). One year earlier, the Averill Park, New York native recorded his personal record in the event at the perfect time: the U.S. Olympic Trials. The mark of 76.76 meters (251" 10') earned Winkler the win in the trials and a trip to Rio 2016, where he placed 18th.
"A big part of my decision to come to Rutgers was the competition in the Big Ten," Winkler said. "Having a season where I'm competing at bigger meets consistently will be good for me. The Big Ten a few years ago in the hammer was ridiculous. Training for the 2020 Olympics is going to be a big thing. I think I have some potential to get back there.''
The fifth-year senior will enter Rutgers' graduate program in pursuit of a Masters of Business and Science. In addition to his world-class throwing accolades, Winkler is thoroughly decorated for his work in the classroom. He earned Dean's List and Ivy League All-Academic distinctions all four years of his undergraduate career, and made the NCAA Division I All-Academic Team five times.
At Cornell, he was a member of the Red Key Athlete Honor Society and the Quill and Dagger Senior Honor Society. With the hammer, he was named a three-time NCAA Northeast Region Field Athlete of the Year and the Ivy League's Most Outstanding Performer in 2014 and 2015.
Winkler's first meet is scheduled for Rutgers' outdoor opener at South Florida's Bulls Invitational on March 22-23, 2018 in Tampa.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers men's cross country, follow the program on Twitter (@Rutgers_MensTF). The team is also on Facebook (facebook.com/ RutgersMensTF/).
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