The NCAA Honors Committee has selected eight outstanding student-athletes as the 2008 NCAA Today’s Top VIII. These current student-athletes will be recognized for their athletics success, academic accomplishments, community service and leadership during the NCAA Honors Celebration January 13 at the NCAA Convention in Nashville.

The 2008 Today’s Top VIII are Rachel Buehler, Stanford University, soccer; Roberto Castro, Georgia Institute of Technology, golf; Dennis Dixon, University of Oregon, football; Ben Wildman-Tobriner, Stanford University, swimming; Lisa Winkle, Calvin College, basketball and outdoor track; Jamie Wolf, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, diving; Sarah Pavan, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, volleyball; and Sarah Zerzan, Willamette University, cross country and outdoor track.

The Top VIII honorees are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, which is composed of eight athletics administrators at member institutions and national distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes.

Following are summaries of the winners’ accomplishments:

Rachel Buehler
Stanford University
Soccer
A three-time captain for the Cardinal, Buehler participated on four NCAA tournament teams. The all-Pacific-10 Conference first-team selection was a 2007 Hermann Trophy semifinalist.

 Internationally, Buehler has been a U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team pool player since 2006 and an U-21 National Team member since January 2005. She represented the United States in three Nordic Cup tournaments and captained a 2007 Nordic Cup gold medal-winning team in Finland.

A human biology major who graduated in December 2007, Buehler was chosen as the ESPN Academic All-American of the Year. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America first team all-America Scholar Athlete was nominated for the Lederberg Award for Academic Excellence by the university’s human biology department and has been honored on the Stanford athletics department honor roll every quarter.

Buehler volunteered with the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative at elementary schools, assisted with the More Than a Meal program at a home for seniors and volunteered with the Special Olympics. She also spearheaded the Kicks for Breast Cancer soccer tournament to raise money for research.

Roberto Castro
Georgia Institute of Technology
Golf
Castro, a four-time Golf Coaches Association of America all-American and a four-time all-Atlantic Coast Conference pick, posted one victory, 20 top-10 finishes and 10 top-20 finishes in 47 career collegiate events. A co-recipient of the 2007 Byron Nelson Award as the outstanding senior golfer in Division I, he was member of the 2006 and 2007 ACC championship teams. As a follow up to earning conference rookie of the year honors in 2004, he placed third in the 2005 NCAA championship tournament. Castro also was a member of the United States team for the Palmer Cup Matches in 2005 and 2006. He served as captain of the 2005 team that defeated Great Britain and Ireland.

This industrial engineering major who graduated in May 2007 was a two-time CoSIDA academic all-American, two-time ACC all-academic golf team selection and two-time GCAA all-America Scholar. Castro earned a 2007 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship Award and also was the recipient of the 2007 Bobby Dodd Scholarship, presented annually to Georgia Tech’s top male and female student-athletes.

Castro spent three years representing the golf team on Georgia Tech’s Student-Athlete Advisory Board. In addition to helping organize an annual toy drive in the memory of late basketball player Michael Isenhour, he also was a Special Olympics volunteer, helped collect and package food to send to soldiers in the Middle East and led the golf team’s participation in a Habitat for Humanity project.

Dennis Dixon
University of Oregon
Football
A semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Trophy as the nation’s top quarterback and for the Maxwell Award recognizing the collegiate player of the year, Dixon built the Ducks into a national championship contender before a knee injury sidelined him l ate in the season. In addition to serving as team captain for the 2007 Ducks, he was drafted in the fifth round of the Amateur Baseball Draft in May 2006 and spent last summer playing in the Atlanta Braves’ minor league system.

Dixon, a sociology major who graduated in December 2007, received a National Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship from the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. A 2006-07 academic all-Pacific-10 second-team quarterback, Dixon was a finalist for both CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition and the Draddy Trophy, the academic equivalent of the Heisman.

Dixon participated in Quack’n Action Playday for kids and was a member of the weekly Speaking Team for middle school assemblies to promote sportsmanship, academic success and sports participation.

Ben Wildman-Tobriner
Stanford University
Swimming
Wildman-Tobriner earned 20 all-American honors and was named the 2007 Pacific-10 Conference Swimmer of the Year. The 2006-07 Stanford Athletic Board’s Al Masters Award winner for most outstanding student-athlete, Wildman-Tobriner also was recognized with a Pacific-10 Medal, the conference’s most prestigious honor. In international competition, he captured two gold medals at the 2007 FINA World Championships, competed at the 2006 Pan Pacific Champions, and is a member of the USA National “A” Team.

After leading Stanford to four Pacific-10 championships, the 2007 NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient and academic all-American graduated in May 2007 with a degree in biomechanical engineering. He was named the 2007 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American of the Year in the university division.

Wildman-Tobriner worked as a swim camp assistant and volunteered for the Boys and Girls Club. He also served at Veteran’s Hospital and was a research associate for neurosurgery at the Stanford Medical Center.

Lisa Winkle
Calvin College
Basketball and outdoor track
A 2007 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association/Kodak Division III All-American and recipient of the Josten’s Trophy (Division III’s highest basketball honor), Winkle is a two-time Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Most Valuable Player and four-time first-team all-conference selection. She is Calvin’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder and ranks second in the conference in both categories. As a sprinter and jumper for the outdoor track and field team, she was a seven-time all-American and three-time conference champion in the long jump.

Winkle graduated in May 2007 with a degree in mathematics/secondary education. The 2007 MIAA Female Scholar Athlete of Year was named the 2006 Michigan Female Athlete of Year, a 2007 NCAA Woman of the Year award honoree and is a three-time ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American.

Serving as captains for both sports, Winkle was a member of the SAAC and Fellowship for Christian Athletes, as well as a participant in Calvin’s student-athlete leadership conferences. Winkle devoted time tutoring single mothers working to complete their high school diplomas, coaching boys and teaching Sunday school.

Jamie Wolf
Clarion University of Pennsylvania
Diving
Wolf, a seven-time Division II national champion and eight-time all-American, was named the 2007 Division II Female Scholar Athlete of the Year. A three-time Division II NCAA Female Diver of the Year and three-time Clarion University Female Athlete of the Year, Wolf also holds the Division II one-meter dive record and numerous records at Clarion.

Graduating in May 2007 with a degree in molecular biology and a perfect grade-point average, Wolf was a finalist for the 2007 NCAA Woman of the Year award and was selected as the 2007 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American of the Year. An NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient, Wolf was an eight-time scholar-athlete award recipient, recognized by both her university and conference.

Wolf was a member of the Beta Beta Beta Biology Honors Fraternity and Student Honors Association. She participated in Clarion’s biotechnology club, health careers club and Dance Marathon committee. Wolf also managed an undergraduate research laboratory and contributed to Clarion’s Operation Clean Sweep and canned food drive efforts.

Sarah Pavan
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Volleyball
Named the 2006-07 Honda Broderick Cup Winner and 2006 American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year as a junior, Pavan is a three-time first-team all-American and was the 2006 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player. She garnered Big 12 Conference Female Athlete of the Year honors in 2006, was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Year and a four-time first-team all-conference selection. Pavan also competes internationally as a member of the Canadian National Team.

Pavan will graduate with a major in biochemistry in May 2008. Posting a perfect grade-point average, Pavan earned the 2006 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American of the Year award and was a three-time first-team academic all-conference selection. She was a six-time Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll awardee and received the 2006-07 Highest Honors Academic Medal.

Pavan volunteered for SafeQuarters to Benefit Friendship Home, a breast cancer walk and was a motivational speaker for the “School is Cool” Celebration program. She also contributed to the Student-Athlete Read to Succeed Book Drive and volunteer coached at volleyball youth clinics.

Sarah Zerzan
Willamette University
Cross country and outdoor track
This two-time NCAA Division III national champion and three-time West Region champion in cross country also was a member of three West Region and four Northwest Conference title teams. A three-time all-American, Zerzan is the school record holder in the 5,000 meters and 6,000 meters in cross country, and in the 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters in track.

On pace to graduate in May 2008, the chemistry major was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. A 2006-07 ESPN the Magazine first team Academic All-American, Zerzan earned the Ralph Purvine Pre-Medical Scholarship as the top pre-med student at Willamette and was selected by the university’s chemistry faculty as the Analytical Chemistry Student of the Year.

Co-founder of Willamette’s chapter of the Student Global AIDS Campaign, she helped organize fund-raising, advocacy and awareness events on campus such as the Pacific Northwest World AIDS Day Summit in 2006. Zerzan spent time as a Spanish-English and Russian-English mentor at a local middle school and elementary school and participated in local community service projects through the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.