USILA All-Americans

Louisville, Ky.----The Wingate University Bulldogs had a pair of players earn huge honors when the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) announced the 2022 All-American teams and major award winners. Willie Grieco is the National Lt. Col. JI Turnbull Outstanding Attackman of the Year, while Danny Riley is the Lt. j.g. Donald MacLaughlin Jr. Outstanding Midfielder of the Year. Both are first team All-Americans, while Bobby Padden earns second team All-American honors and Mike DiLegge is an honorable mention selection.

"Willie and Danny have done so much to push our program to another level," head coach Tim Boyle says. "We couldn't be more proud of both of them for this honor. The future of the program is in good hands with these two fine young men. We look forward to growing more and seeing how far we can go with them and the rest of the young men in the program."

"Bobby and Mike have done so much for this program during their time here at Wingate," Boyle says. "They have elevated the expectations to another level. They deserve all of these honors that they are receiving now and we are so very proud of them and honored to have been given the chance to coach them. We are going to miss them very much but we know that they both will be very successful in the next phase of their lives."

Grieco continues to earn honors at an incredible rate, after being named the region's Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week. He is the first Bulldog to be named the National Attackman of the Year, while Riley is the first National Midfielder of the Year. Reese Orman was named the National Long Pole Midfielder of the Year last Year.

Grieco was named the 2022 SAC Offensive Player of the Year, piling up 46 goals and 67 assists to register 113 points. Grieco broke his own SAC record with 67 assists this year, after handing out 64 assists last season. He is the first player in league history to go over 100 points in a season, notching 113 on the year after registering 90 points last year, which was good for third in SAC history. He already has 144 career assists, by far the most in league history. Grieco leads the nation in assists per game and points per game, piling up 6.28 points per contest, another SAC record. Grieco earned All-American honors from USA Lacrosse Magazine and the USILA in 2021, while already picking up first team All-American accolades from USA Lacrosse Magazine this year. He notched a point in every game this year, with five or more points in 13 of his 18 games. Grieco had 12 points in the Queens win, nine points against Barton and eight points against Coker and in the NCAA Tourney game at Limestone. He had five seven-point performances, including the SAC semifinals and the opening round win at Lindenwood.

Riley adds this huge honors to numerous accolades over the last two years. He was a consensus first team All-American in 2021, while earning first team All-SAC and All-Region accolades this year. This is his second first team All-American nod this year, adding it to USA Lacrosse Magazine accolades. Riley piled up 44 goals and 14 assists out of the midfield in 2022, while also picking up 54 ground balls on the year. He notched multiple points in 16 of 18 games, going for seven goals and an assist at Lindenwood. That was one of six games that Riley had at least five points. He registered five goals and an assist in wins over Queens and Catawba.

Padden is an All-American for the second straight year. This is his second All-American nod of this year, earning third team honors from USA Lacrosse Magazine earlier this year. He broke the program record for career goals and points in his final season at Wingate. Padden piled up 48 goals and 38 assists on the year, ranking third in the SAC in points, fourth in assists and sixth in goals. He finished in the top 15 in the nation in points per game and assists per game. Padden notched multiple points in all 18 games in 2022, going for four or more points on 13 occasions. He had seven goals and two assists at Coker, while piling up three goals and five assists in the NCAA Tourney win at Lindenwood. Padden also had five goals and three assists at Barton, while notching seven-point efforts against top-10 opponents in Mercyhurst and Limestone.

DiLegge wraps up his career by earning All-American accolades for the first time in his career. The All-SAC and All-Region honoree helped Wingate rank third in the SAC with a 9.45 goals-against average. DiLegge piled up 17 caused turnovers and 38 ground balls on the year, adding a pair of goals. He had multiple CTs five times on the year, notching three caused turnovers in wins over Barton and Mercyhurst. He netted a goal in the win at Tusculum, while also scoring in the NCAA Tournament contest at Limestone.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a laboratory of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina. Wingate offers 37 undergraduate majors as well as eight master's and four doctoral programs. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences; the Levine College of Health Sciences; the Byrum School of Business; and the College of Professional Studies, which includes the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.
 
Wingate is the leading healthcare education provider in western North Carolina, and nearly one in five Wingate undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Athletes on Wingate's 25 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award for 14 years straight. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.