Wittenberg Tigers kicker named first-team All-American

Gingery only player to rank among national leaders in field goals, punting

Wittenberg Tigers senior Will Gingery was named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America Division III First Team on Monday as a placekicker. He's the program's first first-team All-American since defensive lineman Eddie Vallery in 2009.

Gingery, a Bexley High School graduate, starred as a kicker and punter for the Tigers, who won the North Coast Athletic Conference championship, beat Thomas More in the first round of the playoffs and finished 10-2.

Gingery’s season will go down as one of the greatest in Wittenberg history, at any position, for a number of reasons:

• Gingery led the nation with 23 field goals and ranked 18th in field-goal percentage (.793, 23 of 29).

• Gingery shattered the school record for made field goals as no Wittenberg player had kicked more than 14 in a season.

• Gingery made two 50-yard field goals. There had been only two field goals of 50 or more yards in Wittenberg history before this season.

• Gingery ranked fifth in the country in punting average (43.6 yards per punt). He was the only player in the country to rank among the national leaders in punting and field goals.

• Gingery scored 110 points. The previous school record of 88 was set by kicker Sean Williams in 2012.

• Gingery played in a Division II-III all-star game, the National Bowl, on Dec. 4 and kicked field goals of 51 and 48 yards. He’ll play in the Division III Senior Classic on Dec. 17 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

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