INDIANAPOLIS---Eight standout student-athletes have been chosen by the NCAA Honors Committee as recipients of this year’s NCAA Top VIII Award.

These current student-athletes will be recognized for their athletics success, academic achievement and community service at the NCAA Honors Celebration on Sunday, January 13, at the 2008 NCAA Convention in Nashville.

The 2008 NCAA Top VIII recipients are:

Rachel Buehler, Stanford University, human biology, soccer -- A three-time captain, Buehler was an all-Pacific-10 Conference first-team selection and a 2007 Hermann Trophy semifinalist. She is a U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team pool player, a U-21 National Team member and has represented the United States in three Nordic Cup tournaments. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America first-team All-America Scholar Athlete was chosen as the ESPN Academic All-American of the Year. Buehler, who graduated in December 2007, volunteered at local elementary schools, at a home for the elderly and with Special Olympics.

Roberto Castro, Georgia Institute of Technology, industrial engineering, golf -- Castro, a four-time Golf Coaches Association of America All-American, was named co-recipient of the 2007 Byron Nelson Award as the outstanding senior golfer in Division I. He was a member of the 2005 and 2006 United States team for the Palmer Cup Matches and  twice named a CoSIDA academic All-American. Castro, who graduated in May 2007, earned the ACC Postgraduate Scholarship Award and the University’s Bobby Dodd Scholarship that year. Castro served three years on the Student-Athlete Advisory Board and was a Special Olympics volunteer.

 Dennis Dixon, University of Oregon, sociology, football -- Dixon, a quarterback, was a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Trophy for the top college quarterback and the Maxwell Award recognizing the collegiate player of the year. The team captain 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, who graduated in December 2007, received a Postgraduate Scholarship from the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. Dixon was also a finalist for the Draddy Trophy, the academic equivalent of the Heisman. He was also a member of the weekly Speaking Team for middle school assemblies.

 Sarah Pavan, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, biochemistry, volleyball -- The 2006-07 Honda Broderick Cup Winner and 2006 AVCA National Player of the Year as a junior is also a three-time first-team All-American and the 2006 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player. Pavan, the Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year and two-time Big 12 Player of the Year, will graduate in May 2008. Posting a 4.0 GPA, Pavan was named the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year. Pavan participates in a breast cancer walk, volunteers with school-aged youth and coaches at volleyball youth clinics.

 Ben Wildman-Tobriner, Stanford University, biomechanical engineering, swimming -- Wildman-Tobriner earned 20 All-American honors, captured two gold medals at the 2007 FINA World Championships and was named the 2007 Pac-10 Swimmer of the Year. A 2007 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient and 2007 academic All-American, he graduated in June 2007. Wildman-Tobriner was recognized as Stanford’s most outstanding student-athlete and received a Pac-10 Medal, the conference’s most prestigious honor. He worked as a swim camp assistant, volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club and was a research associate for neurosurgery at the Stanford Medical Center.

 Lisa Winkle, Calvin College, mathematics/secondary education, basketball, outdoor track and field -- A 2007 WBCA/Kodak Division III All-American and Josten’s Trophy Women’s Basketball recipient, Winkle was a two-time conference MVP and four-time first-team all-conference selection. Winkle graduated in May 2007 as a seven-time NCAA Division III All-American in outdoor track and field. She was named the 2006 Michigan Female Athlete of Year, a 2007 NCAA Woman of the Year award nominee, and is a three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American. Winkle was a member of the SAAC and is a volunteer tutor/instructor and a Sunday school teacher. 

 Jamie Wolf, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, molecular biology, 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. An NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, she is a three-time Division II NCAA Female Diver of the Year and three-time Clarion University Female Athlete of the Year. Graduating in May 2007 with a perfect 4.0 GPA, Wolf was a 2007 NCAA Woman of the Year award finalist. She was a member of the biology honors fraternity and managed an undergraduate research laboratory. Wolf also contributed to the Health Careers Club and the Dance Marathon.

 Sarah Zerzan, Willamette University, chemistry, cross country and outdoor track and field -- Zerzan is a three-time All-American, a two-time NCAA Division III national champion in cross country and holds school records in five cross country and outdoor track events. Zerzan, who will graduate in May 2008, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and is a five-time academic All-American. She earned the Ralph Purvine Pre-Medical Scholarship and was selected by faculty as the Analytical Chemistry Student of the Year. Co-founder of Willamette’s chapter of the Student Global AIDS Campaign, she also spent time as a mentor at local schools.

The Top VIII Award winners are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, which comprises eight athletics administrators at member institutions and nationally distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes.

Members of the committee are: Gene Corrigan, former Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner; Timothy W. Gleason, (chair) commissioner, Ohio Athletic Conference; Stephanie Harrison-Dyer, associate director of athletics/compliance coordinator, Albany State University (Georgia); Calvin Hill, consultant, Jerry Jones and the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys; Jackie Joyner-Kersee, former University of California, Los Angeles, track and field student-athlete and Olympian; Gibbs Knotts, faculty athletic representative, Western Carolina University; Julie Powers Ruppert, senior woman administrator and associate commissioner, America East Conference and Barbara Walker, senior associate director of athletics/senior woman administrator, Wake Forest University.