Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame
Three-time CCIW champion and national qualifier, All-American and one-time school record holder, Dave Lingner’s discus-throwing resume competing for Augustana from 1977-81 has earned him a spot in the Tribe of Vikings 2016 Hall of Fame class.
A graduate of nearby Alleman Catholic High School, where he set the school discus mark, Lingner enrolled at Augustana in 1976 and joined Coach Paul Olsen’s track & field program for the 1977 season. As a freshman, he won the discus at a home triangular and at the Augustana Open Invitational before finishing third at the CCIW Championships. That would be the only time in his career that he didn’t come away a winner at the conference meet.
As a sophomore in 1979, Lingner continued his winning ways. He claimed discus titles at a home quadrangular, the Augustana Open Invitational, the Eastern Illinois Invitational and in a dual meet versus Coe. He won his first CCIW championship with a heave of 159’ 7” in Bloomington, Illinois, besting North Central’s Rich Belmer by three feet.
Lingner’s second individual conference title, in 1980, was a particularly sweet one. Not only did it come at home, but his effort helped Olsen’s Vikings break North Central’s five-year stranglehold on the CCIW team championship. He threw 154’ 7” as Augustana easily outdistanced the Cardinals 237½ to 171 for the team title. Lingner’s top throw of the season was 158’ 9” and qualified him for the national meet for the second straight year.
After individual victories at the 1981 Spring Opener, Augustana Invitational and in a dual versus Bradley, Lingner claimed his third consecutive CCIW discus title as a senior and helped the Vikings defend their team championship in Decatur, Illinois. In an event that included five national-qualifying performances, Linger’s winning mark of 167’ 8” broke both school and conference records. He bettered Steve Perry’s previous Augustana standard of 167’ 2”, set in 1973, in addition to Ed Viktor’s (North Central) 15-year old conference record of 163’ 2”.
Lingner’s CCIW mark would stand for 19 seasons, but his new school record would last just two weeks. At the Chicagoland Invitational in Naperville, Illinois on May 14, he broke his own mark with a heave of 170’ 4”. It would be 28 years before any Viking bettered it.
At the NCAA Division III Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, Lingner threw 161’ 10” to finish as national runner up and earn All-America honors. His effort helped Augustana take second in the team standings, matching the performance of the 1975 Vikings as the highest national finish in school history.
While finishing up his studies in 1982, Lingner served on Olsen’s staff coaching throwers as the Vikings claimed another conference title and finished 10th in the nation. He stated, “Some of the fondest memories of my entire life are those of Augustana track & field under Paul Olsen.”
After graduating in 1982 with a degree in physical education, Lingner managed a health club before moving to Kansas City, Missouri, where he lived for 20 years. Dave and his wife of 28 years, Nancy, currently reside in Branson, Missouri, where he owns Branson Hills Lawn Care and coaches throwers at the School of the Ozarks. The couple has seven children—Laura, Summer, Christian, Teddy, Andrew, Nathan and Melody—and are grandparents to Summer’s son Parker.
