John Winchell

Classroom

John Winchell is a marketing major with a communication studies minor who has a cumulative GPA of 3.06 and is on track to graduate May 2016. He interned with DucDuc The New Traditionalists, a furniture company, in the marketing department in Summer 2015 and with Tommy Bahama, a purveyor of island lifestyles and maker of luxury lifestyle clothing and accessories, in Summer 2014.

Character

John Winchell is a team captain and genuine leader both on and off the field. The Saint Joseph’s men’s lacrosse program recruited Winchell late in the fall of his senior year. He was undersized with average stick work, but he had the intangibles that made the coaching staff believe he could develop. The transformation in Winchell from a shy, quiet high school senior to a Division I team captain has been remarkable. He is not one of the most vocal guys, but when he speaks, he commands the attention of the room. Winchell has invested in his game and his athleticism. Through his tireless effort in the weight room, he has become one of the strongest and most fit players on the team. His dedication to improving his stick work allowed him to get on the field early in his career, as he played in 15 games as a freshman and then started all 32 games over the next two years. His work ethic at practice, his diligence in the classroom, and his mature attitude off the field has earned him the respect of his teammates. Winchell is a self-made player, and he has been a terrific captain for the Hawks this year.

Community

John Winchell has participated in the Martin Luther King Day of Service for four consecutive years (2013-16), which has involved cleaning up public trails and blocks and renovating elementary schools throughout Philadelphia. Winchell has participated in the SJU Kinney Center for Autism 5k for the last two years, through which he and his teammates have raised the most money out of all SJU varsity teams on campus both times. This fall, the men’s lacrosse program hosted the first annual HEADstrong SJU Fall Scrimmage, which fundraised over $3,000 in donations in an effort to improve the quality of life for cancer patients and their families through providing essential programs and services. Winchell has also been involved in multiple free lacrosse clinics for local youth, including this fall’s clinic for the Care 4 Cure Blood Cancer Foundation for high school students at Henderson High School in West Chester, Pa. At Glen Ridge High School, Winchell was the co-founder of Sportsmen Service League. Within this community services club, Winchell started Operation Brown Bag, which made and distributed 300 bagged lunches to soup kitchens in Newark, N.J. The club also raised money for breast cancer by selling wristbands and pink shoelaces for fall sports teams, shoveled walkways and raked yards for the elderly during fall and winter seasons, and helped with Fall Beach Sweeps, a clean-up event at a local park.

Competition

John Winchell is a two-time Northeast Conference First Team defenseman (2014-15) and enters his third year as a starting defenseman for SJU this season. He owns 66 ground balls and 44 caused turnovers in 47 career appearances with 32 starts. Over the last two seasons, Winchell averaged 2.1 ground balls/game and 1.4 caused turnovers/game, including 1.3 ground balls/game and 1.7 caused turnovers/game in NEC postseason play. Winchell is coming off of his first season of 20+ ground balls (26) and caused turnovers (single-season career-high 23) in 2015. He tied for SJU’s team lead in caused turnovers and tied for fourth in the NEC in caused turnovers/game (1.35) last year. Winchell posted a single-season career-high 35 ground balls through 15 games in 2014. He has recorded games with at least two ground balls and two caused turnovers seven times in his career. His top games include at No. 7 Virginia (3 G), at Delaware (career-high 4 CT), and at Mount St. Mary’s (4 GB, 3 CT) in 2015 and at No. 20 Penn (4 GB, 2 CT), at Wagner (career-high 5 GB), and at Michigan (4 GB, 3 CT) in 2014. Winchell has anchored SJU’s defensive unit that has led the nation in man-down defense for the past two years.