A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lingle spent two years running at the Stony Brook School before transferring to the University of Missouri to run cross country and track and field. He made the most of his time in the black-and-gold, winning the national indoor championship in the 1,000-yard run in 1965, leading the Tigers to the NCAA team championship. He was also an all-American in the mile run, placing third in the 1965 NCAA outdoor championships. He set the Big Eight Conference indoor record in the 1,000 (2:08.8), and won seven conference track titles, and the 1963 league cross country championship. He served as assistant track coach under Bob Teel and head cross country coach at MU from 1972-81. He returned to Stony Brook where he coached for many years.
