The senior distance runner won the national championship in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:02.40, crushing her closest competitor, Caroline Cretti of Williams College, by more than 12 seconds. It was the third time in her outstanding collegiate career that Hamill has won the event. Her victory in the 5,000 helped lead Amherst to an all-time best third-place finish in the NCAA Div. III Indoor Track Championships, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University. The Jeffs tallied 26 total points, 10 behind champion University of Wisonsin-Oshkosh.

• Joe Vladeck '06

The junior flamethrower has gotten his season off to a torrid start, winning each of his first three games on the mound while pitching 17.1 innings and striking out 17 batters without giving up a single earned run. Vladeck led Amherst to victories over Anderson and Clarkson Universities and NESCAC rival Colby College en route to a 5-2 record during the team's stay in Florida during Spring Break. His efforts were especially heroic in the Colby game, when he pitched 6.1 innings in relief, striking out eight and allowing only two unearned runs, providing the Jeffs with an impressive come-from-behind victory, 10-7.