Class Of 2017 Inducted Into NCAA DIII Athlete Hall Of Fame

NEW ORLEANS – Ever since the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) introduced its NCAA Division III Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame in 2004, some incredible competitors gained entry into the exclusive fellowship.

The Class of 2017 is no different.

Olympians Jeremy Scott (Allegheny College) and Nick Symmonds (Willamette) join Amber James (Wheaton) and Robyn Jarocki (UW-Oshkosh) as the 14th group to be inducted into the prestigious Hall of Fame. This foursome combined for 36 NCAA titles and a multitude of All-America honors.

Learn more about each inductee by clicking their name or scrolling below.

Here are those athletes already enshrined in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2017 will be honored at the 2017 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Amber James, Wheaton College

There is dominant.

Then there is Amber James.

From 2001 to 2004, James won 17 NCAA titles as a member of the Wheaton College track & field team – 11 of those via individual events.

Nearly half of those titles (8) came in the 400, where James swept the NCAA crowns from the moment she stepped on the track as a freshman until stepped off as a senior. James is 1 of 2 women to win four individual event titles in a row indoors and 1 of 5 women to do so outdoors.

James added six more titles to her haul in relay events (5 in the 4×400, 1 in the 4×100) and the last three came in the outdoor 200, which she won from 2002 to 2004.

With her success at the NCAA level, all the Wheaton Lyons had to do was climb on her shoulders and let her carry them to victory. Wheaton completed the indoor-outdoor team title sweep from 2001 to 2003. UW-Oshkosh ended the Lyons’ run in 2004 with a sweep of its own.

When it comes to the NCAA DIII record books, James still holds the divisional record in the indoor 400 at 54.48 and currently sits 3rd on the outdoor chart (53.58) in the same event. James also owns the 4th fastest mark in NCAA DIII history over 200 meters outdoors (23.73w).

Robyn Jarocki, UW-Oshkosh

Very few throwers in NCAA DIII history were as versatile or as stellar as Robyn Jarocki.

From 2003 to 2006, Jarocki won 10 NCAA titles across four throwing events with four coming in the shot put, three in the weight throw, two in the discus throw and one in the hammer throw.

Jarocki still holds the NCAA DIII record in the outdoor shot put with a heave of 16.77m (55-0¼), sits 5th on the chart for the discus throw (52.34m/171-8) and is the 9th best performer in NCAA DIII history in the hammer throw (58.80m/192-11).

She starred at the NCAA championships and owns indoor championship records in the shot put and weight throw and the outdoor championship record in the shot put.

UW-Oshkosh flourished while Jarocki was on campus, winning five national titles including indoor and outdoor titles in 2004 and 2006. The Titans also won the indoor title in 2005.

Jeremy Scott, Allegheny College

There aren’t as many pole vaulters as tall as the 6-foot-9 Jeremy Scott.

Then again, there aren’t many pole vaulters as good as Scott either.

Scott started slow at Allegheny College as he posted runner-up finishes at both the 2000 and 2001 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships – but quickly left his mark in a big way.

As a junior in 2002, Scott became the first vaulter in NCAA DIII history to clear 18 feet. He captured his first NCAA title with a vault of 5.50m (18-0½), which turned out to be the best clearance across all three NCAA divisions that year. Scott carried that success into the outdoor season as he completed the indoor-outdoor NCAA sweep.

The native of Norfolk, Nebraska, holds the all-conditions NCAA DIII record in the pole vault with his clearance of 5.70m (18-8¼) at the 2002 USATF Championships.

Scott kept it rolling for 10 more years as he finished runner-up at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials and competed at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Nick Symmonds, Willamette

Over the span of his career, Nick Symmonds found incredible success outdoors.

While at Willamette, Symmonds won seven NCAA individual titles under a blue sky and is the only man to do so in NCAA DIII history.

Symmonds swept the outdoor 800-meter title from 2003 to 2006 and won 1500-meter crowns in 2003, 2005 and 2006. He became just the 2nd man in NCAA DIII history to win the 800 and 1500 during the same outdoor meet and the only man to do it three times in a career (Haverford’s Karl Paranya completed the first 800-1500 sweep in 1997).

The NCAA DIII record book is littered with Symmonds’ name as well, as he holds the season record at 800 meters (1:47.34) and the all-conditions standard of 1:45.83.

When Symmonds left Willamette, however, he proved to everybody once again that division doesn’t matter: talent does.

Symmonds won five consecutive U.S. titles from 2008 to 2012 – added another in 2015 – and made two Olympic teams in the process (2008 and 2012). The native of Boise, Idaho, reached the semifinals of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and finished 5th at the 2012 London Olympic Games. The following year he won sliver at the 2013 IAAF World Championships.