Former Wheaton track star Amber James named to USTFCCCA Division III Silver Anniversary Team

July 31, 2006

NORTON, MA- Former Wheaton College women's track star Amber James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) was recently selected to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III Silver Anniversary Team.

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of women competing in the NCAA outdoor track and field championships, a panel of USTFCCCA coaches selected the team following this year's Division III nationals in Lisle, Illinois.

The Silver Anniversary Team consists of the most outstanding individuals in each event as well as the top coach and most successful school during the past 25 years of NCAA Division III women's outdoor track and field championships.

James, who is a 2004 graduate and event representative for the 400-meter dash, is the most decorated athlete in Wheaton history. Having won four straight outdoor titles in the 400 from 2001-04, her winning time of 53.58 seconds in 2004 is the second-fastest mark in meet history.

James recorded an astounding 10 national championships and 14 All-America performances during her four outdoor seasons, leading the Lyons to three national crowns and one third-place finish. Combining those numbers with her indoor tallies, James left Wheaton as a 17-time national champion and 24-time All-American.

Helping the Lyons become the first Division III program to sweep three straight indoor and outdoor national titles, James was just the second Division III athlete to grab eight indoor and outdoor national championships in a single event, the 400M dash. James also became just the second athlete to capture three successive 200M dash outdoor national crowns. Her seven individual outdoor national titles placed her second for most championships in a career.

The 2002 Division III track and field recipient of the Honda Award, which recognizes the top female collegiate athlete in each of 12 sports, and finalist for the Honda-Broderick Cup, given to the division's Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, James remains Wheaton's record holder in the indoor and outdoor 200- and 400-meter dashes. She also anchored the school's top indoor and outdoor 4x400M relays and best indoor 4x200M and outdoor 4x100M relay teams.

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