For the 34th consecutive year, the NCAA Honors Committee has selected student-athletes who have achieved success in competition, academics and community service as recipients of the NCAA Today’s Top VIII. The honorees will be recognized January 7 during the Honors Celebration at the NCAA’s Centennial Convention.

The 2006 Today’s Top VIII are Samantha Arsenault, University of Georgia, swimming and diving; Sarah Dance, Truman State University, swimming and diving; Carter Hamill, Amherst College, indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country; Nicholas Hartigan, Brown University, football; DeMeco Ryans, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, football; Christine Sinclair, University of Portland, soccer; Richelle Simpson, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, gymnastics; and Jamie Southern, California State University, Fresno, softball.

Following are selected highlights of the accomplishments of the 2006 NCAA Today’s Top VIII:

Samantha Arsenault

University of Georgia

Swimming and diving

• 2000 Olympic gold medalist in the 800-meter freestyle relay.

• Member of the 2005 Division I national-championship team and member of the winning 200-meter and 400-meter medley relay teams.

• Seven-time all-American.

• NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient.

• Southeastern Conference postgraduate scholarship winner.

• Served as teacher’s aide for three years.

• Recipient of the Peach of an Athlete Award by Atlanta-area Boy Scouts for community service.

Sarah Dance

Truman State University

Swimming and diving

• 28-time all-American.

• Member of four straight national-championship teams and seven national-championship freestyle relay teams.

• National record holder in the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays.

• 2005 NCAA postgraduate scholarship winner.

• 2005 College Sports Information Directors Association Academic All-American of the year.

• Member of Alpha Sigma Gamma, a campus service sorority.

• Weekly hospital emergency room volunteer.

• Presenter at the 2005 National Strength and Conditioning Association conference.

Carter Hamill

Amherst College

Outdoor track and field, indoor track and field, cross country

• Two-time NCAA champion in the outdoor 10,000 meters and three-time national title holder in the indoor 5,000 meters.

• Three-sport captain for two years.

• School record holder in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters and the distance medley relay.

• 18-time all-American.

• Three-time academic all-New England Small College Athletics Conference selection.

• Recipient of Amherst’s Howard Hill Mossman Trophy awarded annually to the graduate “who has brought the greatest honor to the school in his or her career” in achievement and sportsmanship.

• Volunteer at the Massey Cancer Center at the Medical College of Virginia.

Nicholas Hartigan

Brown University

Football

• First-team Walter Camp all-American.

• Walter Payton Award finalist and Draddy Trophy semifinalist.

• Ivy Group player of the year.

• 2005 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the year and academic all-Ivy selection.

• Rhodes Scholarship finalist.

• Football contact for American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life at Brown.

• Organized a bench-a-thon to raise funds for the Lawrence Rubida Fund benefiting cancer research.

DeMeco Ryans

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

Football

• 2005 Walter Camp all-American.

• Named to the 2005 Sports Illustrated mid-year all-American team.

• Finalist for 2005 Butkus Award and the Draddy Trophy.

• Semifinalist for Rotary Lombardi Award.

• National Football Foundation postgraduate scholarship recipient.

• 2005 Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar and winner of Alabama’s Paul W. Bryant Student-Athlete Award for scholarship in business administration.

• Four-time recipient of the Black Scholars Award.

Richelle Simpson

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Gymnastics

• 2005 NCAA Woman of the Year top 10 finalist.

• 2003 Pan American Games silver medalist as member of the Canadian National Team.

• Two-time NCAA national champion with a school-record eight career perfect “10s” to her credit.

• 2003 Honda Award finalist.

• NCAA postgraduate scholarship and  Big 12 Conference postgraduate scholarship recipient.

• 2005 Nebraska Female Student-Athlete of the Year and Big 12 Female Sportsperson of the Year.

• Member of the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

• Recipient of the AAI American Award presented to a gymnast based on academics, athletics and civic responsibility.

Christine Sinclair

University of Portland

Soccer

• Member of the 2002 and 2005 NCAA Women’s College Cup championship teams.

• Portland women’s soccer record holder in single-season goals and career game-winning goals.

• Member of the Canadian National Team since 2002; second-highest scorer in Canadian women’s soccer history.

• 2002 Honda Award winner for soccer and 2004 Hermann Trophy recipient.

• One of 24 finalists for 2005 FIFA world player of the year.

• Two-time academic all-West Coast Conference selection.

• Volunteer at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House.

Jamie Southern

California State University, Fresno

Softball

• Member of the U.S. National Team since 2002.

• Gold medalist at the 2002 Canada Cup and silver medalist at the 2005 World Cup of Softball.

• Member of three Western Athletic Conference championship teams.

• 2005 WAC female student-athlete of the year and four-time league pitcher of the year.

• School and conference all-time career wins leader.

• Four-time Fresno State and WAC scholar-athlete selection.

• Recipient of the Fresno State Torchlighter Award given to a senior who has lettered in two of the last three years and earned at least a 3.500 cumulative grade-point average.

• Member of Fresno State’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

• Volunteer for the Special Olympics; served as teaching assistant and volunteer reader at an elementary school.