A pair of NESCAC champion swimmers, junior Paige Arnold and first-year Owen Vale, have been named Amherst's Student-Athletes of the Month for February.

Arnold was crowned NESCAC champion in two events and swam three NCAA B-cut times to lead the Mammoths at the NESCAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Arnold won the 100-yard butterfly and anchored Amherst's winning quartet in the 400-yard freestyle relay, which set a meet record of 3:22.11. The Oakland, California, native also finished second in the 200-yard individual medley and anchored the runner-up 800-yard freestyle relay. Arnold swam personal-best times in the 100 fly, 100 free and 200 IM, all of which were NCAA B-cuts that ultimately qualified the junior for the NCAA Championships.

A double major in French and geology, Arnold has now posted 10 All-NESCAC finishes in three seasons and five All-American finishes in two trips to the national championships. In addition to the three individual events, Arnold qualified for this year's NCAA Championships as part of four relay teams.

Vale was crowned NESCAC champion in the 400-yard individual medley and earned Rookie of the Year honors at the NESCAC Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Vale set a new NESCAC record in the 400 IM with a winning time of 3:50.78, more than a second better than the previous record, and became the first Amherst swimmer to win the NESCAC title in that event since 2010. The Avon, Connecticut, native finished second in the 200-yard individual medley, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in both IM events. Vale also placed fourth in the 200-yard butterfly and anchored Amherst's fifth-place 800-yard freestyle relay team.

Vale has already broken the Amherst school records in the 100 IM, 200 IM and 400 IM. The rookie set the Amherst pool record in the 100 IM earlier this season and set the Colby pool record in the 400 IM at the NESCAC Championships.