The Riffle Awards have been presented annually since 1987 to the top male and female athlete in Hamilton's senior class. Riffle graduated from Hamilton in 1950 and passed away on Dec. 13, 1986. A group of Riffle's friends and associates established a memorial fund in his name because of his deep interest in Hamilton athletics.
Kuhns is the second Riffle winner in the last four years from the women's hockey team. In 2023 she was selected a first team all-American in the East Region by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) and was voted the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Player of the Year. She was the second defender in NESCAC women's hockey history that was named player of the year. The two-time all-conference first team honoree (2022, 2023) finished her 76-game career with 48 points on 13 goals and 35 assists. This season Kuhns helped lead the Continentals to a single-season record for wins, a team-record eight-game winning streak, their highest finish in the NESCAC standings, their first conference championship final appearance, their first NCAA championship bid, and a trip to the national semifinals. Hamilton finished the season ranked fourth in the USCHO.com Division III Top 15 poll.
Geach is the first Riffle winner from the men's golf team since 2014. He is a three-time member of the all-NESCAC team, including the first team in 2021 and 2022, and was voted the conference's 2022 Golfer of the Year. He made the Golf Coaches Association of America's all-region team in 2021 and 2022, and was an honorable mention all-American in 2021. As a senior, Geach finished in the top seven in five tournaments. His end-of-season scoring average for 18 holes was never worse than 75.9 in any of his four years. Geach helped the Continentals win the 2022 NESCAC title and they earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III championship. He finished in third place in the NESCAC championship on the team's home course.
Women's swimmer Sam Karlson '23 (Warwick, R.I./La Salle Academy) and men's swimmer Emilio Vicioso '23 (New York, N.Y./The Dalton School) received the Jean-Marius Gelas Memorial Awards. The Gelas Awards are presented annually to a male and female senior student-athlete who has displayed outstanding development in sportsmanship, leadership, character and athletic ability during their college years.
Karlson was a three-time all-American, twice for the 100-yard freestyle (2022, 2023) and once for the 200 free relay (2023). She qualified for the 2022 and 2023 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in the 50 and 100 free. She made the 2023 all-NESCAC team for finishing in third place in the 100 free at the conference championships. Karlson holds the team record for the 50 and 100 free, and is part of record-setting 200, 400 and 800 free relays. She was a team captain for the 2022-23 season.
Vicioso qualified for the 2023 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in the 100-yard breaststroke and earned 2023 all-America honors for the event. He made the 2023 all-NESCAC team for finishing in the top three of the 50 and 100 breast at the conference championships. He holds the team record for the 50 and 100 breast, and is part of record-setting 200 and 400 medley relays. The 2022-23 team captain led the way with a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative that brought all the NESCAC swimming and diving teams together.
Women's hockey forward Nancy Loh '23 (Syracuse, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius HS) and baseball outfielder Phil Bernstein '23 (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Berkeley Carroll School) received the Milton H. Jannone Awards. The Jannone Awards have been presented annually since 2009 to a male and female senior athlete who exhibit outstanding athleticism, leadership and academic accomplishment.
Loh is a 2023 AHCA East Region second team All-American, and she tied for the NCAA Division III lead with eight game-winning goals during the 2022-23 season. She was a two-time, all-NESCAC first team selection (2022, 2023) and the 2019 conference Rookie of the Year. Loh finished her 104-game career with 96 points on 56 goals and 40 assists, and is fifth in Hamilton women's hockey history in career goals. The Continentals had a record of 66-33-5 during her four seasons. Loh has a double major in German studies and mathematics and statistics. The three-time member of the NESCAC winter all-academic team received the Wyld Prize in German at the 2023 Class and Charter Day Awards Ceremony.
Bernstein was an American Baseball Coaches Association all-region second team selection and D3baseball.com all-region third team honoree in 2022. He was voted to the all-NESCAC second team in 2021 and 2022. He holds team single-season records for total bases and runs scored, and is the only Hamilton baseball player that has scored 100 career runs. Bernstein is sixth on the team's all-time list in career hits, is second in career stolen bases, batting average, and on-base percentage, and is fifth in career slugging percentage. The sociology major never committed an error in his 84-game career, and was a member of the 2022 NESCAC Spring All-Academic Team. Bernstein was a key contributor as a junior for the 2022 Continentals as they set a single-season record for wins, made their first postseason appearance, won their NESCAC quarterfinal series, and played in the conference championship final.
