BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – For the third consecutive season, members of the Carleton College distance program swept the top annual MIAC Men's Cross Country awards. This time around, junior Matt Wilkinson (Greenwood, Minn./Minnetonka) was voted the MIAC Athlete of the Year and head coach Dave Ricks was tabbed with Coach of the Year distinction.
 
Wilkinson captured the individual crown at the MIAC Championships and did so in 24:37.4, which was the fastest 8K time in MIAC Championship history by nearly seven seconds. He is the third consecutive Knight to win the MIAC Athlete of the Year honors in men's cross country, joining 2017 conference champ Donson Cook Gallardo (2017) and Lucas Mueller (Jr./St. Paul, Minn./Nova Classical Academy), the 2018 titleholder and 2019 runner-up.
 
Ricks was honored by his peers with the Coach of the Year award for the third consecutive cross country season. Under his guidance, the Knights put three runners in the top-10 and all five scorers inside the top-20 at the MIAC Championship race. Ricks has previously received MIAC Coach of the Year accolades for cross country in 2017 and 2018, and indoor and outdoor track and field in 2018.
 
All-MIAC recognition goes to the top 15 finishers at the conference championships. Wilkinson and Mueller appeared on this list for the third consecutive season. Meanwhile, Cameron Meikle (Sr./Hamilton, Mont./Hamilton) finished eighth overall and became only the 10th runner in conference history to earn men's cross country All-MIAC status in four consecutive seasons.
 
Runners that finished 16th-25th at the MIAC Championships took home all-conference honorable mention. The names of Stephen Lavey (So./Cedar Grove, Wis./Cedar Grove-Belgium), Ben Santos (So./Boulder, Colo./Boulder), and Zak Sather (Fy./Eau Claire, Wis./Eau Claire Memorial) could be found among this group after they placed 19th, 20th and 23rd, respectively.
 
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the 14th annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for Men's Cross Country. Members of this squad are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition. Senior Edward Hershewe (Joplin, Mo./Thomas Jefferson) was Carleton's representative.