BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Carleton College distance runner Matthew Wilkinson (Greenwood, Minn./Minnetonka) captured Outstanding Men's Track Athlete honors from the MIAC after winning the 3000-meter run, 5000-meter run, and distance medley relay titles at the recent conference indoor championships.
 
Wilkinson is the third different Carleton runner in the last five seasons to be named Outstanding Track Athlete following the MIAC Indoor Championships, joining Donson Cook-Gallardo (2016) and Lucas Mueller (2018-19). Overall, Carleton Knights have captured this award eight times in the last 20 years.
 
Wilkinson won his third straight MIAC title in the 5000-meters last Friday, this time crossing the line with a time of 14:47.24 and marking the 10th time a Knight won this event at the conference indoor meet.
 
He came back later that same evening and served as the anchor leg of the Knights' distance medley relay. When he took the baton for the final mile, Carleton was 50 meters behind the leaders. Four laps later, Wilkinson took the lead and maintained his advantage the rest of the way, eventually opening up a 40-meter gap en route to the winning time of 10:22.11.
 
His signature performance of the meet came the next day in the 3000-meter race as Wilkinson broke the 42-year-old Carleton team record as well as the MIAC Championships and McNeely Spectrum facility records with a time of 8:11.52 - the fastest finish in NCAA Division III this season. This was the eighth time that a Carleton runner won the indoor title at this distance.
 
The MIAC started running both the 3K and 5K at the 1999 conference indoor meet. This is the eighth time overall that a runner has won both events, the fifth time a Knight achieved the feat, and the first time since 2009 that anyone has done so (SEE CHART BELOW). Wilkinson and Carleton's Andy Sherman (2001) are the only ones to win both of these long-distance races in addition to anchoring the winning distance medley.
 
Additionally, Carleton's Clara Mayfield (Fy./Manhattan, Kan./Manhattan) prevailed in both the women's 3000-meter and 5000-meter races, marking only the second time in recorded conference history that one school won the indoor 3K-5K combo for both the men and women. The other time was also achieved by a pair of Knights when Charlie Gamble '10 and Simone Childs-Walker '12 did so at the 2009 championships.
 
Carleton's MIAC Outstanding Men's Track Athletes
2001  --  Andy Sherman
2006  --  Steve Harris
2008  --  Tom Ballinger
2009  --  Charlie Gamble
2016  --  Donson Cook-Gallardo
2018  --  Lucas Mueller
2019  --  Lucas Mueller
2020  --  Matthew Wilkinson
 
MIAC men to complete 3K-5K double win at MIAC Indoor Championships
2001  --  Andy Sherman (Carleton)
2002  --  Tom Kreger (Hamline)
2003  --  Tom Kreger (Hamline)
2005  --  Dan Bucy (Carleton)
2006  --  Steve Harris (Carleton)
2007  --  Travis Bristow (Hamliine)
2009  --  Charlie Gamble (Carleton)
2020  --  Matthew Wilkinson (Carleton)
 
Carleton's MIAC Champions for Men's Indoor 3000m
2001 -- Andy Sherman
2004 -- Matt Hooley
2005 -- Dan Bucy
2006 -- Steve Harris
2009 -- Charlie Gamble
2018 -- Lucas Mueller
2019 -- Lucas Mueller
2020 -- Matt Wilkinson
 
Carleton's MIAC Champions for Men's Indoor 5000m
1995 -- Jon Bougie
1996 -- Kevin Theissen
2001 -- Andy Sherman
2005 -- Dan Bucy
2006 -- Steve Harris
2009 -- Charlie Gamble
2016 -- Hart Hornor
2018 -- Matt Wilkinson
2019 -- Matt Wilkinson
2020 -- Matt Wilkinson