NORTHFIELD, Minn. --- The No. 4-ranked Carleton College women's cross country program put all five scorers inside the top-10 and captured the team title at the MIAC Cross Country Championships. This is Carleton's 13th MIAC crown overall, and the Knights have now won 8-of the last-10 MIAC crowns and 12-of the last-19.
 
"The MIAC Championship is always a special meet, as this is the last opportunity of the season when every athlete on the team steps up to the line together and truly runs their best for each other," said Carleton head coach Donna Ricks. "To finish on top as a team is a tremendous feat, and I am very proud of how these athletes competed today. All season long, every athlete has brought their best to practice and given their best the day of competition. We are grateful to have a close-knit team, and we are so appreciative of every athlete.
 
"As a coach I can't single out one individual as every athlete made a difference and accomplished this goal. I do want to acknowledge our seniors for their leadership."
 
Racing on its home course, Carleton finished with a team score of 25 points, which is tied the third-lowest known winning team score in MIAC Championships history (see chart below).
 
No. 23-ranked St. Olaf came in second place, with a score of 51. The third-place finisher was Saint Benedict with a final total of 87 points, despite the performance of three-time individual champion Fiona Smith, who shattered the MIAC Championships record by more than 75 seconds with a time of 19:55.5. St. Scholastica came in fourth place with a final score of 103.
 
Hannah Preisser started off the scoring for the Knights finishing in second place overall with a time of 21:29.3. Directly after her came Phoebe Ward, finishing third overall with a time of 21:31.4. Helen Cross was next to finish right behind them, coming in fourth place with a time of 21:47.9.
 
Sophie McManus was the next scorer for Carleton, crossing the line in seventh place overall with a time of 22:09.0. The final scorer for the Knights was Aliya Larsen, who finished ninth with a time of 22:18.1.
 
Mary Blanchard (10th at 22:26.6) and Libby Rowland (14th at 22:46.4) joined the Carleton scorers in earning All-MIAC recognition.
 
This is only the second time since the MIAC began recording cross country all-conference awards on the conference website in 1995 that a school had seven runners take home Al-MIAC status. The other time was Carleton in 2017.
 
Nora Daley was the eighth Knight to cover the 6-kilometer distance, earning all-conference honorable mention as she placed 21st at 23:17.4. Among conference first-years, she was second-fastest in this year's field.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will run in the NCAA North Region Championships on Saturday, Nov. 11. That competition will be held at Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax, Wis.
 
Lowest Winning Team Score at MIAC Championshipos
21  --  Carleton (2017)
22  --  St. Thomas (1984)
25  --  Carleton (2019)
25  -- Carleton (2023)

MIAC Team Titles for Carleton Women's Cross Country
1991 (42 points)
2004 (71)
2005 (75)
2009 (65)
2011 (33)
2013 (51)
2014 (42)
2015 (61)
2017 (21)
2018 (32)
2019 (25)
2022 (27)
2023 (25)