As the calendar prepares to flip to the new year, it provides an opportunity to look back at some of the Knights' top highlights from the last 12 months. Not surprisingly, Carleton student-athletes and teams won countless academic awards in 2023, but there is no way to fit all of those into a top-10 list. Enjoy this stroll down memory lane and get excited about the prospect of what might happen in 2024. Happy New Year!
 

10) Men's Cross Country – Knights head back to the NCAA Championships

The Knights qualified to Nationals for the first time since 2019, claiming the last invitation to the 32-team field. Carleton, which was making its 28th overall trip to the NCAA Championships, happened to be ranked No. 28 in the USTFCCCA poll leading up to the meet and finished in 28th place.
Read more:
NCAA Championships recap

9) Football – Late-game heroics—including keeping the Goat Trophy—lead to another 7-3 slate

Carleton finished the year with a 7-3 record, marking the first time in the program's 140-year history that the Knights posted back-to-back-to-back seasons of at least seven victories. The Knights refused to surrender and secured six come-from-behind triumphs, including wins over Hamline, Concordia, and St. Olaf decided in the closing moments. Against Hamline, the Knights went ahead with less than two minutes to go and broke up a potential game-winning touchdown pass as time expired. At Concordia, the Knights trailed 24-28 before scoring a touchdown and two-point conversion with 0:20 left. This stretch was capped by Marcus Merkelbach's 30-yard field goal with 23 seconds remaining as Carleton claimed a 33-31 Homecoming victory over cross-town rival St Olaf.
Read more:
Late touchdown, defensive stop give Knights a 31-27 win over Hamline
Late touchdown and two-point conversion give Knights a 36-35 thrilling victory over Concordia
Knights keep the Goat! Marcus Merkelbach's game-winning field goal gives Carleton Homecoming victory over rival St. Olaf

8) General - All-Americans all over the place

11 Carleton student-athletes combined to win 13 All-America Awards
• Jeremy Beckler capped a historic senior season by being named an All-American by D3hoops.com as he averaged 22.2 points per game. A Jostens Trophy finalist (1 of 10 in the country) and an NABC Division III All-Star Game participant (1 of 18 players), he wrapped up his career eighth on Carleton's all-time scoring list with 1,438 total points, despite playing only three seasons (due to the Knights not competing during the pandemic-affected 2020-21 academic year).
• At the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships in November, Hannah Preisser (14th place) and Phoebe Ward (16th place) collected All-American accolades in leading the Knights to victory.
• Tight end Ntense Obono was tabbed an All-American by D3football.com, the first Knight since 2011 to land on an All-America list. He leads tight ends across all levels of NCAA football—FBS, FCS, D-II and D-III—with 83 receptions, 8.3 receptions per game, and 78.4 receiving yards per game. His 784 receiving yards were the most by any NCAA tight end during the 2023 regular season.
• Carter Sichol received All-America honorable mention from the WGCA following her rookie season. She placed 10th at the NCAA Women's Golf Championships, ranking as the fourth-best individual finish in program history. She concluded the season at No. 12 in Golfstat's player rankings after leading the Knights with an adjusted scoring average of 74.78.
• Justin Crawmer missed most of the 2022 men's soccer campaign with a knee injury but returned to action this fall and played well enough to be 1 of 4 defenders named to the All-America First team by the United Soccer Coaches. The 2023 MIAC Defender of the Year, he scored 3 goals and added 7 assists for 13 points from his outside back position.
• Defender Piper Dean and midfielder Cate Patterson were both named All-Americans in voting by the United Soccer Coaches, marking the first time in Carleton Women's Soccer history that multiple players earned All-America recognition in the same season. They were the program's first All-Americans since 2010. Dean is 1 of 4 defenders named to the All-America First team. Despite playing center back, the MIAC Defender of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 tied for second on the Knights with 7 goals this fall. Patterson is the first attacking player in program history to take home All-America recognition as she tallied 5 goals and 6 assists to finish with 16 points during the 2023 campaign.
• With his play at the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships in May, Tarm Rojanasoonthon added his name to the program's list of All-Americans honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The MIAC Singles Player of the Year, he concluded the season with a 21-4 overall singles ledger.
• The women's track & field program collected four more All-America awards. In March, Nayeli Williams finished fifth in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships, while Clara Mayfield took third in the indoor mile before placing third in the 10K and fourth in the 5K at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in May.
 

7) Women's Cross Country/Track & Field - Donna Ricks inducted into USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame

During the summer, it was announced that Donna Ricks would be inducted into the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame. Although further proof of her success as a coach was not needed, a little over three months later, she guided her cross country team to the NCAA Division III title, the first women's team national title in school history.. She was also selected as the USTFCCCA North Region Coach of the Year and the Division III Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. Ricks was 1 of 5 Carleton coaches to earn MIAC Coach of the Year honors during 2023. Joining her on this list were Luciano Battaglini (women's tennis), Bob Carlson (men's soccer), Ryan Kershaw (men's basketball), and Jessica Mueller (women's soccer)
Read more:
Donna Ricks inducted into USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame

6) Women's Golf – Knights make fifth NCAA Championships appearance

Carleton featured the youngest squad in the 29-team field for the 2023 NCAA Women's Golf Championships with a lineup of then-sophomore Olivia Siebert and rookies Carter Sichol, Cynthia Lu, Natalie Tatar, and Sarah Zheng. The Knights were unfazed and finished 15th as a team, finishing ahead of four nationally-ranked programs.
Read more:
NCAA Championships recap
 

5) Men's Soccer – Knights extend postseason streak, advance to second round of NCAA Tournament

The Knights were ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation poll and finished the season 15-3-2 after qualifying for the MIAC Playoffs for the 16th consecutive time, extending their own conference record. Carleton received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships—its sixth trip to the national tournament—and prevailed 4-1 in a shootout against Pacific Lutheran in the first round. The Knights lost 1-0 in the second round and were the only team to hold the eventual national champions to only one goal during a NCAA Tournament match.
Read more:
NCAA Tournament Recap – First Round
NCAA Tournament Recap – Second Round

4) Women's Soccer – Knights are back-to-back MIAC regular-season champs, return to NCAA Championships

Carleton went 16-3-2 this season, the second-highest win total in program history. For second consecutive season, the Knights went undefeated in MIAC action en route to a second straight conference regular-season title. Carleton headed west for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010 and dropped a 3-2 decision to eventual national champion California Lutheran, becoming 1 of only 2 teams to score twice against the Regals all season long.
Read more:
Knights net second consecutive MIAC title
NCAA tournament recap

3) Men's Basketball – Knights win MIAC regular-season and postseason crowns, head to NCAA Tournament

Carleton (24-4, 17-3 MIAC) won the MIAC regular-season title by a whopping four games, defeated Hamline and Saint John's in the MIAC Playoffs and carried a 10-game win streak into the NCAA Championships, the Knights' first trip to the "Big Dance" since 2010. Carleton's rally in the first round of the NCAA Tournament came up just short in an 81-77 loss to St. Nortbert. The Knights climbed as high as No. 21 in the D3hoops.com Top-25 poll, their first national ranking since that poll began in November 1999.
Read more:
Knights clinch MIAC regular-season title
Knights advance to NCAA Tournament with win over Saint John's
NCAA Tournament recap

2) Women's Tennis – Knights capture MIAC regular-season and playoff titles, advance to Sweet Sixteen of NCAA Championships

Thanks to a deep and talented lineup, the Knights earned a total of nine All-MIAC awards as they won both the conference's regular-season and playoff crowns. Carleton finished the season 22-1 with the lone setback coming at No. 1-ranked Chicago in the third round of the NCAA Championships.
Read more:
MIAC Champs! Knights close undefeated regular season with win over St. Ben's
MIAC Playoff Champions! Knights top Gustavus Adolphus, 5-2, and advance to the NCAA Championships
NCAA Tournament recap – First Round
NCAA Tournament recap – Second Round
NCAA Tournament recap – Sweet Sixteen

1) Women's Cross Country – MIAC Champs, Regional Champs, NCAA Champions!!!

As if there was any doubt as to what would be the Knights' top highlight of 2023. The women's cross country team had a season for the ages, going undefeated against NCAA Division III competition during the entire season. The Knights won the MIAC Championships, the North Region Championships, and the NCAA Championships. It was the first women's team national title in school history. Carleton won the closest podium finish in NCAA D-III Women's Cross Country history as only seven points separated the top four teams.
Read more:
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! Knights win 2023 NCAA D-III Cross Country Championships
NCAA.com full replay of the NCAA Cross Country Championships