FARMINGTON, Minn. – After the Carleton College women's cross country team won its second straight MIAC Championship, first-year Abigail Burns was honored as the conference Rookie of the Year, and head coach Donna Ricks was named MIAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the 15th time in her illustrious career.
 
Burns earned MIAC Women's Cross Country Rookie of the Year honors at the MIAC Women's Cross Country Championships after placing second overall with a 6K time of 22:24.9. The next closest rookie (Carleton's Jane Coffey-Read) finished in 15th place. Burns was Carleton's highest finisher in the conference-winning effort. The Iowan is the third Carleton runner to be named MIAC Rookie of the Year since the award's introduction in 2022, joining Hannah Preisser in 2022 and Claire Vukovics in 2025.
 
Ricks, who is in her 34th year leading the Carleton women's cross country program, added a 15th MIAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year award to her shelf after guiding the Knights to their tenth conference title in the last 13 seasons. Ricks has the most Coach of the Year awards in MIAC women's cross country history, with the next most prolific coach having four. She was previous chosen as Coach of the Year in 1995, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2025. Ricks has also earned Coach of the Year recognition for both indoor and outdoor track & field.
 
Carleton will compete at the NCAA North Region Championships on Saturday, Nov. 14. The Knights, ranked No. 18 in the country and No. 2 in the North Region by the USTFCCA, could earn a spot at the National Championship meet that will be hosted by Carleton College on Saturday, Nov. 21.