BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – A conference record-tying six members of the Carleton College women's golf program took home All-MIAC recognition as the conference golf coaches handed out their awards for the 2025-26 season. Senior Carter Sichol was named MIAC Women's Golf Player of the Year, and Sloan Wallgren was tabbed Coach of the Year.
 
Sichol along with classmates Cynthia Lu and Sarah Zheng were joined on the 16-player All-Conference team by junior Mindy Zhai, sophomore Anna Lee, and first-year Kate Yi.
 
With Lu, Sichol, and Zheng joining the club, only 27 women's players in recorded conference annals have earned All-MIAC status four times. That trio of Knights made conference history by becoming the first set of three teammates to be four-time recipients of the All-MIAC Award at the same time. The only other time that multiple players from the same program achieved this feat was Carleton's Ayumi Sakamoto and Ziyi Wang from 2016-19.
 
Sichol was named MIAC Women's Golf Player of the Year for the second time in her career after leading the conference with an average of 73.6 shots per round in 2025-26 and claiming medalist honors at the MIAC Women's Golf Championships for the second time in three seasons. She rewrote the MIAC record book with her performance at the 2025 conference meet by setting new championship individual records for 18-hole score (69), 36-hole score (138), and 54-hole score (211).
 
She is currently ranked No. 21 in the nation and posted top-5 finishes at five of the Knights' eight tournaments this season, including medalist honors at the Carleton Fall Invite in addition to her title at the MIAC Championships.
 
Sichol — who also won MIAC Women's Golf Player of the Year honors in 2024 — is the seventh woman in recorded MIAC history to win the award twice and only the third to do so non-consecutively, joining Carleton assistant coach Alyssa Akiyama (2017 and 2020) and St. Catherine's Kyra Venne (2023 and 2025).
 
Lu owns a 77.9 scoring average so far this year to rank sixth in the MIAC. She had four top-10 finishes, including a seventh-place result at the MIAC Championships. Lu concluded tournaments in the top-5 on three occasions with a victory at the Northfield Open in April.
 
Zheng ranks seventh in the conference with a 78.2 scoring average. Her eighth-place finish at the MIAC Championships was one her four top-10 results on the season.
 
Zhai is now a three-time honoree, becoming the 53rd player in conference history and the 12th Knight to achieve that status. She is second on the roster and fourth in the MIAC with a 77.2 stroke average. Zhai totaled five top-10 results, with four top-5 finishes, including taking third place at the MIAC Championships.
 
Yi has posted a 78.3 scoring average, good for ninth among MIAC players so far this season. Her rookie season saw a pair of top-5 finishes with a fourth-place showing at the MIAC Championships two weeks after being the medalist at the St. Kate's Fall Invite.
 
While the other five Knights were automatically named to the All-MIAC squad thanks to their top-10 performances at the conference championships in the fall, Lee is 1 of 5 at-large players voted to the All-Conference Team based on their body of work throughout the season. She owns a 78.5 scoring average (11th in the MIAC) with a trio of top-10 results, including her first collegiate victory at the Carleton/St. Kate's Spring Finale tournament.
 
Wallgren was celebrated by his peers as the MIAC Women's Golf Coach of the Year after leading the Knights to a historic conference championship title in 2025-26. Carleton shattered championship scoring records on each day of the 2025 MIAC Women's Golf Championships, setting new conference-low team scores for 18 holes (292), 36 holes (298), and 54 holes (886). That performance clinched a bid to next week's NCAA Championships for the No. 17 ranked Knights.
 
He is the third Carleton coach in program history to be named MIAC Women's Golf Coach of the Year, and the first since 2019 to receive the honor. Wallgren was previously honored with the MIAC Men's Golf Coach of the Year award in 2025 after guiding Carleton to its first-ever conference title in men's golf last season. He joins Gustavus' Scott Moe as the only individuals to receive MIAC Coach of the Year recognition for both men's and women's golf.
 
Next week, Carleton will make its sixth all-time appearance as a team at the NCAA Championships. This year's competition will be held May 19-22 at Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, California. 
 
Carleton golfers to be named MIAC Player of the Year
2014-15   --   Shannon Holden
2016-17   --   Alyssa Akiyama
2017-18   --   Ziyi Wang (co-winner)
2018-19   --   Ziyi Wang
2019-20   --   Alyssa Akiyama
2023-24   --   Carter Sichol
2025-26   --   Carter Sichol
 
Most All-MIAC Award Recipients in a single season (does not include Honorable Mention)
6 — Carleton — 2018-19
6 — St. Catherine — 2023-24
6 — St. Catherine — 2024-25
6 — Carleton — 2025-26
5 — Concordia — 1995-96
5 — Concordia — 1996-97
5 — Concordia — 2000-01
5 — Carleton — 2013-14
5 — Carleton — 2014-15
5 — Carleton — 2017-18
5 — St. Catherine — 2020-21
5 — St. Catherine — 2021-22
5 — Carleton — 2024-25
4 — 17 times, including four times by Carleton (2015-16, 2016-17, 2022-23, and 2023-24)