Head Coach Donna Ricks
Phone: (507)222-4485
Office: Recreation Center 232
Email: dricks@carleton.edu
Record at Carleton:
• 2023 NCAA Division III Cross Country Team Champions
• 2023 USTFCCCA Women's Cross Country National Coach of the Year
• 2022 NCAA D-III Cross Country 4th place (podium finish)
• 21 NCAA Cross Country Championship team appearances (1993, 1995, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
• 9-time USTFCCCA Central Region Coach of the Year (2009, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 for cross country; 2014 and 2016 for outdoor track and field)
• 15-time MIAC Coach of the Year: 13 cross country, 1 indoor track & field, 1 outdoor track & field
• 7 NCAA North Region Championships team titles (2009, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 for cross country)
• 12 MIAC Cross Country Championships team titles (2004, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023)
• 9 MIAC Cross Country Championships runner-up finishes (1993, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2021, 2024)
• 16 top-4 team finishes at the MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships (1994, 1995, 1996*, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2012*, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023* — *indicates runner-up finish)
• 11 top-4 team finishes at the MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships (1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2014*, 2015, 2016*, 2018* — *indicates runner-up finish)
• During her time at Carleton, the Knights have had 7 individual national champions (1 indoor track & field, 6 outdoor track & field) and a total of 72 All-America performances (14 cross country, 23 indoor track & field, 35 outdoor track & field)
Donna Ricks starting coaching at Carleton in 1993 and serves as professor of physical education, athletics and recreation, as well as head coach for the women's cross country and track & field programs. She was inducted into the U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Dec. 12, 2023, becoming only the 20th female coach to be enshrined by the USTFCCCA.
Over the years, she transformed the Knights' cross country program into a perennial contender at the conference, regional, and national levels. Under her guidance, Carleton has won 12 MIAC crowns, seven regional titles, and made 21 appearances at the NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships. The team's breakthrough came in 2022, with a historic fourth-place finish and their first-ever podium appearance at the national championships. Ricks and the Knights improved on that placement in 2023 as they won the closest 1-4 finish in NCAA D-III Women's Cross Country Championships history. It was the first NCAA women's team title in school history, and Ricks was selected as the 2023 USTFCCCA Division III Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
In track & field, the Knights have excelled at the individual level under Ricks' tutelage, winning seven individual NCAA titles across six events: 100-meter dash, 400-meter hurdles, discus, javelin, pentathlon, and heptathlon.
During Ricks' time at Carleton, the Knights have earned more than 70 All-America honors in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field, with a majority of those coming from outdoor competitions.
Ricks has been named USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year nine times since 2009. She became only the second female coach in NCAA D-III award history to win three consecutive cross country honors, doing so from 2017 to 2019.
Additionally, Carleton has received the All-Academic Team Award every year since the program began in 1993.
Ricks came to Northfield after six years as head cross country and track & field coach at Minnesota State University-Mankato, where she earned a B.S. degree and an M.A. degree in athletic administration. As a student there, Ricks was a cross country and track & field standout and All-American performer. In honor of her accomplishments, Ricks' alma mater inducted her into its Hall of Fame in 1998 and named her the fifth-greatest female athlete to attend the school in the past century. She previously served as the U.S. National Women's Heptathlon Coach in 1996.
Ricks resides in Northfield with her husband Dave (also the Carleton men's cross country and men's track & field head coach) and their daughter, Karissa.
Assistant Coach Laura (Roach) Albares '10
E-mail: lroach@carleton.edu
Phone: 507-222-7150
Laura (Roach) Albares '10 returned to the Knights in August 2012 after a successful collegiate career at Carleton College. Albares currently serves as assistant coach with the women's cross country and track & field programs. Prior to returning to her alma mater, she spent two years as an assistant at Hamline University.
"As a student-athlete it was evident through Laura's hard work and dedication, she had a passion for the sport and the desire to coach, Laura has been a tremendous asset to the Knights program, the transition from athlete to coach was smooth as Laura understood what it took to be a student-athlete at Carleton", said Head Coach Donna Ricks.
During Albares coaching time at Carleton the Knights have seen great success as the cross country program has qualified for every NCAA Championships since 2012, including multiple top 5 finishes and the 2023 national championship.
Albares was a captain and four-year letter winner for the Knights in cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field. In cross country, she helped the Knights capture the 2009 MIAC crown and earned a trio of All-MIAC honors. She also ran three times at the NCAA Championships, improving her placement each instance and culminating with an All-American performance in 2009. On the track, she earned all-conference distinction four times and added All-MIAC honorable mention in eight additional events. She still holds all-time top-10 performances on Carleton's outdoor performance list in the steeplechase (4th) and the 4x800-meter relay (7th).
Assistant Coach Kurt Hasenstein
Kurt Hasenstein joined the Knights during the summer of 2024. He spent 33 years coaching at Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, Ill. Including 31 years as the head coach for the cross country program and 25 years as head coach for track & field.
His track & field teams finished in the top 5 at the Illinois state meet in 2022 and 2023 and won four conference titles and a pair of sectional titles over his last five years with the Titans. During his tenure, Glenbrook South produced over 100 state qualifiers and 30 all-state athletes, including state champions in the 300-meter hurdles, discus, and 100-meter dash.
A USATF Level 1 certified coach, Hasenstein began his coaching career at North Central College (Ill.) in 1989 as the Cardinals won both the NCAA Division III indoor and outdoor team titles. He then served the next two years as a graduate assistant at Mankato State University (D-II).
As an athlete at North Central, he was a two-time All-American in the decathlon, four-time conference champion in the decathlon and javelin — holding school records in both events for over 20 years — and was team captain three times.
Assistant Coach Karissa Ricks
E-mail: kricks@carleton.edu
Phone: 507-222-4981
Karissa Ricks joined the Knights during the summer of 2024 and began working with the pole vaulters on the men's and women's teams. A 2023 graduate of Whittier College, she earned Academic All-District recognition that spring, shortly after competing in the pole vault at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. Ricks is currently pursuing her masters' degree at Concordia University Irvine.
Assistant Coach Jesse Schoen
Jesse Schoen joined the Knights' coaching staff during the summer of 2019 and will serve as an assistant coach with both the men's cross country and men's and women's track & field teams.
