Class of 1969: Cross Country and Track & Field

Mike Steiner was born and raised in Minneapolis. He graduated from Minnetonka High School, where he lettered in both track and cross country, captaining the track team his senior year.

Steiner was graduated Magne Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa following the greatest career in the history of Carleton track and cross country. He never lost a race to a Midwest Conference opponent during his career and in three years of competition was defeated by non-conference College Division runners only twice. His 4:04.9 clocking in the mile run in June, 1969 at the Central Collegiate Championships was the fastest mile time ever posted by a Minnesota collegian and the best College Division time in the nation that year. An NCAA College Division All-American in both track and cross-country, Steiner set Carleton varsity track records in the two-mile, mile and 880, and set three and four-mile records during the cross country seasons. In his senior year, his winning time of 19:53 at the Midwest Conference cross country championship meet in Chicago bettered the existing Conference record by a whopping 48 seconds.

At commencement, Steiner was awarded the Warren L. Benson Trophy as the best combined student-athlete and leader in the senior class. He was also the co-recipient of the LeClere Award as the top student-athlete in the Midwest Conference and was awarded a postgraduate scholarship by the NCAA.