Carleton competes in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and at the NCAA Division III level. Women's track and field in the MIAC is very competitive, with a large number of conference athletes qualifying each year for the NCAA Championships. In the past 16 years, head coach Donna Ricks has guided the Knights to strong MIAC finishes, coached three national champions and numerous All-Americans. Aminah Ricks '94 captured the 100-meter national title in 1994 and Sandra Helquist '00 raced to victory in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1999 NCAA Division Championships, while Kelly Lovett '11 won the national title for the javelin throw in 2011 . Carleton athletes have earned numerous All-America citations; six athletes in the past eight seasons have earned eleven All-America honors. In 2004 Kristi Colbenson '05 (heptathlon) earned All-American honors. In 2003 Laura Bloedorn '03 (10,000 meters), Kim Davis '03 (heptathalon), and Colbenson (javelin) were All-Americans. Carrie Stuart '02 was a three-time All-American in the 400-meter hurdles.In 2009, Simone Childs-Walker earned three All-American citations (10,000 and 5,000 meters), and teammate Kelly Lovett joined her in the All American ranks with a top-8 throw in the Javelin. In, 2010 Childs-Walker (10,000 and 5,000) and Lovett (javelin) repeated for All-American awards for the second consecutive years, and in 2011 they received those honors for the third  season in a row. Childs-Walker was also named as a first-team selection to the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Team.