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. Kelly Lovett '11 turned in the program’s seventh national title performance when she won the national crown for the javelin in 2011.

Carleton athletes have earned numerous All-America citations; five athletes have earned 17 All-American honors over the past 10 seasons. Lovett was a three-time All-American in the javelin (2009, 2010, and 2011), while Simone Childs-Walker ’12 as accumulated 10 All-America citations on the track. 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.