USTFCCCA press release

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Friday that it will induct four new members to its Division III Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame, including Macalester All-American and distance running star Julia Kirtland '87.  Kirtland will be inducted into this select group on Wednesday (May 22) in La Crosse, Wisconsin, just prior to the start of the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships.

Kirtland will be inducted with Dale Kramer of Carleton College, the late Seamus McElligott of Haverford College, and Tori Neubauer-Muesing of UW-La Crosse.

A native of Auburn, N.Y., Kirtland was a nine-time NCAA Division III individual champion,  16-time All-America honoree and 22-time MIAC champion between cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field. Three of her national titles came in 1984-85 when she became the first female in NCAA history to claim three titles in three different sports in one academic year when she won the cross country title, an indoor 3000 meters crown in meet-record fashion and the outdoor 5000 meters championship. Kirtland won indoor 3000 titles in 1985 and 1987, and outdoor titles at 5000 meters in consecutive years from 1985 to 1987, and at 10,000 meters in back-to-back seasons in 1986 and 1987.

Kirtland was honored with one of the highest awards presented to athletes in Olympic sport events - the Olympia Award - in 1986.  She also won the March of Dimes Individual Athlete of the Year that same year.  She also earned CoSida Academic All-America honors.

She continued to run competitively following her graduation from Macalester, eventually moving up to the marathon. She finished 14th at the 1996 Olympic Marathon Trials and won the U.S. Marathon Championships the following year. She finished 23rd at the 2000 Olympic Marathon Trials. Kirtland now owns Core 3 Sports Massage in Portland, Maine.