Recent Colorado College graduates Rabbit Barnes and Alison Mueller-Hickler were named the Region X Men's and Women's Student-Athlete of the Year, respectively, by the Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) for the 2025-26 academic year.
 
These prestigious awards, now in their fourth year, recognize graduating seniors who have demonstrated excellence in athletics, academics, leadership, and service throughout their collegiate careers.

Barnes and Mueller-Hickler will now advance to the national ballot for the DIIICA Men's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year and DIIICA Women's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year awards, which will be announced next month. They earned a spot on the regional ballots after being named the SCAC Man and Woman of the Year, respectively.
 
Voting took place among commissioners within each of the 10 Division III regions. The top male and female honoree in each region will be considered for the two national awards.
 
"Rabbit and Alison both accomplished so much during their time at Colorado College," cross country head coach Alex Nichols said. "They reached the highest levels of their sport by putting in a huge amount of time training and maximizing their athletic potential. At the same time, they matched their athletic success with academic excellence. The balance Rabbit and Alison achieved has set an impressive standard for future Tigers to emulate."

Barnes, a two-time All-American on the men's cross country and track & field teams, compiled a 3.97 grade-point average and graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in neuroscience. He earned a spot on the CSC Academic All-America First Team for the second consecutive year.

He became CC's first male track athlete to garner Indoor All-America honors with a second-place finish in the mile final at the 2026 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. He finished the race with a time of 4:14.39, just .38 of a second behind the national champion and was named the 2026 West Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
 
Mueller-Hickler graduated with a 3.91 cumulative grade-point average with a degree in environmental science and captured two first-team All-America honors as a senior, placing 26^th at the 2025 NCAA Division III Cross Country Meet and seventh in the 10K at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She finished 10^th in the 10K at the 2025 National Track & Field Meet to earn second-team All-America honors
 
She won the SCAC Cross Country individual title last fall and has captured two SCAC 10K championships. She ran in the NCAA cross country meet all four years and won the 2025 West Region title.