(Story courtesy of Colorado College Athletics Communications)
AUSTIN, Texas -- Colorado College recent graduate Rabbit Barnes earned yet another national honor as he was named to the Academic All-America Track & Field/Cross Country First-Team for the second consecutive year by College Sports Communicators.
Barnes, one of four Division III athletes to repeat as a first-team selection, is one of only two members of CC's men's track & field or cross country programs to receive the national academic award since it began in 1952. James Settles was a second-team selection in 2023 and a first-team pick in '24.
A native of Los Olivos, Calif., Barnes graduated in May with a 3.97 cumulative grade-point average, earning his bachelor's degree in neuroscience. He is the ninth athlete in Colorado College history to earn Academic All-America honors twice.
Barnes became Colorado College'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.
He was named the 2026 West Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and is a finalist for the SCAC Man of the Year.
At the 2026 SCAC Track and Field Championships, Barnes became just the second runner in conference history to win the conference's 1,500-meter race four times, winning with a time of 4:00.87 and joining Chass Armstrong of Trinity (2007-10) as the only four-time winners of that race.
Barnes helped CC win its seventh straight SCAC cross country team title last fall and garnered all-SCAC honors with a second-place finish at the SCAC Championships, then finished 16th at the West Region meet and 110th at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships.
"Rabbit is very deserving of this prestigious award," Colorado College track and field head coach Katie Bretscher said. " He competed at such a high level on the track and excelled in the classroom. The fact that he won this award twice puts him in elite company."
Barnes was named a co-winner of CC's Van Diest Award, given to the most outstanding senior male student-athlete who demonstrates excellence in athletics, academics, leadership and college contribution.
