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: she won the cross country title, an indoor 3000m crown in meet-record fashion and the outdoor 5000m championship. Kirtland won indoor 3000m titles in 1985 and 1987, and outdoor titles at 5000m in consecutive years from 1985 to 1987, and at 10,000m 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, along with CoSida Academic All-America honors. Kirtland 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.
