CARLETON COLLEGE ANNOUNCES CHANGES IN ATHLETIC PROGRAMS    Northfield, Minn. - Carleton College announced today that its Department of Athletics will eliminate its intercollegiate wrestling program and move its alpine and nordic skiing programs to club status at the end of the current school year.    "It became apparent to the College, when all of our programs were examined, that we could not maintain viable programs in these areas," Carleton athletic director Leon Lunder said. "A decrease in the number of interested participants, and increased costs in many areas made it necessary for us to take a look at our overall financial health. This is a regrettable, but necessary, decision that will allow us to remain competitive in the MIAC and NCAA Division III."    Carleton, which added intercollegiate synchronized swimming and women's golf in 1998, maintains 10 men's and 11 women's varsity athletic programs. Carleton student-athletes have distinguished themselves on both the conference and national level over the past year. During the 2000-01 season, 45 student-athletes earned all-conference citations and four garnered All-America honors.     In addition, two student-athletes earned the Verizon® Academic All-America Award, another earned a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and a Rhodes Scholarship and a third was a Truman Scholarship recipient. In Carleton's 19 years of membership in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), the Knights have won 11 league titles, with women's swimming and taking the last two league championships and the women's basketball team capturing the MIAC Playoff title last season.     Staying true to Carleton students' active lifestyles, nearly 500 student-athletes participated in varsity athletics during the 2000-01 season.