2019 D1 Indoor Top 25 (Women): Preseason (Part Two)

Written by Sean Collins and Maura Beattie

Click here to read Part One.

Want to know how we rank certain athletes? Click here to learn more. Keep in mind that this is a collective gauge of an individual's season as a whole. These are NOT preseason predictions for where we think someone will finish at Nationals.

See who our Just Missed and Honorable Mentions names are by clicking here.

TSR contributors may value certain aspects and ranking criteria differently between men and women when constructing our Indoor Top 25...

One of the most consistent distance runners in the NCAA who always seems to peak in the postseason is Colorado's Makena Morley. The CU veteran qualified for Indoor Nationals last year in both distance events, finishing 6th in the 3000 meters and 7th in the 5000 meters. With personal bests of 9:02 and 15:37, Morley has established herself as a staple name to watch during both the spring and winter track seasons.

Morley did not have any cross country eligibility remaining this past fall, but that did not keep her from putting in some serious work. The Buffalo competed in (and won) the Missoula Half Marathon this summer in a course record time of 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 52 seconds.

A few women behind her in our rankings may have personal bests that are slightly faster, but Morley's outstanding consistency in the postseason and her ability to compete in both the 3k and 5k on the same weekend makes her a strong candidate for our Preseason Top 25.

Viljeon can do a little bit of everything...and she does it all very well. The Arkansas ace has incredible range, from the 800 meters all the way up to the 5000. She owns personal bests of 2:07 (800), 2:47 (1k), 4:13 (1500), 4:33 (mile), 9:30 (3k), and 15:54 (5k). When you add in her numerous All-American finishes, Viljoen makes a strong case for being one of the better distance talents in the NCAA.

Last year, Viljoen focused on the mile, eventually finishing 5th at the National Championships. After a strong cross country season, it wouldn't be crazy to suggest that she may move up to the 3000 meter distance.

Despite her impressive range, she was somewhat one dimensional last winter, never running an event outside of the mile (and technically the DMR). Although she has an array of strong personal bests across multiple events, we would like to see Viljoen extend her range on the indoor oval in an effort to truly validate herself as one of the most dynamic distance runners in the country.

Your 2019 indoor mile champion holds an additional season of eligibility for the 2020 indoor track season, and assuming she uses it (which is not necessarily a given), she'll look to defend her title.

Rizk was a surprise winner last year, staying under the radar before she finished runner-up in the mile at BIG 10's to Michigan rival Hannah Meier with a blistering fast time of 4:32. Thanks to a perfectly executed race plan, Rizk would go on to secure NCAA gold after a strong move in the final 100 meters of the race.

The Ohio State runner came out of nowhere to surprise the nation in 2019, but now in 2020, Rizk will have a target on her back. Despite falling out of the top eight spots at Nationals last spring, the Ohio State ace still secured impressive personal best of 2:05 (800) and 4:13 (1500) and has proven to be one of the better tactical milers in the NCAA.

Can Rizk replicate her incredible postseason of magic from the winter of 2019? Only time will tell.

New Mexico’s Prouse will enter the indoor season after after an extended absence (due to her being out eligibility for cross country).

When distance running fans think of New Mexico, they (naturally) think of runners like Kelati and Kurgat. However, Prouse deserves to be in that conversation as well when you consider her incredible dominance in the distance events and the steeplechase.

Last winter, Prouse secured a huge new personal best of 15:26 for 5000 meters in her season opener, and eventually added a personal best of 9:13 to her resume. After altitude conversions, that time becomes a 9:00. She would run both events at the Indoor National Championships and although she was unable to secure an All-American spot in the 3000 meters, she was able to earn a clutch 5th place finish in one of the deepest 5000 meter fields ever assembled.

The Lobo senior is slated to open her season at the Boston University Season Opener this Saturday, a meet known to produce fast 5000 meter times. After unleashing her true potential in the steeplechase last spring, Prouse will be looking to reintroduce herself as an NCAA elite this winter.

Orton put together a phenomenal cross country season this past fall, going into NCAA's as the only undefeated female. She ended up placing 7th overall in a deep individual field which should propel the BYU senior into a stellar indoor campaign.

During the 2019 indoor season, Orton qualified for NCAA's in the mile, but finished 12th in the prelims. She boasts a 4:34 mile PR as well as a 4:13 for 1500 meters, but based on what we saw from her this past cross country season, it seems safe to say that her fitness is notably better than where it was at last winter.

Typically an 800/mile specialist, we could see Orton take a step up in distance this winter to an event like the 3000 meters which would, theoretically, be a happy medium between her phenomenal cross country fitness and historically great mile prowess.

Fiona O’Keeffe struggled at the NCAA XC Championships a few weeks ago, finishing 27th after being a game-time decision to race with back issues. Given that she wasn't 100%, that result still earned her All-American status and still put her ahead of a number of strong harriers. All things considered, it was a very strong result.

Despite running a lethal personal best of 8:58 in the 3000 meters earlier in the season, O’Keeffe ended up finishing 3rd in the 5000 meters last year in Birmingham. She again proved that the 5k was her ideal distance after another All-American result at the outdoor national meet (placing 7th).

Those results, combined with her top finishes throughout cross country before her back issues, shows us that she is at least in the conversation for an NCAA title this season when she's healthy (but maybe not quite a title favorite).

When you look at O'Keeffe's collegiate career as a whole, it's difficult to find any flaws. She's extremely consistent, experienced enough to succeed on the national stage, owns top-tier personal bests, and has shown instances of being an effective doubler.

What's not to like?

Erica Birk-Jarvis was as safe of a bet for being ranked in our top eight finish as almost anyone. The BYU distance running stud anchored the BYU DMR to a 2nd place finish last winter behind only Oregon's Jessica Hull. The next day, she would go on to finish 5th in a loaded 3000 meter field.

Don't be fooled by her accomplishments as a steeplechaser, Birk-Jarvis is arguably just as dangerous on the indoor oval. She won the Iowa State Cyclone Classic 3k in a time of 9:00 and later held off middle distance specialist Susan Ejore at the MPSF Championships in the mile to also take the win (in a time of 4:34).

Her times are impressive and her postseason accolades are admirable, but her incredible consistency and ability to win any race she toes the line for makes Birk-Jarvis a big name to watch this winter.

Taylor Werner has had an incredible last year which all began last indoor season. After struggling with the lingering effects of a car accident, Werner finally began to find her pre-injury form and has absolutely crushed it on the track over the last 12 months.

Werner scored 21 points between the indoor and outdoor national meets last year, making her the second highest returning scorer among distance runners in 2020. While she has not won an NCAA title individually yet, Werner had still secured a runner-up finish in the 3000 meters during indoors, followed by a 2nd place finish and a 5th place finish last spring in the 5k and 10k, respectively.

With PR's of 8:56 (3k) and 15:38 (5k), it's clear that Werner can put herself in contention for a national title this winter, even with women like Kelati and Monson returning to the track.

Akins had to be the surprise of 2019, earning runner-up finishes both indoors and outdoors at the 800 meter distance. In fact, she nearly held off Danae Rivers at the indoor national meet last year, barely settling for runner-up by .05 seconds. Her performance at the outdoor national meet proved that that wasn't a fluke as she ran a jaw-dropping personal best of 2:01.67.

As great as Akins is at the half-mile distance, she has also proven to be a legitimate threat in other middle distance events, specifically the 1000 meters where she ran 2:43 last year en route to the Ivy League title.

And if you thought that wasn't enough, Akins has thrived in the 1200 meter distance when running on Penn's DMR. She might help the Quakers qualify a relay to NCAA's this winter, but her road to success is most likely in the four-lap event.

This Penn senior went from respectable to incredible in the span of two seasons, quickly establishing her spot at the top of our rankings. With a breakout season behind her, expect Akins to further refine her already impressive talent.

At the end of the day, Monson is supremely talented and most knowledgable distance running fans know that. We could talk about her legacy-defining 5k national title over Weini Kelati last winter or her 15:31 5k personal best, but understanding what Monson brings to the table outside of the 5000 meter is where her real value lies.

At the 2019 Millrose Games, the Wisconsin veteran threw down a statement performance, running a jaw-dropping 8:45 for 3000 meters, beating out a strong field of professional athletes, earning the top time in the NCAA, and securing the #3 time in NCAA history.

We've thrown the word "elite" around quite a bit in these rankings, but Monson has separated herself (along with a few other women) into a category that somehow ranks higher than that. We'll be eager to see how the Wisconsin superstar wraps up the final indoor track season of her career.

The collegiate record holder at 1000 meters (2:38), a 4:29 miler, and a national champion in the 800 meters. How could Rivers not be in our top three?

Unlike the other women in our rankings, those three aspects of her resume that we mentioned above are everything that we need to say about this Penn State icon. With those kind of accomplishments, it should come as no surprise that she's a consistent performer and tactically brilliant (most times).

At the end of this season, Rivers could be in the conversation for the best indoor middle distance runner in NCAA history.

Dominance. All you need is a single word to describe Weini Kelati’s last year of racing. Yes, there have been races where she has lost, but even her worst races leaves her finishing on the podium.

Kelati scored 28 points (combined) between the national meets on the track last year, which is by far the most of any returning distance runner. Her cross country season showed us that she is not only content with winning races, but she wants to do so handily. Owning the #5 all-time mark in NCAA history at 5000 meters with a 15:15 only speaks to that intensity.

There isn't much to be critical about when you're talking about Weini Kelati, but we've seen on a few occasions that she isn't totally unbeatable. She was unable to win a national title last winter and doesn't necessarily have the same finishing speed that someone like Monson has (which is arguably more valuable on the track than it is in cross country).

Of course, coming away with national titles in her last two National Championship opportunities should quell the already minor concerns we have about this superstar.

Jones is the only athlete who was "perfect" at the NCAA Championships during the 2018-2019 academic calendar by winning national titles in cross country and in the 5000 meters during the spring (she redshirted indoors).

Jones has won an NCAA title in all three seasons and is the only current female athlete to do so. Her range from 800 meters up to the 6k makes her, by far, the most dynamic distance runner in the NCAA.

The list of her accomplishments is endless. Whether it's upsetting Kelati en route to a cross country title, winning the national title in the 5000 meters last spring despite coming off of an injury from the season prior, or running 4:07 in the 1500 meters (unattached) at the prestigious 2018 Prefontaine Classic to take home the win, Jones has proven that she can overcome any "underdog" status she may hold.

But in 2020, she'll be the furthest thing from an underdog that a runner can get.