grace mclaughlin
Dec 9, 20195 min
Want to know how we rank certain athletes? Click here to learn more.
TSR contributors may value certain aspects and ranking criteria differently between men and women when constructing our Indoor Top 25.
These lists were written prior to the weekend of December 6-7th. Times from that weekend are not included in the reasoning.
Pietrocarlo doesn’t boast the best indoor times relative to a few other names that we have/will mention, but her improvement this past fall (15th at NCAA's) gives us reason to believe that she’ll be setting some new personal bests this winter.
Her time of 5:07 for the mile suggests that she has the ability to get under that 5:00 barrier which would likely be enough to get her into the NCAA meet. Pietrocarlo has also shown off some range as well as she ran 17:05 last spring. If she can replicate that 17:05 during the indoor season, we could see the Edinboro distance ace at Nationals in March.
The Western Colorado senior owns PR's of 2:12 (which was converted to a 2:10) and 5:02 in both the 800 and mile. Last winter, she had a few sub-par races before finding her groove and running an impressive 2:14 at the Power Five meet, then lowering it to 2:13 at the Colorado Invitational a few weeks later. She placed 3rd at the RMAC Championships in 2:14 and capped off her season with a 15th place finish at Nationals in 2:13. She ran her 5:02 at the GVSU Big Meet last year as well.
Cusick continued her momentum into the outdoor track season and stayed pretty consistent throughout it, focusing on the same distances (1500 instead of mile) and becoming an integral part of the Mountaineers 4x400 relay. She has some underrated speed, boasting a 400 meter PR of 60.56 from an open indoor race. Cusick eventually brought her personal best down to 2:12 at the West Texas A&M Last Chance Meet.
She has a solid balance of speed and endurance, which is ideal for an 800 meter runner. Given her progression and consistency, Cusick will likely be at the national meet yet again.
Rogahn is a dynamic, versatile distance runner who owns personal bests of 2:14, 4:57, 10:07, and 17:43, but focuses more on the mile/1500 distance at the championship level.
Last indoor season was when Rogahn ran most of her personal bests (with the 5k coming during the spring) which eventually led to a national qualifier in the mile. She's not always the most consistent, but her range and championship experience are great assets to have in any distance runner.
The Ferris State ace will enter the 2020 season with a wide range of personal bests which includes times of 5:02 (mile), 9:59 (3k), 17:13 (5k), and 35:43 (10k). That 5k time of 17:13 makes her a sleeper pick to potentially snag a national qualifying spot this winter if she can replicate that performance on the indoor oval.
Not only does Etelamaki own respectable personal bests, but she a couple of championship appearances as well. She ended her 2019 spring season with a 9th place finish at NCAA's in the 10k and recently placing 38th at the NCAA XC Championships to earn All-American honors. Her consistent progression and proven ability to contend on the national stage tells us that she is ready to cap off her collegiate career on a high note.
Boxall has some range. She has PR's of 2:14, 4:56, and 10:02, making her a valuable and diverse runner for Lee. Boxall consistently ran around 2:18 and 5:00 during indoors last year and opened up her 2019-2020 season with a PR in the 3k of 10:02. She had an impressive cross country season, often overshadowed by teammates Celine Ritter and Chloe Flora, but always acting as a reliable #3 scoring option.
After placing 16th at last year's Outdoor National Championships, Boxall has since proven that she has stepped up to a new level and she will be an exciting one to watch this year. The question is, will she run the mile or 3k...or both?
Dania Holmberg is on the rise.
She has modest PR's of 2:26, 5:14, and 16:55, but has run a 4:31 for 1500 meters and dropped her 6k time down to 20:48 this past fall. Although she did not run indoors last year, Holmberg had a breakthrough outdoor track season. The rising Seattle Pacific star ran her personal best at Bryan Clay and ran pretty consistent times throughout the season. She qualified for NCAA's in both the 5000 and 1500 meters (placing 18th in both).
This past cross country season she made her name known and finished 21st at Nationals after placing 176th a year ago. Holmberg’s progression is one to be idolized. Her ability to step up and race hard shows us that she is the real deal, leaving us excited to see her continue her forward momentum into the winter season.
The Colorado Mines junior had a stellar cross country season and hopefully, she will continue her momentum into indoor track. Her track times do not show her true talent, as she can definitely run faster than 5:13 and 10:34, but her 5k of 16:48 is quietly impressive.
Geesen focused on the mile last indoor season, but we think she could have greater success in the 3k and/or 5k distance. After all, she was an outdoor national qualifier in the 5000 meters last spring. She ran her PR at the Oxy Invitational and also won the RMAC Championships.
After a strong cross country season and consistent displays of improvement, we like what Geesen can bring to what should be a loaded 5k field this year.
Molesworth has a PR of 17:24 in the 5k from last year’s Mike Fanelli Track Classic. She also raced at the Outdoor RMAC Championships where she placed 11th in 17:56. During indoor last year, she ran a 5:19 mile and 18:47 for 5000 meters.
At first glance, those times seem to pale in comparison to the marks of other women that we have mentioned. Of course, Molesworth was only a freshman last year and this past cross country indicates that she has found the freshman to sophomore jump.
She opened her season with an 18:33 at the UCCS Rust Buster, ran 21:02 for 14th at the Capital Cross Challenge, then 13th at the RMAC Championship in 21:02, and then she placed 11th at the South Central Regional in 22:01.
All of these spectacular performances led up to her 16th place at Nationals in 20:39.
Molesworth is clearly incredibly talented, but it seems like she just needed to time and experience under her belt before she made her jump. She will most likely focus on the 5k yet again this year, which seems to be her strongest race.
Streff owns personal bests of 2:16 and 5:08, which are not terribly noteworthy, but what she has accomplished off the indoor oval certainly is.
Strett qualified for Nationals in the 1500 meters last spring where she ran 4:38 to place 8th and secure All-American honors. Yet, more importantly, her personal best is actually 4:28 from Bryan Clay last year, which roughly converts to a 4:45 mile depending on who you ask. She will probably focus on the mile and DMR indoors and should make an appearance at NCAA's.
Gruidel entered the elite D2 running scene this past cross country season. She improved from 158th to 20th at NCAA's this year, owning a 6k best of 20:36. Her track PR's are slightly less impressive with times of 2:25, 5:24, 10:49, and 18:08. However, we see her getting stronger with the longer races and the 5k will likely be where she hones in on her talent.
She had a decent indoor season last year and then redshirted outdoor track. She has improved greatly since last year and now she has had a taste of competition at the national level. She will likely shatter her old personal bests this winter, but until we see it, we'll keep her as an Honorable Mention.