2020 D3 Recruit Class Rankings: #5-4-3-2-1 (Women)

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Despite our research, it is possible that certain names have been erroneously omitted.

Did we miss someone? If so, send us an email at contact@thestridereport.com & let us know!

Written by Kevin Fischer

Most people don’t think of Hamilton as any sort of powerhouse or DIII cross country blue blood. They are a member of the NESCAC, arguably the best conference in the country, but their women’s team has never won a conference championship in program history, so it may surprise some people that they made these rankings.

Even so, make no mistake, the Continentals deserve to be here as there did not seem to be a fifth distance recruiting class with more star power and overall talent than what we found with Hamilton.

The biggest name of this group is Kylie Oblak. The former Lincoln-Sudbury (MA) standout holds a cross country 5k personal best of 17:52 and has finished 13th at the Massachusetts D1 State Championships and 20th at Foot Locker Northeast Regional Championships.

On the track, Oblak has been just as impressive, running times of 2:19 (800), 5:13 (mile), 10:58 (two-mile), 17:42 (5k). The Massachusetts native is naturally a big reason why Hamilton is ranked where they are, but this 2020 class has a lot more talent and potential than just one athlete.

Christina Bagin has run 19:41 on the grass, but she has shown some impressive speed on the track, throwing down respectable middle distance marks of 2:19 (800) and 5:16 (1600). Whether those track performances can translate to much longer cross country distances remains to be seen, but there is certainly potential.

Betsy Overstrum has a listed cross country 5k PR of 19:55, but has very few results posted online, so we can’t be sure if that is accurate. Even so, her track times seem to suggest that she is capable of more with listed marks of 5:01 (1500) and 11:32 (3200). Overstrum has potential, but we won’t know how good she'll be until we see more results from her.

Maya Weil-Cooley holds a 5k best of 19:07, a time she ran at the New Hampshire Meet of Champions which earned her a very respectable 16th place finish. She also holds track times of 5:37 (1600) and 12:05 (3200).

Katie Sands will also be running for Hamilton. She has run 20:46 in the cross country 5k and 5:45 for the 1600.

There are other schools that have larger freshmen classes with slightly more depth, but it is hard to overestimate the value of bringing in a stud low-stick like Oblak. She gives his team a big spark and someone who can immediately contribute in the overall scoring.

The trajectory of this program could change for years to come with this group of recruits and if Brigit Humphreys and Natasha Lane return to use the remainder of their eligibility, then this is a team that could make a potential appearance at the cross country national meet in the fall.
 

Written by Kevin Fischer

For the next few years, Carleton will likely be led by Clara Mayfield who earned All-American honors at the 2019 cross country national meet. After Amanda Mosborg graduates, the Knights will need to provide Mayfield with a talented supporting cast if they want to contend for podium spots in a highly competitive DIII scene. On paper, this recruiting class is a great step towards doing just that.

Out of eight members of this class, there appear to be at least five women who have the talent and potential to be immediate (or almost immediate) contributors who are capable of developing into low-sticks throughout their careers.

Mary Blanchard holds a personal best of 18:35 for the cross country 5k. She has been super clutch in big meets, having finished in the top-10 of the Iowa 2A State Championships on three separate occasions, including a 2nd place finish as a sophomore in 2017. That is a mind-boggling amount of championship consistency that few college recruits have on their resume.

Meanwhile, Helen Cross has displayed promising versatility with times of 2:29 (800), 5:22 (1600), 11:56 (3200) and 18:52 (5K XC), all of which were run at some sort of elevation in Colorado. She is also the 2017 Colorado 2A State Champion and finished inside the top-five three times. Much like Blanchard, she boasts plenty of championship consistency which is more difficult to find than this recruiting class suggests.

Katherine Geist is probably the biggest recruit that the Knights landed this year. She has run 18:39 on the grass and recorded finishes of 9th at the Minnesota 1A State Championship and 44th at NXR Heartland Championships. On the oval, she has run impressive times of 2:23 (800), 5:06 (1600) and 11:08 (3200), proving her value as a true three-season threat.

Katie Munro has run 19:15 for 5k, but her best performances have probably come on the track with personal bests of 5:12 for 1600 meters and 11:29 for 3200 meters.

Finally, we have Phoebe Ward whose best track race of her high school career was a 10:25 (3k) at New York’s Section One Outdoor State Qualifier. On the cross country course, she holds a respectable 5k PR of 18:49.

Carleton’s 2020 recruiting class will certainly benefit them in the long term and help the Knights retain their Central region crown, as well as their status as one of the premier programs in the nation. Not only does this freshman class have championship experience, but they have also run well in some of the biggest races of their careers.

This recruiting class has a variety of young women who are capable of being top collegiate talents. Truthfully, it feels like all of them have the potential to eventually make meaningful contributions for their tea, in the future. We can't say that about all recruiting classes that we looked at.

That's why we ranked the Knights at TSR #4.

Written by Hannah Thorn

“Quality Over Quantity” is a common saying that most teams likely embrace when it comes to recruiting. Well, unless you can get quality and quantity...then get both.

And that is exactly what the women from University of Chicago have done. They have brought in 11 recruits who are talented enough to land them at TSR #3 in our rankings. While we don’t have the space to mention all of these freshmen, we did want to highlight a few.

First up is Lydia Lo from Southlake Carroll, Texas who has personal bests of 5:12 (1600), 11:14 (3200), and 17:53 (5k). She is a well-rounded athlete who is sure to make an impact for the Maroons, especially with such a strong 5k mark.

Coming from Texas, Lo has raced plenty of tough competition and has fared pretty well against those top women, placing 24th at the 2019 Texas 6A UIL Championships. She also has been getting faster each year which is not always the case for high school girls. That is a good sign for a promising future.

Another talented recruit joining the University of Chicago is Catherine Wimmer from Little Silver, New Jersey. Wimmer is a touch speedier than Lo with personal bests of 5:05 in the 1600 and 11:04 in the 3200. She is going to have to translate that 1600 meter prowess to the longer distances as she moves up to the 6k in college.

Even so, Wimmer still has a respectable 5k PR of 18:36 from this past year which makes her more well-rounded than some of these other recruits that we have mentioned. She placed 32nd at the 2019 NJ Meet of Champions and I bet she is hungry for more after securing new personal bests during her shortened senior season.

A few others who will bring some state and regional experience to the Maroons is Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel from New Jersey, Karis Ertel from New York and Maddie Kelly from Minnesota. All three of these ladies have earned top placements at their respective state meets. In fact, Ertel placed 30th at the NXR New York Championships.

Whenever they crack the varsity lineup of this team, it is safe to say that these women will all be battle tested by the time they reach the regional meet as Chicago frequently races top teams like Wartburg, Washington U. and plenty of talented WIAC schools.

The Maroons of Chicago are consistently at the top of the Midwest region and will look to continue that tradition over the next several years thanks to the services of these recruits.

Written by Brett Haffner

Johns Hopkins having a deep team? No surprise.

Johns Hopkins getting a strong recruiting class? No surprise.

Johns Hopkins developing into an even better team because of the recruiting class? Yep, still no surprise.

Getting eight very solid recruits isn’t easy, but the Blue Jays are getting a significant boost in talent thanks to the overwhelming firepower that this group of recruits has.

Starting with Paloma Hancock of Campolindo High in California, she ran an impressive time of 18:04 (5k) to take 5th at the 2019 CIF State Cross Country Championships in D3. With her 5:09 (1600) and 10:57 (3200) personal bests, she’s one of the many freshmen forces to be reckoned with on this roster. In fact, her 1600 and 3200 times are some of the fastest combined personal bests among women's D3 distance recruits from the Class of 2020.

There are two ladies in this class who placed 7th in their respective class at the Washington State Championships: Natasha Lewis (who took 7th in class 1A) and Katherine Forsberg (who took 7th in class 3A). Forsberg boasts personal bests of 5:16 (1600) and 10:54 (3200), while Lewis has run 5:20 (1600) and 11:16 (3200).

Ashley Heidenrich of Waubonsie Valley High School (Illinois) was a top contender in Illinois, placing 11th at the IHSA 3A State Championships, along with a 26th place finish at the Foot Locker Midwest Championships. Her times are 5:11 (1600), 11:05 (3200) and 17:05 (3mi XC). If you convert that three-mile time, then her 5k personal best is roughly 17:41.

Miranda Jimenez of Palo Alto High School (California) is yet another quality recruit for the Blue Jays, running 5:15 (1600), 11:14 (3200) and 19:06 (5k).

Rounding out this list of recruits are Ashlyn Peralta (Sundown High, Texas) and Triya Roy (Monta Vista High, Texas) who both add to the already overwhelming depth of this recruiting class. Peralta has run 5:26 (1600) and 11:35 (3200) while Roy has run 5:19 (1600), 11:55 (3200) and 18:57 (5k).

In short, here are some quick stats about the depth that these eight ladies bring to the table:

This is a huge class for the Blue Jays and we should expect to see some of these women making major contributions in the coming years. The Johns Hopkins women are often considered as one of the best distance programs in the nation for D3 and this class is a great example of why the Blue Jays are viewed as such a domineering powerhouse.

Written by Kevin Fischer

With the looming departure of Katie Bacher (‘20), along with Katie Collins (‘21) who will be attending graduate school in the UK next fall, the MIT women needed to bring in elite talent this year to build around Izzi Gengaro if they were going to remain as a competitive force on the national stage in 2021.

Sure enough, they have done just that with their most recent group of rookies. This current freshmen class does not have one lone star who stands out from the others in the group, but rather a conglomeration of top-tier talent.

Maya Beleznay from Fort Lauderdale holds a personal best of 18:18 in the 5000 meters for cross country and has also finished as high as 3rd at the Florida 2A State Championships, 20th at the NXR Southeast Championships and 92nd at Nike Cross Nationals. On the track, she has run 5:13 (1600) and 11:04 (3200).

Sarah Bentley boasts an impressive combination of speed and strength, having run times of 2:21 (800), 5:06 (1600) and 11:08 (3200) on the track. She has also run 18:18 on the grass and as a junior, finished 21st at California’s D1 State Championships and 46th at the Foot Locker West Regional Championships.

Archanda Mohandas attended Newbury Park High School in California which is best known for current Northern Arizona freshman Nico Young. However, she is an excellent runner in her own right. Mohandas has run 17:04 (3mi XC) and 18:09 (5k) on the cross country course. She also finished 53rd at the CIF D2 State finals and then went on to compete at the NXN Championships where she was Newbury Park’s fourth scorer. She has also run personal bests of 5:17 (1600) and 11:08 (3200) on the oval.

Gillian Roeder is an 18:36 (5k) runner on the grass who has finished 11th at the NYSPHSAA Section 2 Championships and 49th at the NXR New York Championships. Her most impressive performances, however, have come on the track. She has displayed promising foot speed by running 2:20 in the 800 meters and sub-3 in the 1000 meters. On top that, she has also run times of 4:48 (1500), 5:08 (mile) and 10:20 (3k).

Lily Janjigian has a 5k personal best of 19:24, but based on her track times, she is capable of running much faster than that. She holds times of 5:15 (mile), 10:18 (3000) and 11:07 (two-mile).

Similarly, Natalie O’Hearn has gone 19:21 in the cross country 5k, a time which she should be able to greatly improve upon judging by her track performances. O’Hearn's personal bests include times of 2:21 (800), 5:11 (1600) and 11:09 (3200).

Olivia Rosenstein has run 17:16 for three miles and finished 4th at the 2019 Illinois 2A State Championships. She has also performed at a high level on the oval, with notable PRs of 2:21 (800), 5:07 (mile) and 11:09 (3200). Her mile time is one of the fastest that we found when looking at D3 recruits this year.

Every one of these athletes has the ability to be an immediate difference maker for the Engineers. Despite key veterans soon leaving the program, this recruiting class will help this program continue to be highly successful for the next four years.

While it may be too soon to say which of these women will truly standout on the collegiate scene, it is fair to say that almost all of these women will at least have a chance to be the next nationally competitive low-stick that Izzi Gengaro currently is.