TSR Collaboration
Feb 2, 202113 min
Was not ranked in our last update.
First number indicates how much the individual has moved in the rankings.
The second number indicates where they were ranked in our last update.
Thomson had a big weekend on her home track this past Saturday. The Arkansas senior ran a personal best in the 800 meters, dropping two seconds off of her previous personal best which she set the week before.
So far this winter, Thomson has lowered her 800 best by three seconds (2:05) and her mile best by another eight seconds (4:41). Those marks currently have her sitting at NCAA #6 and NCAA #12, respectively, on the national leaderboard. Her rapid and consistent progression, as well as her ability to double, makes her a top talent who shouldn't be overlooked.
The other area where Thomson could be a factor is in the DMR. The Razorbacks have a loaded roster and with Gear, Gregory and Izzo amongst the potential candidates for a relay, Arkansas could happily place Thomson (or Maloney) into that 1200 or 800 leg in an effort to win the national title.
Thomson may not have super elite times, but she has everything else that makes her a sneaky good talent.
Is Miller back? The Baylor senior was one of the better middle distance runners in the NCAA when she came into college, but has been a bit quieter over the past few years (although by no means bad). She had previously run under 2:05 fairly frequently, but failed to break 2:06 in 2019 with the exception of one standout race at the West Regional Championships.
In her first indoor 800 meter race since 2019, Miller clocked an altitude-converted 2:04.96. She also ran 1:28 for 600 meters one week prior, proving that her fitness seems to be trending in the right direction.
If Miller can continue to improve her stock over the next few weeks, then she will officially be “back” in our eyes. The Baylor senior has a ton of talent and has put down incredible results over the years, but her indoor success will rely on finding the form that made her so great during her time as an underclassman.
Hoj looks to be capable of running at a high level across a number of disciplines for BYU this indoor track season. She kicked off her indoor season with a personal best of 2:09 in the 800 meters and is coming off of a massive weekend at the UW Preview.
Despite being a senior, Hoj had never raced the mile during her time with the Cougars. However, in her first go at the event, she clocked a 4:37 which places her at NCAA #4. Wasting no time in climbing the leaderboard, she also ran the 1200 leg for the BYU's DMR in that same weekend which boosted them to a mark of 11:03, the fastest of any team this year.
With a limited history on the indoor oval, it feels like Hoj can only go up from here.
There must be something in the water for women who transfer to Arkansas. Since leaving Clemson, Morris has seen plenty of success in events ranging from the mile to the 5k. The senior has run 4:39 (mile), 9:09 (3k) and 16:02 (5k) so far this season, almost all of which are notable improvements. She can be found near the top of the national leaderboard in numerous events and could end up qualifying for the national indoor meet in any of those three distances.
We like the potential that Morris has shown this indoor season as she has seemed to benefit from having fast training partners like Katie Izzo and Lauren Gregory. The 3k seems to be an ideal event for Morris given her mix of mile speed and endurance.
The former sprint star at Southern Illinois is making a name for herself as she continues to step up in distance. Maloney had never run an 800 until the 2020 indoor season and is now one of the top middle distance names in the country after clocking a 2:05 this year. Showing that she still has her wheels, Maloney then dropped a blistering 53.09 over 400 meters this past weekend.
Unlike many of the distance runners who focus on 800 meters and up, Maloney is more of a long-sprints / middle distance specialist. Her inexperience in the half-mile event will be something to watch this season, but that also means that she should have additional room to grow.
If Maloney is only scratching the surface right now, we could be in for some big performances from her later this winter.
Ellsworth-Barnes had a busy weekend at the UW Preview as she competed in the DMR on Friday night and competed in the 800 meters the following day. The Cougar middle distance ace helped catapult the BYU women to a current NCAA lead in the DMR, beating out the Washington women by three seconds.
Her 800 performance, where she ran 2:09 for 7th place, was truthfully not great. Still, it is just the beginning of the season and Ellsworth-Barnes has room to improve. We're not going to overreact to her first meet of the year.
The BYU veteran has run 2:02 before and has consistently posted some of the top 800 times in the NCAA. Ellsworth-Barnes will have another opportunity to look for a sub-2:05 performance either this weekend at BYU's home meet or in two weeks when she is back in Seattle.
The Rhode Island and All-American standout has only raced once this year, producing a time of 9:41 for 3000 meters at the Virginia Tech Invitational which was enough to secure the win. However, other than that, she hasn't toed the line for any other races this winter, either on the track or the grass.
We're not sure how to gauge Black's quick one-and-done performance this season and we're not sure when she'll be racing next. As a result, we bumped her back a few spots to TSR #19.
After a strong cross country season, Steelman is continuing to her assert herself as All-American threat like she did during her time with Wofford. In her first track race for NC State, the senior put down a new personal best of 15:47 for 5000 meters, holding off teammate Elly Henes (who was doubling) for the win.
Steelman is currently ranked at NCAA #4 and should essentially be a lock to qualify for the indoor national meet barring any bizarre wave of elite 5k performances. Of course, we also have to wonder how she will try to balance the indoor track season with cross country.
Drop has been on a roll recently, recording personal bests in both the mile and the 3k, as well as running a respectable 5k time.
Starting the season with her 4:39, Drop caught some people's attention as she showed off her newfound speed. However, what really set her up nicely for the rest of the indoor track season is her recent 3k mark at the Razorback Invitational where she shaved off eight seconds from her previous personal best, picking up a statement win over a talented runner in Krissy Gear.
Drop’s 9:03 (3k) currently ranks her at NCAA #2 on the national leaderboard. Despite her strong opening races, Drop can still make improvements, specifically in the 5k, an event where she owns a personal best of 15:38 from 2018.
The Georgia Bulldog has been an All-American before on both the cross country course and on the track. She was the 4th place finisher in the 5k at the 2018 indoor national meet, but hasn't always been the most consistent runner...well, until now.
Drop looks like a brand new runner and we're eager to see what happens when she's on the national stage later this winter.
Schadler of Washington jumped all the way up to NCAA #5 on the national leaderboard following her 4:38 mile performance at the UW Preview this past weekend, a time that was only one second off her current mile PR. This performance came one day after Schadler assisted the UW women in the DMR.
Despite running a respectable time, Schadler was soundly defeated by Wayment (4:35) and Hoj (4:37) as well as a few other professional runners. Her 4:38 wasn't a poor performance, but it wasn't enough to stay competitive against nationally-ranked names. Still, we know that she has plenty of range and may be better off toeing the line in the 3k or 5k. She did, after all, run 15:33 at the Sound Running Track Meet back in December.
The Husky senior will be playing double-duty this winter as she is also expected to be a key contributor to Washington's cross country lineup at some point.
There was not a whole lot to take away from Chelangat’s season opener. She won the Carolina Challenge 5k in a time of 15:52. That was very fast, but nowhere near her personal best of 15:37. Even so, she finished 14 seconds in front of Nicole Fegans, indicating that she can pull away from top competition and run a fast time without being challenged in any major way.
While things should pick up when she starts to face stronger competition, Chelangat looks exactly like the runner who we expected her to be coming into this season.
Kimeli takes a small fall in our rankings this week after recording a 9:14 (3k) at the Bob Pollock Invitational, losing to Maudie Skyring by a narrow margin. However, despite her two-spot drop in the rankings, it's important to note that this is not a poor performance by any means. In fact, her recent result actually matches her 3k personal best.
According to Kimeli's twitter account, she had supposedly only been practicing for less than two weeks prior to this race. Does that mean that she's been rebounding from injury? If so, then that was an incredibly impressive season opener, but it also makes us wonder what kind of 5k shape she is in.
The Auburn runner does own a 15:37 (5k) personal best from last winter, so expect her to take a stab at that event in the near future.
Washington’s Katie Rainsberger has plenty of experience competing against the best distance talents in the NCAA, just look at her resume over the last few years. The Husky distance runner benefits from only having to focus on the indoor track season this winter as she is out of cross country eligibility.
In her first race back, Rainsberger recorded a 4:43 mile, a solid rust-buster, but nothing that captures your attention. The Washington veteran is more than capable of running much faster as she does own a 4:35 mile personal best, but it's hard to justify a top-10 ranking with a 4:43 mark.
Even so, watch out for the distance standout in the 3000 meters, a distance which is arguably her best event. She has more scoring value and range than some people realize.
Heymach has not yet competed during the indoor track season.
Gear is off to a hot start in her senior season at Arkansas. She opened up the winter months with a 4:38 mile -- which missed her personal best of 4:36 by two seconds -- and put her at the NCAA #6 position on the national leaderboard. However, the biggest development of that race was that she was victorious over some highly-ranked, elite-level teammates.
After dropping out of the 3000 meters the next weekend (assumedly due to pacing duties), Gear was quick to bounce back and lower her personal best in the event by six seconds when she clocked a 9:08 at the Razorback Invitational.
Gear looks like she might have options come March. She will be a potential national qualifier in both the mile and the 3k, but could also bolster a title contending DMR for Arkansas. With the way she is running right now, Gear gives the Razorbacks another reliable scoring option.
The best way to go from unranked into our top-10 is by running two of the nation's fastest marks in one weekend. Running her first collegiate mile ever (according to TFRRS), Wayment was only three seconds shy of her 1500 personal best, even with the extra 109 meters. Her mark of 4:35 is the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season and it immediately put her 3k personal best of 9:12 in jeopardy of being dismantled.
And if that wasn’t good enough, Wayment also anchored BYU's DMR team to an NCAA-leading time of 11:03. From this point on, all of her personal bests look to have approaching expiration dates.
The recent BIG 10 cross country champion has put together a respectable indoor track season thus far. Hasz has competed twice so far on the indoor oval and in both performances, the Golden Gopher veteran came out on top. She won the 3000 meters at the Hawkeye Border Battle by 20 seconds (9:24) and one week later, won the 5k at the Husker Triangular by 37 seconds (15:50).
Hasz seems to be better the longer the distance gets and will be a key runner to watch in the 5k as the season progresses. She is coming off of a major victory on the grass which should give her a ton of confidence and only extend her promising early-season momentum.
Clemson’s Laurie Barton has run quite a few times this indoor season and has posted respectable marks and finishes in each instance. In her signature event, the 800 meters, the senior secured a strong time of 2:05, just holding off Kennesaw State’s Sarah Hendrick. However, her 2:42 for 1000 meters was arguably the most impressive time of her season so far and it suggests that she can run closer to 2:03 later this season.
The 800 is turning out to be a very tough event this indoor season as numerous women are recording similar finishing times. Yet, despite the depth, one could argue that Barton is potentially still in the national title conversation. Or, at the very least, she's still considered a challenger for a top-three finish at the indoor national meet.
Lawson has not yet competed during the indoor track season.
On a rare race-day Monday, Henes posted an incredible double in the 3k and 5k at the Virginia Beach Invitational. The Wolfpack star opened up her 2021 indoor season with a new 3k personal best, running 9:03 to take the win by 16 seconds. A few hours later, Henes ran to a runner-up result behind teammate Hannah Steelman in the 5000 meters where she clocked a time of 15:49.
It's one thing to run a new personal best in the 3k, but to run a new personal best in the 3k and then come back to run a comfortable national qualifying time in the 5000 meters is incredibly impressive. Few women in the NCAA are capable of running a double as fast as what we just saw from Henes.
After that season opener, we have to start asking...can this NC State veteran win a national title?
Hurta shot up the rankings this week, but to be fair, she was only that far down due to the extreme layoff she had from racing. Prior to this weekend, Hurta had not raced for Colorado since November 2019 and had not run a track race for the Buffs since April of that same year. With plenty of time to heal injuries and regain her fitness, Hurta has seemingly not missed a beat. Her recent 2:02.54 in the 800 meters came off of a wire-to-wire win which is currently listed at NCAA #2.
We don't know what else Hurta will run this season, but this performance puts her in the national title conversation for the 800 meters, even with Mu running as well as she is.
Donaghu has not yet competed during the indoor track season.
Izzo looks like the same runner who we saw in 2020 -- a title contender in the 5k who can be competitive in everything else. So far this season, she has clocked times 4:37 (mile), 9:12 (3k) and 15:36 (5k) and amazingly, none of those were personal bests.
It’s only a matter of time before Izzo really gets going, and with no cross country eligibility remaining, there will be nothing holding her back from going all-in this season. Izzo will be among the favorites for both the 3k and 5k come March.
We saw her peak in February heading into the national meet last year and we imagine a similar situation will unfold this year.
When we originally ranked Mu at TSR #17, she had not yet competed in an NCAA-sanctioned event. Since then, Mu has run three ridiculously fast times, including a stellar 800 mark of 2:01, a collegiate record in the 600 meters (which was still two seconds slower than her personal best) and an eye-popping 400 split in the 4x400 meter relay (50 seconds).
As of right now, Mu is the national title favorite for the 800 meters, but she may have some company as more experienced women like Sage Hurta and Laurie Barton are rounding into form.
Her lack of familiarity with NCAA competition and tactical racing is the only argument we could make in favor of anyone else winning the women's 800 meter title, but even that seems like a stretch.
Mu has been flat-out incredible as of late and we can't wait to see what else she has in store.
Gregory has been one of the most challenging runners in the NCAA to gauge for the past four years. However, this season might be the one where she finally follows through and emerges as the national title threat that we know she can be.
It was no secret that Gregory was one of the most talented runners in the NCAA, but after a few up-and-down seasons, the past few weeks have been a complete validation of her talent.
Gregory is currently “tied” for the NCAA lead in the 5k (with her teammate Katie Izzo) with a blistering mark of 15:36. That time was a massive personal best for Gregory, taking six seconds off of her outdoor personal best. She also ran 9:01 (3k) and 4:35 (mile) which are both elite marks, but only scratching the surface of her potential. We should also mention that she took down some fairly high-level competition (i.e. her own teammates) en route to wins in both of those events.
If Gregory can keep this up, then this might be the year where she finally puts it all together and takes home NCAA gold. She has the talent. She has the wins. She has the times. Can she put it altogether? We'll have to wait and see...
Kennedy Thomson (Arkansas)
Aaliyah Miller (Baylor)
Olivia Hoj (BYU)
Logan Morris (Arkansas)
Shafiqua Maloney (Arkansas)
Jessica Drop (Georgia)
Courtney Wayment (BYU)
Lauren Ryan (Florida State)
Fiona O’Keeffe (New Mexico)
Maria Mettler (Air Force)
Mel Smart (Washington)
Abbey Wheeler (Providence)
Katy-Ann McDonald (LSU)
Grace Forbes (Rice)
Nicole Fegans (Georgia Tech)
Cailie Logue (Iowa State)
Dominique Clairmonte (NC State)
Katelyn Tuohy (NC State)
Haley Herberg (Washington)
Maudie Skyring (Florida State)
Adva Cohen (New Mexico)
Lindsey Rudden (Michigan State)
Maria Mettler (Air Force)
Mel Smart (Washington)
Abbey Wheeler (Providence)
Katy-Ann McDonald (LSU)
Grace Forbes (Rice)
Sarah Hendrick (Kennesaw State)
Mallory King (Iowa)
Taylor Roe (Oklahoma State)
Amanda Vestri (Syracuse)
Annie Fuller (Texas A&M)
Kelsey Chmiel (NC State)
Kristie Schoffield (Boise State)
Kayla Johnson (Miami (FL))
Egle Morenaite (Iona)
Taryn O'Neill (Northern Arizona)
Aubrey Roberts (Stanford)
Brooke Fazio (Richmond)
Andrea Foster (Clemson)
Aurora Rynda (Michigan)
Mallory King (Iowa)
Christina Aragon (Stanford)
Jordan Oakes (Stanford)
Rachel McArthur (Colorado)
Clare O'Brien (Boise State)
Emily Venters (Colorado)
Avi' Tal Wilson-Perteete (UNLV)
Kassidy Johnson (Kansas State)
Esther Gitahi (Alabama)
Michaela Reinhart (Duke)
Jenna Magness (Michigan State)
Gracie Hyde (Arkansas)
Quinn Owen (Arkansas)
- Fiona O'Keeffe drops from the rankings due to her turning pro.
- Lauren Ryan is not expected to race for Florida State this winter.
- Most of the athletes who were removed from our rankings were simply kicked out because they haven't run yet this season and they others have run well enough to earn a ranking.
- Our "Just Missed" and "Honorable Mentions" lists may seem a bit long, but that will likely change in our next update as we get a greater idea of who is actually racing this winter.