TSR Collaboration
Jan 5, 20228 min
Written by Eric Baranoski and Grace McLaughlin, additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin
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Despite our research, it is possible that certain names may have been erroneously omitted.
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Neither the pandemic nor the lack of competition in 2020 hindered the ability for the Wildcats to bring in 11 accomplished distance talents on the women's side.
Chico State has already proven to be a formidable powerhouse in the D2 ranks and this rookie class has somehow solidified their place even further amongst the NCAA elites for years to come.
Of those 11 newcomers, two have arrived from out of state -- Marina Dear from Arizona and Jaclyn Denham from Washington -- while the other nine are California natives.
Marina Dear has to be one of the better distance talents of this class as she comes to the Golden State with a 12th place finish at the Arizona XC State Championships on her resume, a race that she broke 19 minutes in for the first time. Her other personal bests include a mark of 5:19 for 1600 meters and 11:22 for 3200 meters.
Speaking of the 1600 meters, only three of these 11 Wildcat rookies didn’t run between 5:10 and 5:20 at that distance. In other words, Chico State signed a small army of accomplished and proven distance talents who, if they develop as expected, could truly bolster their numerous lineups on the track and on the grass, both now and in the future.
And when we say "now" we are truly talking about an immediate impact.
Paulina Guerrero, Hannah Wirth and Jaclyn Denham didn’t have to wait long to contribute to Chico State. In fact, they all ran at the CCAA XC Championships and at the NCAA West Regional Championships this past fall. Denham and Wirth were the team's supporting sixth and seventh runners, respectively, at the NCAA XC Championships.
Before they were making an impact for the Wildcats, Guerrero and Wirth were two prep stars from Corcoran and Roseville in California. Guerrero has the Woodward Park cross country course school record while Wirth has the second-fastest 1600 time out of the class in a mark of 5:14.
Together, their effectiveness across the three seasons of competition, and between the two varying distances (1600 and XC), should prove to be valuable long-term aspects of their resumes that can be leveraged to make them standout scorers.
Let's touch on the other out-of-state signee, why don’t we? Previously mentioned, Jaclyn Denham from Ferndale, Washington was the Northwest Conference cross country champion her senior year in a personal best time of 18:22. Clearly, she brings plenty of strong long distance talent to a team that thrives in those exact areas.
And yet, Denham wasn’t even the fastest incoming freshman of this class. That title belongs to Grace Gaddy who takes the cake with a mark of 5:12 in the 1600 meters and a strong 18:44 effort for 5000 meters on the grass.
Gaddy's career highlight was a 27th place finish at the state finals in the 1600 meters, showing off her value between the track and the grass. However, maybe the most exciting part is that she has plenty of room to improve as she also lettered in soccer and basketball.
If she focuses on running full-time, then Gaddy's potential could be sky-high, making her one of the greatest high-ceiling athletes of anyone mentioned in these rankings.
With those five names down, it feels crazy that we have yet to mention the likes of Abbey Lair, Madeline Loff, Julia Martinez, Natalia Muro, Rachel Sabbe or Samantha Schauman. That however, doesn’t make them any less important to this team as they could turn out to be All-American candidates with the proper development.
Relative to her peers, Lair has only just begun the sport. She only started running track during her junior year, having played swimming and softball, previously. That's why seeing her run 5:19 for 1600 meters is incredibly encouraging. That kind of upside is incredibly exciting and, just like Gaddy, it gives her a high ceiling that is almost unmatched by any rookie in these rankings.
Running 5:19 may not jump off the page in a dramatic way when looking at Lair's resume, but it's still a mark that could make her nationally competitive at the D2 level if she is able to build upon that result. And given her background, she may have the greatest chance of reaching All-American honors of anyone in this Chico State freshman class.
As for Loff, she may be better suited for the longer distances as evidenced by her mark of 18:57 for 5000 meters in cross country. She is another name who will likely benefit from running year-round as she also played soccer.
At the very least, Loff is another valuable piece who offers incredibly strong depth. It's not often that a sub-19 runner isn't one of the first recruits we end up talking about in these articles.
We also need to chat about Natalia Muro who has her high school's 800 meter record and has run only a few track races. Running 2:22 (800) and 5:28 (1600) are respectable marks, although much of her success has come on the grass. Muro has run 18:27 for three miles and earned respectable finishes at competitive meets during cross country.
At the very least, Muro can do a little bit of everything. She's an accomplished talent who can potentially bring a stronger middle distance presence to this roster after some further development.
Lastly, we have Rachel Sabbe or Samantha Schauman who are actually quite the opposite of each other. Schauman has broken 5:20 for 1600 meters and 11:30 for 3200 meters while Sabbe arguably had her best races on the grass, even toeing the line for one collegiate cross country race this past fall.
Overall, this Chico State freshman class has a marquee trait that has defined this program for years. That roster characteristic is, of course, depth.
This team has countless top-end talents, almost all of which could be legitimate, meaningful contributors in the near future. However, maybe the greatest aspects of this 11-person contingent is the fact that so many of them have incredibly exciting potential.
Few teams are better positioned for future success than Chico State. Of course, given the history of this program, that shouldn't at all be surprising.
The rich get richer and Grand Valley State gets faster.
Surprising? No.
Impressive? Absolutely.
The runner-up finishers at the NCAA XC Championship added several long distance stars, a speedy middle distance crew and a few developmental athletes to their roster this past fall.
The Lakers not only earned our TSR #1 spot in our 2021 Freshman Class Rankings, but they also blew away the other teams in our rankings due to their depth and pure volume of women. In fact, they added 10 women to their squad with firepower from the 800 meters up to the 5k during cross country.
One of the most impressive young talents for Grand Valley State is Sage Wagner who boasts marks of 2:17 (800), 4:56 (1600) and 18:51 in the 5000 meters during cross country. She gets to team up with Madison Ebright who rocks personal bets of 5:08 (1600), 10:38 (3200) and 17:41 in the 5000 meters during cross country.
In case it wasn't already obvious, Wagner excels at the shorter distances while Ebright has proven to be a headline talent in the longer distances.
Wagner is an elite talent whose 1600 meter time makes us believe that she could legitimately qualify for the indoor national meet as soon as this year with some minor improvements. That is a wicked fast time that is complemented by a very strong half-mile mark.
With a sub-19 mark on the grass, Wagner's relative value coming into this program is incredibly high. Few rookies are capable of making the impact that she potentially could.
As for Ebright, she is going to be a major problem for her future D2 competitors. The young distance talent holds personal bests that would make her one of the better recruits in our D1 rankings. Her 5k personal best of 17:41 is top-notch when it comes to freshmen talents and if you weren't already aware, the Lakers' often develop superstars out of women just like Ebright...sometimes right away!
Simply put, Wagner and Ebright should make for a lethal 1-2 punch that looks borderline unstoppable.
Next up is Maria Widmann and Maria Mitchell. Widmann owns personal bests of 5:08 (1600) and 17:45 in the three-mile (XC). Mitchell, meanwhile, has marks of 5:16 (1600) and 17:50 (5k XC).
In other words, both women can thrive in the 1600 meter distance on the track while still contributing in meaningful ways during cross country. The former is more true for Widmann than it is for Mitchell while the latter is more true for Mitchell than it is for Widmann.
Regardless, it is a bit absurd that we have sub-5:10 runners and sub-18 runners who aren't even the main highlight talents of this class. That's fairly crazy to think about, but it's also a very good problem to have if you're Grand Valley State. The idea that the Lakers will have countless reinforcements who can legitimately help this squad when called upon is a luxury that not all powerhouse programs have.
But that's enough for the longer distances, let's highlight Amelia Gouin, a middle distance standout with an 800 meter PR of 2:15. That's a very strong result and although she will require some further refinement in her speed, Gouin looks like she can add to an already promising middle distance corp.
The newest half-mile standout will also be able to train alongside 800 meter superstar Taryn Chapko for the next few years, leading us to believe that Gouin will be an incredibly useful relay piece and potential national qualifier two to three years from now.
We then come to Hannah Bodine who has impressive range, owing times of 2:19 (800), 5:15 (1600) and 18:27 (5k XC). The craziest part, however, is that Jordyn Hopgood and Maggie O’Malley aren't too far Bodine despite her strong credentials.
Hopgood has run times of 2:20 (800), 5:15 (1600) and 19:06 (5k XC) while O’Malley owns times of 5:12 (1600) and 18:47 (5k XC).
Between Gouin, Bodine, Hopgood and O'Mmaley, all four women should prove to be valuable additions to Grand Valley State’s middle distance squad. Their range and versatility will likely prove to be a major asset for the Lakers, especially since this is a team that has seen their best athletes cover the entire spectrum of distances races over the last few years.
Grand Valley State also added two more recruits in Claudia Tenelsof and Lauren Hasty.
On this roster, both of those athletes are considered to be more developmental additions, but their marks would still make them some of the better distance talents in other top recruiting classes.
Tenelsof, for example, boasts personal bests of 5:21 (1600), 11:35 (3200) and 18:49 (5k XC). As for Hasty, she has run times of 5:24 (1600) and 18:39 (3mi XC). Those are very respectable performances that should not be ignored. On paper, these two women have a legitimate chance to be realistic scorers and contributors to future GVSU lineups.
The majority of these athletes redshirted the cross country season, so we have yet to see how they will impact this team as just rookies. That, of course, doesn't make them any less talented or any less likely to be the distance running stars who we know will extend the Laker's all-time greatness.