TSR Collaboration
Apr 22, 202112 min
These rankings do take some indoor track performances from this past winter into account. However, the introduction of events like the 10k and the steeplechase, as well as the return of certain seniors who have not raced in over a year, has forced us to reshuffle our rankings and leave out some highly accomplished distance talents.
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.
Alexa Leppelmeier has cracked the Top 25 of our outdoor track rankings by taking over the top time in the women’s 3k steeple. In her first race over the barriers and water pits in about two years, the Walsh senior notched a time of 10:35, an 11-second PR which joined Lee’s Toni Moore as the only other woman under 10:40 this season. Leppelmeier's efforts also got her the provisional nod.
One must also note that she won by about a minute and a half in a smaller field. Leppelmeier has proven she can compete in the top-tier of distance talents in the country and her All-American finish from the indoor oval proves that. Of course, this is someone who has been nationally competitive (and at times, underrated) for a while now. It's not exactly a shock that she's having success at this point in the season.
With the right field, Leppelmeier could make a lot more noise and continue to solidify her spot in our rankings as more than just a fringe talent.
Franziska Althaus has only raced twice this season, but has evidently taken a "quality over quantity" approach. The Wingate product opened up her outdoor season at the Raleigh Relays in the 10k, finishing in the top-half of a deep field featuring some quietly great D1 talents.
Althaus ran a 34:51, putting her in striking distance of the NCAA auto-qualifying mark. Most recently, Althaus raced the 5k at the Flames Invitational, beating a very underrated and rising talent in Lee’s Toni Moore as well as Augusta’s Mackenzie Taylor en route to a very solid time of 16:40 -- a provisional mark in the event.
Two provisional nods in two races is about as solid as one can ask for. If by chance Althaus does race another 10k, it’s very possible we see her push for that auto-bid mark. It looks like she is quietly building momentum and the Queens women are beginning to get into the same rhythm as their men's team.
Parsons continued her winning ways, upping the distance on the outdoor oval and racing a 5k. At the IUP Invitational, Parsons took home the victory in a time of 16:49 (a personal best), securing a second provisional nod on the season as well as another win.
While it may not be as fast as some might have expected given her cross country resume, it’s still a win and a very respectable time. Parsons also only had one other runner within striking distance of her during that outing. So far the Edinboro product has only raced three times in 2021, once in cross country and twice this outdoor season. Despite the limited racing, she’s managed to go three-for-three on wins, an impressive feat.
Keep an eye on Parsons as we head into the latter half of the season. She has a ton of experience when it comes winning and could hit another gear at a moment’s notice. If Parsons is running this well with such limited racing, then how will she fare when she gets into a rhythm and builds momentum?
Since her 2:08 mark for 800 meters, Serenity Andrus has kept busy with some speed work on the outdoor oval. At the UAB Spring Invitational, the Alabama-Huntsville runner notched new personal bests in the 200 and 400. She started with the quarter-mile, running 55 second to place 3rd before coming back two and a half hours later to clock a 25-second 200 meter effort.
Andrus undeniably has quality speed for a middle distance runner, especially given that her aforementioned 400 meter time put her in the top-10 on the D2 national leaderboard. Of course, her focus is still the 800 meters as she opted for the distance in her most recent race at the Flames Invitational.
Andrus took runner-up to Celine Ritter in a time of 2:12 which only seems remotely pedestrian due to the bar she’s set for herself. Even so, it almost looks like Andrus is going to race herself into form. She’s alternated between events at each outdoor contest she’s gone to so far.
There’s still time left in the season for her to make improvements, so that should allow Andrus to really absorb all this speed work and turnover. If that happens, then she could really shake things up, so it’d be wise not to rule out another big leap from the Alabama-Huntsville product.
Hailey Streff has raced once since our last update, toeing the line for the 1500 meters at the Colorado Mines Kit Mayer Classic. Streff comfortably took home a win in a mark of 4:32 as the next runner finished 14 seconds behind her.
As a reminder, Streff’s first 1500 effort this year resulted in a 3rd place finish against some very noteworthy names such as her teammate Yasmine Hernandez, Adams State’s Eilish Flanagan, UCCS’s Layla Almasri, Adams State's Nicole Lawrence, UCCS's Riley McGrath and others.
Between that solid 3rd place result and another win (albeit, in a less competitive field), we like what we've seen from this junior. Consistency goes a long way, especially for someone who can just as easily drop down to the 800 meters rather than the 1500 meters.
In only three races so far this season, Fatima Alanis has put together an impressive resume. The freshman has toed the line for two 5k efforts and a 10k, and seems to have loads of potential on the outdoor oval.
Alanis cracked the 17-minute mark in her first 5k before heading to Raleigh Relays where strung together a 35-minute 10k. However, she really caught our attention with her latest race at the Flames Invitational.
The Queens ace then raced the 5k once more (earlier this month) and took home the win in a time of 16:31, taking down some familiar names in Toni Moore and teammate Franziska Althaus. That effort was also a 20-second PR for Alanis which is incredibly promising if she is going to carry this momentum into the postseason.
But when you add to that the fact that this was only her third race on the track this year? Well, the Queens runner could very well make another leap.
Even if Alanis doesn’t have another 20-second drop in her, any further progress would be impressive as her standing time is already one of the better marks in the nation for D2.
Taryn Chapko has been relatively quiet as of late. After a very respectable double at Raleigh Relays, the indoor 800 meter All-American has only raced once. The rookie toed the line for the 400 meters at the GVSU Al Owens Classic, taking 3rd in a 58-second effort.
We don’t have much to go off of so far this spring as Chapko hadn’t really raced until this point, but at least we saw a career-best for her in the open 400 meters. Chapko also ran a leg on the 4x400 relay at the same meet, so that’s a somewhat encouraging sign and it's probably just some speed work before she really attacks the 800.
Cusick took a bit of a hiatus since our last update, then resurfaced with a heavy-hitter.
The Western Colorado Mountaineer dropped an impressive 800 meter mark at the Maverick Sun Classic regardless of how you slice it. She notched a converted 2:08 mark to take home the win. This was only her second 800 of the season after a 2:13 from earlier on. From one race to the next, she dropped an incredible five seconds.
This also took fours seconds off of her career PR with the conversion, but even the raw-time is nothing to scoff at. The raw time cracked the 2:10 barrier, making Cusick one of only seven women to do so this season.
You’d think there’s nothing else to say about this, but of course, there’s more. The next runner finished nine seconds back from her, meaning that this was essentially a solo effort. Cusick meant business when she toed the line and left absolutely no doubt of it.
If she brings this same energy to a deeper field, she’ll make some big waves.
Thompson quietly has two top-six times in both the 5k and 10k. Yes, 2019 was the last time she was a national contender, but come on, she deserves some more attention.
She didn’t win the 5k at the Flames Invite, but she was darn close, losing out to Fatima Alanis of Queens (N.C.) by a mere second. Not only that, but the two times that she has raced this year have both been personal bests. We're encouraged by how she's been performing and we think she still has a lot more to give.
Also, for perspective, Thompson and Gockley have incredibly similar 5k and 10k times this year, with neither mark being more than two seconds between their seasonal marks.
Has not yet raced this season.
Whatever Klaudia O’Malley was dealing with during the 5k at the Raleigh Relays appears to be behind her as she came back with a very strong performance at the Rick Erdmann Twilight meet.
O’Malley raced the 5k at EKU and earned herself a provisional mark, posting a time of 16:35. She was right with fellow Laker teammate Jessica Gockley and finished ahead of a ton of D1 runners. O’Malley’s time was also a new PR effort for her. How’s that for a strong rebound?
It’ll be interesting seeing what she chooses to do heading into the postseason as the GVSU runner has strong marks in both the 1500 meters and the 5k with this latest outing. She doubled up at NCAA Indoor Championships, but it’s hard to say whether or not she’d take a similar path on the outdoor oval.
Either way, it's really encouraging to see athletes like O'Malley shake-off a less than stellar performance and come back with a big result like this. That likely bodes well for the rest of the season.
Jessica Gockley is another name who is sitting in a pretty good spot right now since she has two top-seven times in the 5k and 10k when it comes to the D2 leaderboard. Not only that, but she’s fresh off of a solid performance in the 5k where she ran 16:34 to just edge out her teammate Klaudia O’Malley who was moving up in distance.
And yet, we still think Gockley has more in the tank. That result was, after all, five seconds out from her overall personal best.
Is this the year that she finally wins the 5k title at the GLIAC Outdoor Championships? The last time they ran it in 2019 she placed runner-up, although she did win the 5k title at the 2019 GLIAC Indoor Championships.
Has not raced since last update.
Florance Uwajaneza took home the win in the 10k at the Flames Invite hosted by Lee University. It was a solid race for the Buffalo athlete as she secured an automatic time in the 10k with a 34:24, a mark that seems to be roughly on target with our expectations.
Her chance to stay undefeated at Lone Star Championships is fast approaching and we would expect nothing short of total dominance this time around. She has largely matched our expectations so far this spring and frankly, we don't have much to say about Uwajaneza.
Well, Narbuvoll is a solid one for one so far this season. She has only raced once in 2021 and now has a result that guarantees that she’s racing at the national meet. This past weekend at Dickinson State, she took home the win, in a solo effort at that, in the 100,000 meters, breaking the tape in a time of 33:32. Compared to when she used to run the 10k, she’s in way better shape right now.
With the Northern Sun Championships coming up, will we see her double in the 5k and 10k like she did in 2019 as she’s still the reigning champ? We think that's very possible, especially since she has yet to get a national qualifying time in the 5k. Narbuvoll is a durable distance juggernaught and we think the 10k/5k double in the postseason is likely going to happen for her.
Burgos is back! After an unusually quiet winter track season in which she didn’t really pursue an individual event at the indoor national meet, she has turned things around in a hurry this spring.
Burgos recently set a new personal best in the 800 meters by two seconds, clocking a solo 2:08 effort. And although her 1500 isn't quite where she wants it to be, her 800 time proves that she’s in good shape and maybe has newfound speed that we didn't think was originally there.
We think she’s in a good spot with championship season fast approaching and we see her being a major contender in the 1500 meters as this season continues to unfold.
Hope you didn’t blink as Novak has once again secured herself a trip to the national meet. Having run at the Bryan Clay Invite, a meet known for producing wicked fast times, Novak dropped four seconds off of her 1500 PR, resulting in the newly-minted AQ status and a personal best of 4:18.
Is it safe to say that Novak poses as a real threat to either Celine Ritter or Eilish Flanagan’s spot as the title favorite in this event? Maybe, but that depends on if they even decide to run the 1500 at all as they have the top two times in the 5k right now.
Either way, Novak is dangerous and a name that many people might not be familiar with given her solid, but somewhat quiet indoor track season.
Does it look like Sandoval is a budding distance talent? She sure looks like one to us. The only reason we say "budding" is because she hasn't won anything yet.
Of course, she was very close to do that this past weekend, running on her home track and finishing runner-up in the 10k, only to Mexico’s third fastest woman in the marathon in Adrea Ramirez Limon. Oh, and did I mention that her time was a 32:58? That’s over a minute and a half under the time needed for an automatic qualifying spot to go to the NCAA Championships! That’s insane! Currently that would be the sixth-fastest time in D1, not to mention the fifth-fastest D2 time ever.
We do think that she has a chance of taking home a win very soon as the PacificWest Championships are on the horizon and the NCAA meet isn't dramatically too far out. She's already qualified in the 5k and 10k for this year's national meet, so it’s just a matter of sorting out what events she’s going to run at PacWest Championship in two weeks.
We imagine that she'll go after the 1500 meters in an effort to refine her speed and maybe prepare her for some tactical racing.
Bailey has not raced this season.
Not too much to report from Gunnison, Colorado as Sharon ran a 400 and was on a 4x400 relay recently. A 56-second quarter isn’t her best, but it’s darn close to it and really showcased her speed. She’s already run an automatic qualifying time in the 800 meters this season, so you have to think she’s focused on securing another RMAC title in the same event.
Hernandez is making waves, but based on her indoor track performances, you probably already saw that coming. The CSU-Pueblo ace just ran an 800 this past weekend in which, after the altitude conversion, puts her just under the 2:06 barrier.
Her progress since the beginning of 2021 has been very linear, one might even call it steady. It’s highlighted by her runner-up finishes in both the 800 and DMR at the NCAA indoor Championships.
As we can only look ahead to the RMAC 800 meters, we are going to see a very competitive field as four of the top-seven times nationally are from the RMAC. You gotta think that Hernandez is going to want this one more than ever as Pueblo is set to host the RMAC Championships in two weeks. A big finish here could make her the title favorite.
It’s been a minute, almost a whole year to be exact, since the senior from Canada raced. However, after giving her two attempts at the 800 meters, she’s now dropped three seconds off of her previous 800 best.
A 2:03 is MOVING and that’s why she stands atop the 800 rankings all alone. However, it's a real shame that Simon Fraser isn’t going to be at any of the GNAC or NCAA meets as they are the only Canadian school in the NCAA, meaning that complications with travel across the border to compete is a not going to happen.
We're admittedly not sure how to handle ranking Townsend since she won't be competing on the national stage, but running 2:03 is wildly impressive and it probably would have made her the undeniable title favorite.
Has not yet raced this season.
Ritter has raced twice this spring and to no one's surprise, she won both of those races. She conquered the middle distance double of 800/1500 with relative ease, even winning over a couple of national qualifiers in MacKenna Curtis-Collins(Malone) and Serenity Andrus (Alabama-Huntsville). Oh, and I forgot to mention that she competed at the Lee Invitational and you know she wasn't going to let anyone beat her on her home track.
At this point, our rankings are more or less Eilish Flanagan being ranked at 1A and Celine Ritter being ranked at 1B since their times are almost identical. There’s not too much wiggle room between the two, but since Flanagan has better times, we gave her the nod.
Has not raced since our last update.
Alexa Leppelmeier (Walsh)
Franziska Althaus (Queens (N.C.))
Fatima Alanis (Queens (N.C.))
Elysia Burgos (Southwest Baptist)
Toni Moore (Lee (Tenn.))
Allie Ludge (Grand Valley State)
Hannah Roeske (Grand Valley State)
Zoe Baker (Colorado Mines)
Toni Moore (Lee (Tenn.))
Zoe Baker (Colorado Mines)
Layla Almasri (UC-Colorado Springs)
Allie Ludge (Grand Valley State)
Riley McGrath (UC-Colorado Springs)
Madison Brown (Dallas Baptist)
Jennifer Comastri (Southern Indiana)
Brianna Robles (Adams State)
Hannah Roeske (Grand Valley State)
Rebekah Rairdon (Augustana)
Kaycee Rypma (Grand Valley State)
Sesila Dala (West Texas A&M)
Kinga Szarzynska (Harding)
Nicole Lawrence (Adams State)