2022 Cowboy Jamboree Preview (Women)

Written by Scott Loughlin, Maura Beattie & Garrett Zatlin

The “competitive” part of the season doesn’t start until the Joe Piane Invitational...right?

Wrong.

The Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree has taken the NCAA cross country world by storm in 2022, gathering teams from all around the country for a chance to square-off against top-notch competition on the course that will host the NCAA XC Championships in November.

This meet is stacked with superb talent, featuring a whopping seven women’s teams that are ranked at TSR #13 or higher.

SEVEN!

But what if I told you that the hype doesn’t end with just those seven teams? There are a few other squads that may be flying under the radar entering Stillwater, Oklahoma, but make no mistake, they’ll be ready to put themselves in the mix and potentially make some noise in this showcase of powerhouse distance talent.

So how do you even preview a field saturated with that much talent, depth and buzz?

Well, you pick your jaw up off the ground and take it one stride at a time.

A reasonable place to start is with the BYU women, a team that historically boasts strength, experience and dependability. But in 2022, this team has a few more question marks than we're used to seeing, something Coach Diljeet Taylor has even acknowledged. That can be attributed to a heavy mix of youngsters as well as a recent graduate transfer.

After resting their varsity lineup at the UVU XC Invitational, the Cougars unleashed their full squad at the REP Cross Classic earlier this season – a three-team tri-meet – and took home the victory with a perfect score.

While there wasn't much to take away from a lineup-structure standpoint, that race did show us that top-50 runners McKenna Lee and Aubrey Frentheway are healthy, top steeplechaser is Lexy Halladay is in great shape and talented rookie Riley Chamberlain is already capable of contributing.

Those BYU runners were great, but there was one young star who will look to rebound at the Cowboy Jamboree after a not-so-great rust-buster.

I am, of course, talking about Jenna Hutchins.

The Tennessee native had an “off” day at the REP Cross Classic, falling well outside BYU’s top-seven. However, she will have another crack at entering this team's scoring-five on Saturday.

There is a fairly realistic scenario where the Cougars take home the win this weekend -- but everything has to go perfectly. We're not too concerned about women like Fretheway, Halladay and Lee. However, it's not entirely clear how Jenna Hutchins, or fellow rookie Riley Chamberlain, will handle a much larger, national-caliber field.

We'll also need to see how winter cross country All-American, Lindsey Stallworth, performs on Saturday. If she runs to her full potential, then the Cougars have a legitimate avenue towards gold on Satruday -- but again, everything has to go right.

Another team with a wide number of varsity options is the Stanford Cardinal. However, compared to BYU, it is somehow even less clear how their pieces will fit together.

Unlike last fall when Julia Heymach and Christina Aragon were reliable low-sticks, and unlike the season prior when they could always count on Ella Donaghu, this iteration of Stanford's varsity team doesn’t necessarily have a top-20 national meet candidate.

They do, however, have numerous women who could eventually fill that role.

Zofia Dudek, Lucy Jenks and Riley Stewart must be at their best on Saturday if the Cardinal want to finish as a top team in this field. And while each of these women have questions surrounding their consistency, their raw talent makes them so. darn. dangerous.

Stewart impressed in her collegiate debut, winning the San Francisco Invitational. She was followed closely behind by Jenks who secured silver.

That was an encouraging result for Stewart who can take that confidence with her to Stillwater where she'll test her mettle against some of the top runners in the NCAA. The Colorado native also seemed to be the biggest distance-centric marquee star of Stanford's most recent star-studded recruiting class.

But while we do believe that Stewart will have a key scoring role this weekend, her impact will hold greater weight if Dudek and Jenks also perform to their full expectations.

Dudek is arguably the biggest “x-factor” at play for the Cardinal this weekend. Her career has been largely that of the “feast or famine” variety. When she is at her best, Dudek is a legitimate contender for an upper-half All-American spot. But consistency was an issue last fall and we did not see her with the rest of the Cardinal in their season opener.

Stanford is playing with house money here. They’re not expected to win, but much like BYU, their upside is fascinating. In a field of over 250 athletes, featuring mostly well-established teams, the Cardinal will rely on a young trio (and a just-as-young backend) to display the full scoring potential of their lineup.

If Dudek, Jenks and Stewart can all finish within the top-30, with at least one woman cracking the top-10, then Stanford's season outlook will shift from “potentially good” to “presently dangerous”.

And yet, at the same time, we also need to recognize the uncertainty surrounding the latter-half of this scoring group. While middle-lineup contributor Audrey Suarez has shown promise, she'll need to continue building on her promising rookie campaign if the Cardinal are going to be compete with the top teams in this field.

At this point in our analysis, we’ve covered a few signature freshmen such as Riley Stewart, Riley Chamberlain and Jenna Hutchins. However, it’s the hometown superstar who is making her NCAA debut this Saturday.

I am, of course, referring to Oklahoma State’s Natalie Cook.

There is essentially nothing to dislike about Cook’s chances of having a successful first chapter of her career as a Cowgirl.

Victories on the highest stages of high school cross country?

Check.

Cook won both the RunningLane and Eastbay XC Championships in the fall of 2021.

Victories against proven, elite NCAA athletes?

Check.

Cook ran a 15:25 (5k) on the track to set the high school national record. She also took down former Colorado ace Abby Nichols in that race who finished 8th at last year’s NCAA XC Championships.

The potential, the talent and the results have been with Cook in every stride of her high school career. On paper, she should be a top-five finisher in this field. That, of course, is just speculation. It's hard to know for sure just how good she'll be on Saturday, but we don't know in what scenario it goes poorly for her.

The icing on the cake for Oklahoma State fans is the fact that Cook won’t have to do it alone. In fact, she isn’t even expected to be the lead scorer for the Cowgirls! That's because that spot still belongs to Taylor Roe.

Next to only Alabama’s Mercy Chelangat, you could argue that Roe was the most consistent and electric distance talent on the grass between the winter and fall cross country seasons in 2021.

Winning a national title in the 3000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships this past winter didn't exactly hurt her reputation, either.

It’s no secret that Roe is not only expected to be Oklahoma State’s ace, but she will also be expected to take the overall win at the Cowboy Jamboree. And if that happens while Cook matches her superstar expectations, then the Cowgirls may have the best firepower in this field.

But the runner who could really put Oklahoma State over the top? Gabby Hentemann.

This returning veteran will complete the Cowgirls' elite trio upfront as she looks to take the next step in her career on the grass after a breakout outdoor track season where she finished as an All-American in the 10,000 meters.

On paper, we have every reason to believe that Hentemann is going to be a high-impact scorer for the Cowgirls throughout this season. However, the Cowboy Jamboree is going to be a high-pressure scenario and if Oklahoma State is going to come away with the win, then Hentemann will need to deliver an All-American-caliber performance.

Hentemann's success this weekend is also going to be majorly important, mainly because the Oklahoma State women will be without veteran Molly Born at the Cowboy Jamboree (for reasons unknown at this time).

If Born, a 2019 cross country All-American, was able to toe the line in this race, then the Cowgirls would likely be the undeniable favorites. Instead, this team will now be forced to heavily rely on their less-proven backend group for scoring support.

Luckily, Kenyan superstar Billie Jepkirui, who has run 4:11 in the 1500 meters, is in this lineup. If she clicks like we think she could, then Oklahoma State could certainly keep themselves in the mix for the overall win.

You may be wondering how, at this point in the article, we have yet to mention the Colorado women. That, however, is just how we have flowed and transitioned between each team.

The Buffaloes, depending on who you ask, maybe favored for the overall win. Their combination of experience, firepower, depth and historical greatness is simply too much to ignore. Of course, just like every other woman's team in this field, there are also a few questions as to what we can expect from this group on Saturday.

If Taylor Roe and Natalie Cook don't give Oklahoma State the best firepower in the field, then that will probably be because Emily Covert and Bailey Hertenstein were simply better. Together, those two women (theoretically) make up one of the best scoring duos in the NCAA this fall.

But behind Covert and Hertenstein is where the Colorado women need to prove themselves as a legitimate podium-caliber threats.

Hannah Miniutti was excellent as just a freshman last fall, peaking in the postseason by placing 12th at the PAC-12 XC Championships and 85th at the NCAA XC Championships. After running 33:49 (10k) this past spring, we have ever reason to believe that Miniutti is going to be an outstanding third scorer for the Buffaloes in 2022...but just how good will she actually be?

Meanwhile, Ella Baran is a graduate transfer from the Division Three ranks. She was phenomenal during her time with Johns Hopkins, running 15:49 for 5000 meters and finishing 9th at the D3 NCAA XC Championships.

Baran is undoubtedly going to be a scorer for Colorado this fall, but what kind of scorer will she be? Will she emerge as an All-American threat? A true middle-lineup contributor? A backend scorer who just needs to close out the team's top-five?

We don't entirely know what Baran is capable of at the Division One level yet, but this weekend will certainly be a baptism by fire scenario given the competition in this field.

There are a handful of other names who feel like relative unknowns in this field. But Colorado is probably the only team in the country that can have this much uncertainty while still sparking so much optimism.

The Arkansas women enter Saturday's race somewhat under the radar, a rarity for this program given their historical success.

Perhaps that is because the squad representing Coach Lance Harter’s farewell tour lost both of their elite low-sticks from last season in Lauren Gregory and Krissy Gear. But despite those subtractions, the current version of the Arkansas lineup still boasts scoring potency in the front as well as high-upside depth which could play a major role in this race if all goes according to plan.

The Cowboy Jamboree will be a “prove it” race for Isabel Van Camp, the lone All-American returner from last year's squad.

Last fall, Van Camp exceeded expectations at the NCAA XC Championships with a clutch 37th place finish to notch her first All-American honor on the grass. She went on to follow that up by racing on the 1200 meter leg of the Razorbacks’ DMR title before running a 15:35 (5k) PR at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for another All-American honor.

Now that Van Camp has clocked-in for a full slate of successful seasons during her 2021-22 campaign, it’s time to see if she can make the leap to be a top-20 or top-30 All-American-type talent this fall.

And as far as early-season meets go, this is the perfect venue to do that. There will be multiple low-stick stars headlining this field. If Van Camp can at least take down a few of them, then that could spark some momentum for her throughout the rest of the season.

Admittedly, there are significant questions surrounding what the rest of Arkansas' women’s lineup will look like after Van Camp. For most teams, that uncertainty would be concerning. But the Razorbacks have a laundry list of robust candidates ready to showcase their ability to hang with other teams’ more clearly-defined scorers.

A few names to watch in particular will be Sydney Thorvaldson, Gracie Hyde, Taylor Ewert and Julia Paternain.

In our eyes, Thorvaldson is the main name to watch. It is crucial that she finds success this fall and emerges as a reliable second or third scoring option for Arkansas. She ran 9:07 (3k) and 16:00 (5k) this past year, so it's clear that she could be due for a big breakout year on the grass...we think.

But Thorvaldson isn't the only one who will have big expectations placed on her shoulders.

Hyde has yet to fully display her full potential on the grass, but as a 4:37 miler and 9:57 steeplechaser, it feels like a breakout race is imminent for her. Meanwhile, Ewert appears to be recapturing the form that she kicked-off her college career with as she took home an early-season victory at the Cowboy Preview (3k) which covered only half the course that she’ll race at the Cowboy Jamboree.

But it's Julia Paternain who could be the glue that this lineup needs to outlast the backend scoring of other top-tier programs.

Formerly, as a Penn State athlete, Paternain showed flashes of All-American potential, finishing 30th at the Nuttycombe Invitational in 2018. Her opening result this season was a modest 8th place finish at the Cowboy Preview, but she had typically been stronger at the longer distances.

We have so many questions when it comes to this Arkansas squad. But if you're the Razorbacks, you can also take solace in the fact that we have a TON of questions about pretty much every other team in this field...maybe just not as many as we have for Arkansas.

The Utah Valley women, in our eyes, should be a key sleeper pick at the Cowboy Jamboree this weekend. While they might not be able to contend for a top-five team finish, the Wolverines are surely capable of a top-10 showing...and maybe even pulling off an upset or two.

Led by Everlyn Kemboi, the first woman out of our preseason individual rankings, the UVU women have a true low-stick who could match some of the elite scoring that the Wolverines will face on the Oklahoma State cross country course this Saturday.

The rising senior could find herself in the mix for a top individual finish this weekend after a dominating win at the UVU XC Invite in early September.

Kemboi jumped onto the D1 scene last fall. After contesting some lower-scale meets, she proved herself at the Mountain regional meet when she finished 13th in a deep field. Although she didn’t qualify for the NCAA XC Championships, she transitioned her cross country success to the track seamlessly, especially on the outdoor oval.

Her 16:04 (5k) and 33:12 (10k) marks from this past spring stand out on her resume and after getting her first taste of a national meet back in June, there’s no doubt the Kemboi will be bumping elbows with the leaders this weekend.

While Kemboi brings upper-echelon firepower, fellow teammates Hannah Branch and Caila Odekirk will likely ride the line between being front-runners and middle-lineup scorers.

Branch is a veteran of the Wolverines' roster and is a reliable member of the roster. The redshirt senior is coming off of her best track season yet, highlighted by a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships and a new 10k personal best of 33:17.

Branch might not hit the top-10 this weekend, but top-20 isn’t out of the question given her recent string of momentum.

Then, we come to Odekirk. The sophomore raced like an experienced collegiate runner during her freshman year. The Wolverine ace was a stud in high school and quickly saw respectable success upon arriving at Utah Valley. Just look at her 23rd finish at the 2021 version of the Cowboy Jamboree (which was far more limited in terms of depth) and her 3rd place finish at the 2021 WAC XC Championships for evidence.

Despite an injury derailing her outdoor track season, she posted stellar times across the board from the 1500 meters up to the 10,000 meters, earning a new PR of 34:03 in the latter event.

And here's the thing -- there might be one or two more names who are just as good as those three women.

Mazzie Melaney absolutely needs to be on your radar. She was the team’s third scorer last fall at the Mountain regional meet and then took off during the most recent outdoor track season. However, before last year, Melaney recorded massive PRs of 16:08 (5k) and 33:35 (10k) on the oval. That is a scary-good amount of potential scoring that suddenly makes Utah Valley a very interesting team.

And when you tack on recent transfer Madison Flippence, she might be the missing piece who the Wolverines needed to write a Cinderella Story later this fall.

Flippence comes to Utah Valley via Utah Tech and is already shaking things up following her 3rd place finish at the UVU XC Invite. She had a respectable career with the Utah Tech Trailblazers, headlined by her 15th place finish at the 2021 WAC XC Championships, but a new training environment might just send Flippence to an even higher level in 2022.

The ladies of Utah Valley might not attract the same high-profile athletes that in-state rivals BYU and Utah do. However, the recent development of these runners has made the Wolverines a very scary team. The Cowboy Jamboree will be the first real test for the nation to see what UVU is all about this season, but they may end up making us regret omitting them from our summer rankings.

But while Utah Valley may be the surprise team that catches everyone off guard, no one will be surprised if/when the Michigan women emerge as one of the more competitive teams in Saturday's field.

The Wolverines have a storied history of being one of the best in the nation and that should continue this fall. Coach Mark McGuire always does a solid job of assembling a star-studded roster and this year is no different with Ericka VanderLende, Kayla Windemuller and Katelynne Hart leading the way. These three women are expected to form one of the best scoring trios in the NCAA this fall.

Michigan will be facing some tough competition at the Cowboy Jamboree this weekend, but as the arguable favorites to win the B1G 10 title later this fall, Saturday is simply a warm-up for what’s to come later on.

VanderLende has been a marquee scorer for the Wolverines in every season of her college career thus far. And while most of her 2021 cross country campaign was filled with solid results, it was clear that Michigan wasn't facing any competition in the regular season that would truly test this team.

And while VanderLende had been great in most stretches, her national meet performances have regressed since her rookie year.

This fall could be VanderLende’s revenge tour. She is already off to a strong start since leading her team at the BIG 10 Preview with her 2nd place finish, only finishing a half-second behind winner and TSR #25 runner, Addie Engel of Ohio State.

So despite how you may feel about her national meet results, it's more likely than not that VanderLende is going to be a top-10 name on Saturday...and we feel pretty good about that.

Another Michigan athlete who has been turning heads (especially recently) has been Kayla Windemuller. She turned out to be the Wolverines’ second scorer at the BIG 10 XC Championships last fall with her monumental 6th place finish before placing 79th at the NCAA XC Championships.

Since then, Windemuller thrived on the oval, posting marks of 4:22 (1500), 16:01 (5k) and 9:47 (steeple). That latter mark is huge and it suggests that she's due for a big season, even after having a fantastic 2021 cross country campaign.

The third name of this three-headed scoring monster, Katelynne Hart, dominated the high school scene and is still seeing success since transitioning to Michigan.

During the 2021 cross country season, Hart competed in her second national meet, although it would be the first that she would finish, walking away with a promising 69th place finish. And while that was certainly not bad for an underclassman, it's clear that this still-young distance talent can be closer to VanderLende and Windemuller this fall.

But those three women are not who will make or break this team during Saturday's race. This weekend, we'll be monitoring Danielle Page, Samantha Tran, Samantha Saenz and Samantha Haiste as depth pieces who can fill out this lineup. If the Wolverines can assemble a respectable enough supporting cast, then they'll take down some of the top teams in this field.

VanderLende, Windemuller and Hart can counter, or at least rebalance, most of the low-stick scoring efforts from their opponents in this field. But after struggling with depth in 2021, we'll be looking to see how the backend of their lineup performs this weekend.

The Washington Huskies are a top-ranked team this fall and rightfully so given their projected scorers and the addition of an elite freshman class. Will everything come together in their season opener? Or will it take some time (like last year) for this UW lineup to find their groove alongside one another?

Front-runner and program veteran Haley Herberg will leads this team as they head to Stillwater, Oklahoma to face conference rivals Colorado and Stanford amongst a slew of nationally ranked teams.

However, this senior has a tendency to not only lead the field, but also create gaps early-on in certain races. But on a course like Oklahoma State’s, known for its difficulty, Herberg could employ a different tactic this weekend -- one where she bides her time and then strikes over the last mile to go for the win.

We really like Madison Heisterman, Anna Gibson and Naomi Smith as middle lineup scorers for this tea,. After great years on the track, one of these women could surprise us on Saturday.

But even if that is the case, Washington will need a few more women to step up in order for this group to have a more complete lineup. While most of the other teams in this field have two or three true low-sticks, the Huskies seem to have only one right now.

Luckily, they have the potential to flex one of the most complete scoring five's at the Cowboy Jamboree thanks to their insane haul of elite recruits.

Washington's freshman class, highlighted by Chloe Foerster, Josephine Welin, Ella Borsheim, and Sophia Nordenholz, could make an immediate impact on Saturday as the Huskies search for more reliable scorers.

Foerster has a solid mix of speed and endurance to her name thanks to her 4:38 (1600) mark and 8th place finish at the 2021 Garmin RunningLane XC Championships. The current rookie has a resume similar to Heisterman and Gibson, so if she can latch onto those two women, then there’s no telling what she could do in her first collegiate race.

As for Welin, Nordenholz and Borsheim, these three women are much stronger the longer the race is, as evidenced by their 10:03, 10:05 and 10:12 personal bests for 3200 meters, respectively.

These women might not join Herberg at the top of this field, but their presence as team's fourth, fifth or sixth runners could be a game-changer for Washington.

Coach Maurica Powell might rely a lot on her freshmen and middle distance runners at the Cowboy Jamboree, but is that really a bad thing when the season is really just getting started? If anything, this may prove to be a wildly valuable learning experience for such a young team.

This article is already getting a little long, so let's wrap this up with a few bullet points...

Teams

Individuals