TSR Collaboration
Jan 26, 202210 min
Written by Hannah Thorn & Kevin Fischer, additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin
Click here to see our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names.
Listed eligibility takes redshirts and Covid-related extensions into consideration.
TFRRS is used as a general guide when determining eligibility.
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.
We start our rankings with an apology to Riley Mayer.
Usually, when we talk about Wartburg, it is about Aubrie Fisher or Carina Collett, so we often overlook Mayer. However, she has made sure that no one was overlooking her this indoor season.
The Wartburg veteran started her season by running 17:15 in the 5000 meters at the GVSU Holiday Open. That meet produced some very fast 5k marks, but none more surprising than Mayers' result. Her previous PR was 18:32, so this was a huge step forward, signaling that greater improvements could be on the horizon for her.
Mayer's 17:15 mark still stands as the NCAA #4 time in the event for Division Three and will it's a mark that will probably qualify her for the indoor national meet as well.
Mayer has only raced once after that, posting a time of 17:33 for 5000 meters at the Chelsey Henkenius Invite. That race only had Wartburg runners in it, none of whom were named Fisher or Collett. In other words, that performance seemingly validated her early-season breakout.
We have yet to see her race a 3k or even a mile, but it's clear that this experienced distance talent has reached a new level of fitness.
For Mayer, the question for her this season is not if she will reset her personal bests, but rather by how much?
It was hard to figure out exactly where we should rank Ari Marks.
After her massive breakout season in cross country, she has hinted at the ability to contend for national titles on the track in the 5000 meters and maybe even the 3000 meters. Her personal bests on the oval are solid, but they're not the best compared to what others on this list have done or what her performances on the grass suggest she can do.
Marks opened up her season at the Wheaton Invite where she won the mile in a time of 5:12. She was running solo for most of that race and even had to move around some lap traffic, so we know that she can run faster in the proper setting.
For now, Marks just barely stays in our Top 15, but look out for her to potentially put in some big races at the 3k and 5k distances and move up in the rankings as the season progresses.
Coming into the season, we knew that Demco would be one of the best runners in the WIAC and she wasted no time in proving us right.
At the Ripon Winter Open back in December, she ran the NCAA #6 time in the mile, finishing with a mark of 5:01. She followed that up the next week at the UW Oshkosh Early Bird Invite, running 2:13.29 in the 800 meters which is the NCAA #4 time for the event in D3.
Both races are a few seconds off of her personal bests, but that’s not bad when you consider that she is coming off of a distance-oriented cross country season.
Yet, what's even better, is the fact that she is pulling teammates to fast times with her. Cyna Madigan in the 800 meters and Hannah Lohrenz in the mile are just two examples. Watch out for this team in the DMR.
Demco has yet to race this January, but we can expect to see her inch even closer to that 2:10 barrier and sub-five mark this season. The month of February is likely when she'll solidify herself as a major All-American favorite in the middle distances.
Bloss has not raced since her 16:59 (5k) opener at Boston University back in December. She currently holds the NCAA #3 spot on the national leaderboard for the event and finished 13th at the cross country national meet this past fall.
She moves down a few spots in our updated rankings simply because of the quality of the recent performances from other top stars at the D3 level.
True freshman Claudia Harnett came to Chicago as one of the top recruits in the country, and she’s been living up to the expectations so far.
Not only does her future look unbelievably bright, but she is proving to be a nationally competitive name right now! In the last two weeks, she has run 5:06 in the mile and 2:12 in the mile 800 meters, good for NCAA #9 and NCAA #2 on the national leaderboard, respectively.
Harnett is definitely capable of dropping her mile time given that her high school 1600 meter personal best sits at 4:51. She’s in a great spot to earn All-American honors in either of those events.
Based on the success that she had in her first collegiate cross country season, it seems fair to say that this Chicago rookie could be primed for a fast 3000 meter mark, especially when you pair her fall credentials with her middle distance speed on the track.
Here at TSR, we really value when athletes are ranked in the top-10 nationally in more than one event. Aubrie Fisher is one of those athletes.
The Wartburg star currently has the NCAA #5 time in the 3000 meters and the NCAA #5 time in the 5000 meters. That latter 5k time is from the GVSU Holiday Open back in December where she ran 17:16. It's an indoor PR, but it's also a touch off from her outdoor PR of 16:57.
Her 3k mark is from the Larry Wieczorek Invitational last weekend where she ran 9:47. She finished just behind two Wisconsin Badgers, but was the only non-D1 runner allowed in the "Premiere" race.
It will be interesting to see what Fisher will run in the mile given that her 4:59 PR (which she ran last winter) puts her right around the NCAA #5 slot in D3. In theory, we think Fisher can run slightly faster in the mile, but she has so many options in terms of her event selection this season that she'll find success in whatever she chooses to pursue.
Heeringa has popped off this winter. Before last spring, she had never qualified for on the national meet on the track. That, of course, changed when she extended her postseason in the postseason, eventually finishing 15th overall on the national stage.
However, in 2022, she looks to be on another level.
At the GVSU Bob Eubanks Open, she ran a massive PR in the 3000 meters en route to a mark of 9:46. That is the fourth-fastest time in D3 right now which pairs perfectly with her NCAA #4 time in the mile.
That mile was also run at the GVSU track at the Mike Lints meet where she ran a time of 4:56. I think it goes without saying, but that was also a personal best. It will be exciting to see the improvements that Heeringa can make over the season and if she can move up in these rankings.
She is quietly entering some very elite territory with some very elite distance talents.
We haven’t seen much from Tucker since our last update. She ran 16:57 for 5000 meters at the GVSU Holiday Invite back in December. She finished runner-up in that race to Trine’s Evie Miller. Both times still stand as the NCAA #1 and NCAA #2 marks in the country right now.
Although we have yet to see her race in 2022, Tucker could simply be building fitness, preparing for an all-out assault on the indoor oval this February. However, for the moment, she hasn't done enough to move her up or down in our rankings in any major way.
Smith did not get moved back in our rankings because of a poor performance or anything along those lines. In fact, she has only raced once this season and it was a great opener! Smith simply drops one spot in our rankings just to adjust for the influx of new talent.
At the Cobber Open, the Saint Benedicts underclassman ran an excellent personal best of 9:48 in the 3000 meters and she did this completely solo. She was the only woman in the race, so at least she didn’t have to worry about lap traffic getting in the way...
Her 9:48 mark is the third-fastest time in D3 so far this season behind Trine’s Evie Miller and John Hopkins' Ella Baran. Imagine what Smith can do if she can get into a loaded field where the pace is being pushed...
We should also expect to see her move up to the 5000 meters very soon.
Mayfield opted not to race right after finishing 10th at the cross country national meet. Instead, she chose to rest. That is looking like the right decision now based on the fact that she currently has the NCAA #2 time in the mile and the NCAA #7 time in the 3000 meters, both coming in the month of January.
At the Saint Olaf Ole Opener, she ran a PR of 9:54 completely on her own as the next closest finisher was more than 40 seconds back. The next week, at the Carleton Tri meet, she dropped a 4:53 mile and was the only one under five minutes in that race.
Mayfield also ran the 800 meters at the Carleton Tri meet, so it looks like she is trying to work on her speed this year.
The only woman ahead of Mayfield on the mile national leaderboard is Kassie Parker who you would assume is going to move up in distances to the 3k and 5k later this season.
Is this the year Mayfield gets her first All-American honor and maybe even a national title? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…
Kelley has already raced more this winter than she did in her debut season last year. Her lone races last year were in the 800 meters where she ran 2:15 and an appearance on her team's 4x400 meter relay.
That said, Kelly did finish 11th in the 800 meters at the outdoor national meet last year, but even that was a mark of 2:13.39, so forgive us for not ranking her to start off the season.
Outside of her Washington U. teammates, who could have seen Kelly drop a D3-leading time of 2:10.86 in the 800 meters? Maybe her setting personal bests of 1:34 in the 600 meters and 58.17 in the 400 meters in back-to-back weeks was an indication that she was coming into this season with lethal speed.
Look for this sophomore to chip away at that 800 meter time and be a part of Washington U.’s 4x400 meter relay later this winter.
Miller has yet to race since posting a time of 16:45 for 5000 meters and 9:43 for 3000 meters back in December. That 5k mark is still listed at NCAA #1 on the national leaderboard and her 3k result is listed at NCAA #2.
In addition to those times, she also boasts personal bests of 4:53 (mile), 4:29 (1500), 2:10 (800) and 58 (400). Oh, and she also has All-American honors in the 1500 meters and the 800 meters, as well as two top-10 finishes at the cross country national meet.
There isn’t anybody in the country right now with better range than this distance star from Trine University, and it’s safe to say that she can be nationally competitive in anything that she wants to race this winter, from the 800 meters up to the 5000 meters.
It feels wrong to have one of the best runners in D3 sitting at TSR #3 in our rankings. However, Seeland hasn't yet contested her premier event, the 800 meters.
In her first race since her national title last spring, the Messiah star opened up with a time of 9:54 in the 3000 meters at the Alvernia Winter Invite. That time sits as the sixth-fastest time in the country. She also ran a 400 meter mark of 59.56 at that same meet, so she is clearly working on her combination of strength and speed since it is so early in the season.
It is going to be interesting to see if Seeland decides to contest more than the 800 meters at the indoor national meet this year. Personally, I would love to see a battle between Seeland and Baran in the mile at Nationals.
However, in the meantime, we are waiting for Seeland to throw down a fast 800 meter mark and possibly move up in these rankings once she reestablishes herself as the woman to beat in the event.
Baran was one of a handful of women to use their cross country fitness in order to drop some super fast times back in December.
Her mark of 9:36 for 3000 meters at the Fastrack Season Opener is still the NCAA #1 time in D3. It’s also a massive PR as her previous best sat at 9:53. She kept the ball rolling into the new year as she ran 4:51 in the mile at the NYC Gotham Cup last weekend. That time sits behind only Carleton’s Clara Mayfield and Loras’ Kassie Parker so far this year.
Yet again, that was a huge personal best as it was a six-second PR and only the second time that she has gone sub-five.
This could be Baran’s year to grab that national title after finishing runner-up in both the 1500 meters and the 5000 meters last spring. She is quietly one of the more versatile distance talents in the nation and she can seemingly cover every distance at a nationally competitive level.
What's not to like?
Parker entered this season as a two-time national champion and an eight-time All-American, so she already held one of the most impressive distance resumes in the country. After her cross country national title this past fall, she looks like the favorite to take home NCAA gold in the 5000 meters come March
After her mile at the Karl Schlender Invitational this past Saturday, it looks as though Parker has added some impressive speed to her portfolio. Her mark of 4:50 currently sits at NCAA #1 on the national leaderboard, which is pretty good for someone who’s not even considered to be a miler.
It will be interesting to see what she can do in the longer events which have always seemed to suit her more. Her 3000 meter personal best (9:44) and 5000 meter personal best (16:45) are certainly in jeopardy this year.
Emma Kelley (Washington U.)
Clara Mayfield (Carleton)
Sadie Heeringa (Calvin)
Claudia Harnett (U. of Chicago)
Riley Mayer (Wartburg)
Danielle Page (Tufts)
Cassidy Kearney (Middlebury)
Isabel Cardi (Dickinson)
Mackenzie Dixon (Millikin)
Genna Girard (Williams)
Hannah Lorenz (UW- Oshkosh)
Cyna Madigan (UW-Oshkosh)
Emma Mallooly (UW-La Crosse)
Sidnie Kulik (Amherst)
Alex Ross (Johns Hopkins)
Sara Stephenson (Johns Hopkins)
Ellen Mickelson (Saint Olaf)
Maddie Kelly (U of Chicago)
Delaney Sall (Calvin)
Libby Geisness (UW-Oshkosh)