Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Jul 3, 20222 min
The Stride Report has confirmed that Division Three superstar Ella Baran will be finishing her eligibility at Colorado as a graduate transfer. The former Johns Hopkins runner is expected to have two full years of eligibility remaining across all three seasons.
Baran is one of the best distance runners to ever grace a track at the Division Three level. An outstanding 2022 campaign led to her running 4:19 (1500), 4:40 (mile), 9:13 (3k) and 15:49 (5k). That latter mark now sits at NCAA #2 all-time in D3 history.
Baran's 4:40 mile mark from this past winter also stands as the D3 mile record, sitting a comfortable three seconds ahead of Missy Buttry. Her 9:13 mark for 3000 meters is also the current D3 record.
During cross country, the Johns Hopkins ace was the 9th place finisher at the NCAA D3 XC Championships this past fall.
Seeing Baran go to Colorado is a huge deal. The Buffloes just lost a heavy number of star veterans including Madison Boreman, Micaela DeGenero, Rachel McArthur, Abby Nichols and India Johnson.
As a result, Colorado was left with a lineup that returned Emily Covert and Hannah Miniutti.
Covert and Miniutti are two great talents to have over the long-term. Covert is a high-impact talent right now and Miniutti quietly had one of the better years of any true freshman in the NCAA.
Of course, Colorado still needed more firepower and scoring support, something that Coach Mark Wetmore seemingly recognized.
The introduction of graduate transfer of Bailey Hertenstein, a two-time All-American on the grass during her time at Indiana, gives the Buffaloes a strong nucleus of high-octane scoring to work around.
Still, that lineup, on paper, wasn't complete.
But now Baran is set to join the Buffaloes and as a result, the Colorado women look like they have a much more cohesive varsity lineup on the grass.
Baran will also be highly valuable on the track as her versatility makes her a legitimate scoring threat in multiple distances at meets like the PAC-12 Outdoor Championships.
Admittedly, Baran is much better on the track than she is on the grass. Her 9th place finish at the D3 cross country national meet this past fall was very solid. However, it's hard say how a performance like that will translate to the D1 level or if her track success will follow her to the grass.
Regardless, Baran's resume still suggests that she can be a capable and reliable cross country scorer for the Buffaloes later this fall. And with Covert and Hertenstein already acting as low-sticks, it's not necessarily a requirement that Baran instantly becomes a D1 star...although that certainly wouldn't hurt.
However, maybe the most important aspect is that Baran has two full years of eligibility left. This means that she can grow alongside Covert and Miniutti, effectively giving a strong core for Colorado to build around over the next two years.