Brian Dengler
Dec 17, 20226 min
Updated: Dec 18, 2022
Edits and additional commentary by Garrett Zatlin
The 2022 cross country season has now reached its full conclusion. And yet, despite witnessing an entire fall campaign that featured plenty of thrilling results and stunning performances, we still felt like there were a handful of women who could be considered as "hidden gems" as far as recruiting is concerned.
Below, we looked at a handful of senior prospects throughout the country and identified
a small group of girls who could be flying under the radar in comparison to other high-octane superstars. In our eyes, we would view these rising talents as "deep sleepers".
Just for a reminder, the goal of this article is to identify those athletes who haven’t necessarily posted jaw-dropping track times, but were performing to (or near) the level of what we would consider to be "upper-echelon" on the grass earlier this season.
Hailey Erickson led a pack of highly impressive athletes on Mt. Prospect girl’s cross country team this past fall. Erickson, for the most part, was the model of consistency this season, finishing no worse than 5th up until her regional meet in a schedule that included legitimately competitive fields.
Yes, she did fade 82nd at the NXN Championships, but it was abundantly clear that Erickson could be relied upon as a legitimate low-stick throughout 90% of her races this past fall.
Similar to Texas native Ava Bushaw, Erickson saw a massive leap in her status within the Illinois distance running scene over the last three months. She went from posting a 39th place finish to a 5th place finish at her Illinois cross country state meet. That significant of a jump puts her in the same realm of athletes who have run roughly 20 seconds faster than her in the 3200 meters.
After running times of 5:05 in the 1600 meters and 11:04 in the 3200 meters last spring, Erickson will be looking for a massive drop in her personal bests this winter and spring based off of the improvements that we have witnessed so far this year.
And truthfully, we don't see why she couldn't be running under 4:55 (1600) and 10:40 (3200) after the New Year! A 17:36 personal best over 5000 meters at the NXN Midwest Regional Championships certainly suggests that those marks are possible.
It's easy to look at one singular national meet performance and simply assume that result is indicative of someone's overall potential or talent. But that couldn't be further from the case for Hailey Erickson. Not only did she run fast times and earn top finishes, but her consistency gave us definitive proof that her recent success was far from a fluke.
And given that she's committed to Calvin University next year, she could end up being one of the best freshmen in all of Division Three during the 2023 cross country season.
The west coast always boasts some of the best distance runners in the country and there is no bigger hub for top-tier talent than California.
Blessed with favorable running conditions and a large pool of capable runners, it is easy for a great athlete from the Golden State to be lost in the shuffle of upper-echelon individuals. That's why it's important to highlight someone like Brianne Smith.
With personal bests of 5:07 in the 1600 meters and 10:52 in the 3200 meters, Smith has proven that she can post solid times, but it's also clear that her resume falls short of the "elite" status.
After not even sitting among the top-50 girls in the state of California in her primary two events from last spring, Smith was a pleasant surprise this past fall. The Quartz Hill senior often toed the line for the most competitive meets in the country and gained valuable experience against top competition.
For instance, Smith found herself against the likes of Sadie Engelhardt and a handful of others at the Woodbridge XC Classic earlier this year. In that race, Smith was able to take down multiple opponents who have posted times in 10:30s range for 3200 meters.
Following up that 19th place performance with two wins, a high finish at the Clovis XC Invitational (18th) and a top-10 state meet finish, Brianne Smith put together quite the resume. And unfortunately, we think it went a bit underappreciated despite securing personal bests of 16:28 (three miles) and 17:46 (5k).
Utah State was smart to go after (and ultimately sign) a talent like Smith. She is no stranger to top competition, is arguably at her best in cross country (which is also dependent on how her track campaign goes) and is showing the ability to consistently improve.
For the Aggies, they got a high-upside distance talent who almost perfectly fits their roster structure and team goals.
As we bounce across the country, we land in Dallastown, PA where Kailey Granger was tearing up the grass. Relatively new to the track and cross country scene, Granger was competing in only her second full cross country season as a current senior at Dallastown.
On the grass, Kailey Granger proved to be a bona fide stud. Improving on all of her past marks from the fall of 2021, she captured a district title and recorded a highly promising 5th place finish at the PIAA XC State Championships on the brutally hard Hershey Park course.
And don’t let those 5k times fool you, her finish of 18:58 is a very good mark.
A 21st place finish at the Champs XC Northeast Regional Championships was solid, although we believe that Granger's lack of experience on that stage probably limited her upside in that field. And if a near top-20 result is arguably not indicative of her true potential, then that's a very good sign.
With comparatively minimal experience on the track, it's easy to see why Granger doesn’t necessarily boast elite times. She's never run on the indoor oval (per MileSplit) and she has only toed the line for two outdoor track seasons in total.
And yet, despite all of that, a 5:09 mark over 1600 meters shows plenty of promise. And after seeing Granger showcase her ability to improve in a tremendous way this past fall, we could see her times tumble dramatically (in a good way).
This is not an athlete who you should overlook. Everything about her resume suggests that she has some of the best untapped potential on the east coast and that she has one of the highest talent-based ceilings in the country. The Bucknell Bison got a good one...
As we round out our country-wide search for "hidden gems" in the Class of 2023, we land in New Hampshire with one of the most impressive breakout runners of the year.
I am, of course, talking about Susanna Zahn.
The New Hampshire native put together a special season this fall. Picking up from her outdoor track campaign, Zahn has improved immensely when comparing her recent efforts to her 2021 cross country results.
After running no faster than 21:15 for 5000 meters in cross country last year, we saw Zahn improve by almost three minutes this past fall, securing a key victory at the Manchester Invite with a time of 18:16.
Winning all but one race this past season -- where she placed 2nd to the reigning New Hampshire Division Three state champion and 2:11 (800) runner, Brianna Malone, at the Black Bear Invite -- Zahn was largely untested in the fall of 2022.
And while she only toed the line for four total cross country races, she was able to dip under the 19-minute barrier three out of those four times, validating her fantastic early-season performance. Winning a New Hampshire cross country state title didn't hurt, either.
Zahn wasn't even a top-500 name, nationally, in the girl's 3200 meter rankings last spring. And while her track times are not comparable to the current elites who we have ranked in our top-50 recruits list, her clear ability to improve and throw down great performances on the grass gave our TSR staff pause as we reconsider where she belongs in the national discussion of high-value seniors.
We still need to see how this rising high school veteran performs from here. How much stronger can she get? What kind of progress will she see when she joins the University of New Hampshire women next fall? How will her cross country results translate to the track?
Zahn still needs to take that next step up to reach the same level as Kailey Granger, Brianne Smith and Hailey Erickson, but she is a true "hidden gem" who was not on our radar to start the year.