One Sentence Previews: 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships Women's 10k (D3)

Additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin

NOTE: Athletes are listed in order of their seed position. Final predictions are at the bottom.

Considering Parker ran a national qualifying mark in the 5000 meters TWICE IN A ROW during her 33:03 mark in the 10,000 meters (a Division Three record), there’s no telling what kind of damage she’ll do during this race en route to the national title.

Taking on her second career 10k, Marks is poised, once again, to serve as Kassie Parker’s primary competition at the national meet and...might she give Parker a legitimate run for her money, once again?

Smith knows how to win and she’s done it quite a bit this season -- she made things interesting with Kassie Parker in the 5000 meters at the Drake Relays -- and with good competition to chase, it's hard to imagine a scenario where Smith doesn't run well.

Bloss’ 2022 campaign has been quite strong, earning herself trips to the outdoor national meet in the 5000 meters as well as the 10,000 meters and her clear favoritism towards the longer events suggests that she'll at least hold her own in this field.

Having seen the back of Fiona Smith one too many times this season, Mayfield has been a consistent and proven performer who can bring it on the national stage in a powerful way after racing high-level competition all spring.

Ross’ outdoor season has been a great extension of her impressive indoor season with a 34:57 personal best setting her up well to compete for All-American honors in both the 10,000 meters and the 5000 meters, although the former is where she really thrives.

This spring, Wolmer has brought down her 10,000 meter personal best to 34:59 and has held her own in the 1500 and the 5000 meters, meaning that if she is able to replicate her success from the 2021 outdoor national meet, then she is going to be a problem for her competitors.

Tucker will be looking for a redemption performance after posting a DNF at the 2022 indoor national meet, but if she can run to her full ability, then we could very well see an All-American finish from her.

This will be Krouse’s first outdoor national meet after qualifying for the indoor national meet in the 5000 meters and although she’s only a freshman, she has been doing some serious damage in the WIAC alongside Ashton Keene, making her a very real All-American threat despite her youth.

The first of three Washington U. teammates who have qualified in this event, Walter has only raced at three meets this outdoor season, but when she did race, she had some very stellar performances this season, giving us reason to believe that her streak will continue on Thursday.

Gengaro has earned her way to another national meet, stringing together a solid set of performances this season, forcing us to wonder if she can replicate another All-American performance like she earned on the indoor oval.

This will be Keene’s first outdoor national meet in three years, but she’s been on a roll this season with a 35:43 PR in the 10,000 meters and a good shot of fighting for an All-American honor once again, especially when you consider her valuable past experience.

The second Washington U. Bear on this list, Young hasn't raced anything shorter than 5000 meters since February which is a little surprising, but Coach Stiles clearly knows what he's doing given how well his women have run in the longer aerobic events this year.

Schaeffler qualified for the indoor national meet in the 5000 meters, but her true strength seems to be in the 10,000 meters as her 35:51 PR puts her in a good place heading into the outdoor national meet, especially with her recent 1500 meter PR giving her some very positive momentum.

Considering Hostager hadn’t broken 18:00 in the 5000 meters until this past indoor season, so her 10,000 meter PR of 35:53 was an extreme improvement for the Wartburg runner, but it also makes us incredibly curious as to what that means for her race at the national meet.

Selfors has made some nice jumps in her fitness this season -- posting a 35:54 mark at the Penn Relays -- but this will be Selfors’ first national meet experience regardless of season, something she'll try to counter by having veteran teammate Alex Ross also in this race.

O’Sullivan was wildly clutch at the D3 New England Outdoor Championships, running a massive PR of 35:58 to get into the outdoor national meet, a recent result which theoretically points to her being primed for an even greater peak in a much stronger field on Thursday.

Bujaucius returns to the outdoor national meet in the 10,000 meters for the third time and on paper, her experience in this event should certainly serve to her benefit, giving her a great chance to outperform her seed.

Yet another Bear competing in the 10,000 meters, Olson has spent plenty of time in this event and the 1500 meters this season; an interesting combination, but the focus on her speed in recent weeks could bode extremely well for her in the final stages of this long distance race if she's battling for a backend All-American spot.

This will be Tapscott’s first outdoor national meet, and with a solid season behind her, she should have a decent chance of improving upon her 12th place finish from the indoor national meet in the 5000 meters.

Recently winning the OAC title in the 10k with a time of 36:05 and having fellow Blue Streak Cameron Bujaucius in this race should be a big boost in terms of comfort and familiarity for Taper who is making her second consecutive appearance in this event at the outdoor national meet.

Finishing right behind Taper in the 10,000 meters at the OAC Championships running 36:08, Pitcovich has some familiarity with some of her fellow competitors in the Great Lakes region and she’s made some nice improvements this season as well, making her someone who is better than her seed may suggest.