Kevin Fischer
Mar 86 min
Written by Kevin Fischer, edits and additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve
Editor's Note: Our TSR writers were asked to produce three sentences or less of analysis on every entrant in every distance event for every division.
Even though she will be doubling back from the 5000 meters, Fiona Smith will still be a heavy favorite to defend her 3k crown as the reigning champion. Her season-best mark over this distance is four seconds faster than the rest of the field, but the fact that she achieved that in a solo effort indicates that the separation between her and the rest of the field is even larger. It will take a special effort to knock her off from the top spot.
2. Grace Richardson (NYU)
In three regular season races, Grace Richardson ran three personal bests over 5000 meters, the mile and the 3k before ultimately becoming the UAA 3k champion. She has proven herself to be an elite, reliable and clutch talent and has to be one of the top challengers (if there truly are any) to Fiona Smith in both this event and the 5k.
3. Natalie Bitetti (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)
Since her 5000-meter season opener, we have only seen Natalie Bitetti run at one indoor track meet -- the Boston U. Valentine Invite, where she ran a top-three D3 mark, nationally, for 3000 meters. She will likely be coming back from anchoring the Athenas’ DMR on Friday night, but she should have plenty of gas left to finish in the top few spots in this field, especially considering her fairly limited racing schedule this winter.
4. Allison Sibold (St. Lawrence)
An early season 4:49 mile conversion was a big splash for Allison Sibold. Shortly thereafter, she showed that her new fitness translated to the 3000 meters as well where she ran a mark of 9:30. Doubling back from the mile this weekend will be tough, but if the race shakes out right, Sibold's superior speed to many in this field will put her in a great position.
5. Megan Johnson (Central College)
Racing every weekend since January 19th, Megan Johnson hasn’t displayed any signs of tiring. In fact, she has been at her best the past two weeks, winning double gold between the 5000 meters and the 3000 meters at the ARC Championships before most recently dropping a converted 2:12 (800) result as a tune-up. Her versatility is among the best in the country which indicates that Johnson will be in the mix for silver no matter what type of race we see.
6. Aubrie Fisher (Wartburg)
Aubrie Fisher hasn’t done anything that has come as too much of a surprise this season, but that’s not to say that she hasn’t been solid. Her 9:34 (3k) seasonal best is only one second off of her lifetime best which was run at last year’s indoor national meet. Having been consistently great for years, we know to expect a competitive outing from this Wartburg ace who always shows up in the postseason.
7. Grace Hadley (WPI)
A busy weekend lies ahead for Grace Hadley. She will come into this race having already run (in theory) two rounds of the mile and presumably the anchor leg of the Engineers' DMR. With the momentum that she has, it’s hard to envision Hadley finishing outside of the All-American spots, but those with fresher legs could make her hurt early.
8. Brigid Hanley (Emory)
The start of the season was a little bit underwhelming for Brigid Hanley after an exceptional cross country campaign, but she has improved race after race this winter. Ultimately, her performance at the UAA Championships, which included a runner-up finish over 3000 meters behind Grace Richardson and a 4:46 split in the DMR, was her best meet of the season. Hanley is on a roll at the right time of the season and will be a serious scoring threat.
9. Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel (U. of Chicago)
Given her 5000-meter success this winter, we know that Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel is capable of running even faster than her 9:37 (3k) personal best. The only question is, how will her legs handle doubling back from the 5k this weekend? If her UAA double -- in which she came back to finish 3rd behind Hanley and Richardson -- is any indication, then she should be able to hold her own fairly well.
10. Mckayla Felton (UW-Stout)
The Wartburg Qualifier saw Mckayla Felton go from the edge of qualifying to entering the indoor national meet as a top-10 seed. She'll also be completely fresh, which isn’t something any of the nine women seeded above her can say. If she can utilize that to her advantage, then there is plenty of indication that Felton is an All-American type of talent.
11. Hope Murphy (Baldwin Wallace)
Thought of for years as a middle distance specialist, Hope Murphy ran a 43-second PR for 3000 meters last week to redefine how she's perceived. If she makes the final over 800 meters, then she will only have 50 minutes to recover for this race. But given how often she has doubled this year, Murphy is seemingly as capable of holding her own as anyone.
12. Jules Bleskoski (RPI)
She waited until the final week to earn her spot to the national meet, but Jules Bleskoski is the only true freshman to reach this field. The RPI harrier finished a narrow runner-up to the aforementioned Hope Murphy at the Tufts National Qualifying Meet. This weekend will bring her toughest test yet, but it will also be a chance to truly announce herself as a lasting Division Three stalwart.
13. Kate Cochran (NYU)
Just like Murphy and Bleskoski, Kate Cochran got here by delivering a breakthrough race in early March at the Tufts National Qualifying Meet. After waiting until February to open up her season, Cochran has gotten exactly where she needs to be in order to test herself against the nation’s best. She won't be favored to earn an All-American finish, but she nearly did so at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships.
14. Kayla Werner (Lynchburg)
The success that Kayla Werner enjoyed during the 2022 cross country season when she was at Liberty took a little bit to translate to the Division Three ranks, but we are seeing her talent in full force in her first collegiate track season with the Hornets. Werner is clicking on all cylinders now and she will be fresh on Saturday, two facts that can’t be underestimated when thinking about backend seeds contending for All-American honors.
15. Lexi Brown (Wartburg)
A three-time All-American, Lexi Brown has the talent and the experience necessary to outperform her seed position. Her previous success in both the mile and the 5000 meters, as well as during cross country, suggests that she has some impressive range, too. All things considered, we know that Brown is capable of more than what she has shown so far this winter.
16. Deyanneira Colon Maldonado (Aurora)
Since her 9:43 (3k) performance in January, Deyanneira Colon Maldonado has only contested the 3000 meters once more: at a conference championship setting as part of a QUADRUPLE effort...so a PR there was never on the table. With that being said, her other results indicate that she has improved since then. She won’t be fresh, but a former national qualifier in the mile with 16:46 (5k) chops is always dangerous over this distance.
17. Helen Cross (Carleton)
The only non-teammate who Helen Cross has lost to all season has been our TSR #1 runner, Fiona Smith. Maybe that is a byproduct of a schedule comprised of mostly smaller meets, but it also hints at a competitive prowess that she will need against a field which features many women who have run faster times than her.
18. Faith Duncan (Wilmington (OH))
This Mississippi State transfer has been on fire lately, qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships in her first extended indoor track season. She has a tough task ahead of her trying to keep up in this field, but she's not necessarily new to this tier of competition given that she briefly ran in the SEC. And regardless of how this weekend goes, this winter will have been a highly successful campaign for Faith Duncan who is showing tremendous long-term promise.
19. Janie Cooper (NYU)
After playing the role of the fifth runner for the juggernaut that was NYU during the cross country season, Janie Cooper has broken through as an individual star this winter. Even so, she was on the outside looking in of national qualifying before running a converted 9:45 (3k) mark at Tufts last week. The momentum that she is carrying is palpable and she will need every bit of it to effectively compete in this field.
20. Caitlin Jorgensen (U. of Chicago)
Consistency has been the name of the game for Caitlin Jorgenson this winter. She came into the season with a 9:48 PR over 3000 meters and has run between 9:48 and 9:50 all four times that she has raced the distance this year. Although she was the last entry to get in, Jorgensen has become someone who you can rely on to hold her own and avoid a blowup.