Gavin Struve
Mar 44 min
Written by Gavin Struve, edits and additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin
Editor's Note #1: Our TSR writers were asked to produce three sentences or less of analysis on every entrant in every distance event for every division.
While the Wartburg Qualifier on March 1st wasn't nearly as competitive for the women as it was for the men, U. of Chicago still used it as a launch pad to the NCAA #1 DMR mark this season after winning by over 30 seconds. Maddie Kelly is the only returnee from last year's national meet runner-up DMR squad and hasn't been her usual elite self this winter. However, that may not matter with other studs like Emma Kelly and Elisabeth Camic alongside her.
2. WPI Engineers
Assuming that she does, in fact, run the DMR at the indoor national meet after helping WPI to a strong win at the Tufts National Qualifying Meet this past weekend, Grace Hadley has the ability to hawk down almost any woman in this field on the anchor leg. Of course, how well her teammates are able to position her to do that could determine whether or not Hadley can power the Engineers to gold.
3. Wartburg Knights
The Knights finished 4th in this event at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships and are probably the most well-rounded outfit, on paper, this year. Versatile distance stars such as Ellie Meyer and Aubrie Fisher are back with Lexi Brown expected to join them. This group skews distance-heavy, but should be bolstered by its experience and has favorable odds for another top finish on the national stage.
4. Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
The duo of Annie Huang and Mackenzie Setton -- this relay's expected half-mile and 1200-meter runners, respectively -- should be highly competitive on their legs. The Blue Jays were, in part, pulled to a fast time by WPI this past weekend. But despite not competing in this event on the national stage last winter, I would expect the Johns Hopkins women to have a fairly high floor in this field.
5. Central College Dutch
Central College is a battle-tested program after emerging as the winners of the competitive Indoor Eagle Open in mid-February where the Dutch beat out two other teams (who they'll see in this field) by less than a second. Based on Megan Johnson scratching out of the mile and Caroline McMartin seemingly going all-in for that event, it's more likely than not that the latter will not be reprising her role as the anchor of last year's DMR unit. Even so, Johnson should fill in capably while Addy Parrott and Peyton Steffen will/could join her to have the Dutch improve upon their 5th place finish in this event at last year's indoor national meet.
6. UW-La Crosse Eagles
This is a mostly different iteration of the Eagles compared to the one that secured a backend All-American spot in this event last year -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Greta Koehler, a sub-2:10 (800) runner, should pair well with fellow senior Maddie Hannan assuming that the latter (a-more-than-capable anchor) doubles back from the open 800-meter prelims without any issue. UW-La Crosse was, after all, right on Central College's heels at the Indoor Eagle Open last month.
7. Emory Eagles
Emory was the 3rd place team at the Indoor Eagle Open, but they probably need their star anchor, Brigid Hanley (who will be fresh), to chase down several stars for a chance at retribution. This Eagles unit has raced once since then, at the UAA Indoor Championships, where they lost to another team in this field (Washington U.).
8. Washington U. Bears
It's an auspicious sign that half-mile megastar, Emma Kelley, is not listed on Washington U.'s 4x400-meter relay lineup after eschewing the DMR for that event last winter. If she's present in this field and hands the baton off with a lead, then veteran anchor Alexandra Blake has a shot to give her team repeat gold.
9. MIT Engineers
MIT was the beneficiary of Division One competition at the Boston U. Valentine Invite last month where they ran their national qualifying mark. Rujuta Sane, a freshman, has a lot riding on her as the projected lead-off leg. Of course, having stars such as Julia Howarth and Lexi Fernandez as the latter two legs of this relay could be a boon to the Engineers' chances of earning All-American honors.
10. Amherst Mammoths
Amherst, another team expected to field a freshman (Zoe Marcus) as it's lead-off leg, was a distant 3rd place behind WPI and Johns Hopkins this past Saturday. But sub-5:00 miler, Julia Schor, has the kind of momentum and experience that you would want in an anchor leg and could help the Mammoths to a top-10 finish.
11. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas
While aerobic-centric, this lineup should outperform its seeding...on paper, that is. Riley Capuano and Natalie Bitetti were comfortably top-half All-Americans at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships, and senior teammate, Laura Zimmer, is an even better middle distance runner than either. The Athenas look like a sleeper team this weekend if you're a believer that raw talent trumps specifically curated DMR lineup personnel.
12. Connecticut College Camels
The Camels snuck into this field by virtue of finishing in 4th place at the aforementioned Tufts National Qualifying Meet. Alexa Estes (800) and Abby Fernald (mile) are underrated middle distance runners and heighten the chances of the Connecticut College women holding their own in this setting as long as they can effectively double back from their respective prelims.