Transfer Market (Part 11)

Have a transfer tip? Send us an email at contact@thestridereport.com and we'll look into it.

Our TSR crew is hard at work, preparing content for this week and beyond. While we don't have a ton of new transfer updates, we did want to highlight a few key names who are on the move as graduate transfers...

Columbia's Jackson Storey has announced that he will be finishing his eligibility at Notre Dame starting next fall as a graduate transfer. The future Fighting Irish runner is expected to have one season of eligibility remaining for indoor track and two seasons of eligibility remaining for outdoor track, according to TFRRS.

Storey has been a quietly great middle distance specialist. Despite not racing since the winter of 2020, the Ivy League talent boasts a very solid personal best of 1:49.04 for 800 meters. The Columbia veteran was also the runner-up finisher at the 2020 Ivy League Indoor Championships in the 800 meters. He'll be joining the men in South Bend, Indiana as one of the better half-mile runners on their roster.

The opportunity to team up with one of the nation's top 800 meter runners in Samuel Voelz, who has run 1:47 and earned All-American honors this past winter, will bode well for Storey's future development.

Voelz has made promising improvements of his own under Coach Sean Carlson, leading us to believe that the same could be done with Storey. He was building major momentum in the winter of 2020 before COVID shut down collegiate competition.

Claire Graves has announced via Instagram that she will be finishing her eligibility at Loyola Marymount starting next fall as a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, she is expected to have one season of eligibility remaining for outdoor track and cross country as well as potentially two seasons remaining for indoor track.

Graves has been an underrated distance talent for Boise State, at times being overshadowed by a roster that is loaded with similarly strong runners. The Bronco veteran owns respectable times of 9:34 (3k), 16:26 (5k) and 34:50 (10k).

Not only that, but Graves been a two-time top-20 finisher at the Mountain West XC Championships, a conference meet which often features highly competitive distance programs such as New Mexico, Air Force, Colorado State, Utah State and, of course, Boise State.

When looking at the Loyola Marymount roster, it seems fair to say that Graves will be the clear top talent of this team. Luckily, the West Coast Conference has begun to quietly produce some excellent depth as teams like BYU, San Francisco and Portland all made it to the NCAA XC Championships this past winter.

With Graves entering a deep, but not overwhelmingly strong conference, she seems primed to build on her current personal bests and be pushed to a handful of top marks.

It should be noted that allegations against coach Scott Guerrero have recently arisen from athletes and alumni of the Loyola Marymount distance program, citing "abusive coaching".

A top-ranked D3 distance talent is on the move. Jack Whetstone will be finishing his eligibility with the Syracuse Orange as a graduate transfer starting next fall. He has one season of eligibility in both cross country and outdoor track as well as two seasons of eligibility for indoor track, according to TFRRS.

Admittedly, Whetstone's personal bests on the track don't quite standout at the D1 level, although his recent 14:38 (5k) personal best is a very nice development.

However, the track is not were Whetstone is at his best. Instead, it's the cross country season where this Emory veteran brings the most value.

During the fall of 2019, Whetstone experienced a breakout season. He finished 9th in the Silver race at the Louisville Classic, convincingly took home the South/Southeast regional title and went on to earn a huge 14th place finish at the 2019 D3 NCAA XC Championships.

We haven't seen Whetstone compete on the grass since that season, but if his recent improvements on the outdoor oval are any indication of his overall fitness, then he will likely be even better next fall than he was in 2019.

Whetstone will also be joining future Syracuse graduate transfer Brody Smith, a current steeplechase standout from Purdue who has also been a top scoring contributor during cross country.

It's not yet clear what kind of scoring contributions Whetstone will be able to make during his time with the Orange. However, if he is able to build on his current results and follow this upward trend that he's currently on, then the future Orange runner will be an incredibly valuable pick-up.

The Syracuse men admittedly struggled on the grass this past fall. They lacked consistency and numerous gaps were scattered throughout their varsity lineup. However, the Orange will now have until next fall to rally and regroup.

Aidan Tooker will look to make a return to full health, Joe Dragon and JP Trojan could return with their extended eligibility if they choose, Smith will surely certain bring valuable scoring to this team and Whetstone can solidify the backend of this lineup if he is able to translate his success to the D1 level.

Another Mountain region runner will be taking her talents to the West Coast Conference. Whitney Hessler has announced via Instagram that she will be finishing her eligibility at San Francisco as a graduate transfer. She is expected to have at least one season of eligibility remaining during indoor track and outdoor track, according to TFRRS.
 
 Hessler is a rising middle distance runner who has recently made promising improvements, specifically in the 800 meters. Back in mid-March, Hessler secured a new personal best of 800 meters for the half-mile distance, running a very solid time of 2:07.

Few women are as consistent as Hessler on the outdoor oval. She has gone under the 2:10 barrier in her last nine 800 meter races on an outdoor track. Not only that, but Hessler recently recorded a personal best of 4:28 for 1500 meters at the Hayward Premiere meet, giving her the victory in her heat. She also ran 2:08 in the 800 meters during that weekend double.

Hessler is still making noticeable steps in the right direction and it appears that she is only now beginning to realize her potential. She'll be joining a San Francisco team that has been relatively quiet in the 800 meters over the last few seasons, although the now-departed Sadi Henderson did produce a time of 2:03 during the 2019 outdoor track season.

With Hessler now entering the West Coast Conference, there will likely be multiple opportunities where she toes the line against the BYU women, a group that has recently show some of the best depth in the nation for the 800 meters. With other respectable distance programs scattered throughout the WCC, Hessler will be able to continue her rise and be pushed to more top marks.

In fact, if Hessler continues to make progress in the 1500 meters, her newfound fitness may be used for scoring contributions on San Francisco's cross country roster. The Dons qualified for the NCAA XC Championships this past winter and could continue to be key contenders next fall if enough of their top talents return to use their eligibility.