Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Aug 6, 202310 min
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Yet another batch of names are now on tap! Below, we highlighted a handful of under-the-radar distance runners and a few developmental names (as well as a few top talents). Take a glance and get caught up below!
KEY NOTE: The Stride Report is aware that there are almost certainly other athletes who have announced their transfers who are not mentioned in this article. Those athletes will be highlighted in a separate Transfer Market article.
With personal bests of 3:49 (1500) and 8:17 (3k), Jason Thomson should be a great fit for the High Point men. With tons of eligibility remaining, this former Tar Heel could eventually be the top guy on not just his own team, but also in the BIG South Conference. After losing top veterans such as Spencer Smucker and Ian Miller, Thomson's addition to this roster will be a welcomed development for a team that is trying to close the gap on a strong Charleston Southern program.
With personal bests of 14:27 (5k) and 9:00 (steeple), both of which came this past year, Eddie Zuercher feels like a nice developmental name for Missouri. If he continues to improve on the same trajectory that he was on earlier this year, then he could be a respectable backend piece for the Tigers on the grass later this fall.
With a 1:51 (800) personal best from this past spring and a ton of eligibility remaining, Andrew Simard should be a solid long-term name to have on Missouri's roster. While he'll still need to make significantly more progress to be competitive in the SEC, what we saw from Simard this past spring suggests that he could go under 1:50 as soon as next year.
With respectable personal bests of 8:18 (3k) and 14:27 (5k), Owen Pearce feels like a great piece who can add to the depth-centric identity of Lee's cross country squad. And while this incoming Flame distance runner did struggle at the D2 South Central Regional XC Championships last fall, his lead up to that meet suggests that he could eventually be a low-stick for his new squad in 2023 (if he continues to improve).
After a fine, but admittedly unexciting, first year at Penn, Matthew Fernando is venturing south to join the Virginia men. The rising sophomore holds a 1:52 (800) PR from high school and should be a solid addition for a deep middle distance corp.
After spending a year at Texas A&M and having his former 800 meter coach, Milton Mallard, step away from the Aggies' coaching staff, Christian Simmons is heading to Arizona.
With a 1:50 (800) PR, this incoming Wildcat talent has the potential to eventually be a competitive name in the BIG 12 (which Arizona will move to in 2024). However, Simmons will likely need to reach the 1:48 (800) range, at the very least, to be a conference meet scorer in the now-loaded BIG 12 Conference.
One of the more underrated transfer pickups of the last few weeks was seeing Layla Roebke venture to Louisville from Tulsa. The incoming Cardinal distance runner has sneaky-good personal bests of 4:46 (mile), 9:29 (3k), 16:13 (5k) and 10:07 (steeple). Last fall, the former Tulsa runner finished 50th at the Cowboy Jamboree, 102nd at the Nuttycombe Invite, 3rd at the AAC XC Championships and 36th at the Midwest Regional XC Championships.
When paired with incoming transfers such as Rylee Penn, Amy Harding-Delooze and Lauren Bettencourt, the addition of Roebke gives the Cardinals a respectable scorer to rally around. While this former Golden Hurricane runner isn't a true low-stick talent yet, she is trending in that direction and could at least give the Louisville women an identity in the longer distances.
With Saint Leo eliminating their cross country and track and field programs at the conclusion of the spring semester, multiple athletes from the team are moving elsewhere. For Paige Patterson, that means that she has ended up at Lee (Tenn.).
Patterson is a quietly-great pick up for a Flames' distance team that has a few respectable pieces. With personal bests of 17:31 (5k) and 10:41 (steeple), she could evolve into a national-caliber name on the track over the next year, specifically over the barriers. However, according to TFRRS, she no longer has any cross country eligibility.
For a Lee cross country team that rallied around their depth last fall, Luke Gaddis is a perfect addition for the Flames. Not only did he finish 17th at the D2 Southeast Regional XC Championships last fall, but the former Emmanuel runner has only contested one cross country season, leaving him with plenty of remaining eligibility and room for growth.
With the departure of 800 meter coach Milton Mallard from Texas A&M's coaching staff, MiKenna Robinson will stay in the state of Texas and join the Houston Cougars. On her way there, she'll bring with her a promising 2:08 (800) which could/should make her a conference-meet scorer and maybe conference meet title contender in the event if she makes a jump.
After a couple of respectable seasons with California Baptist, Anneken Viljoen is venturing to the SEC where she'll join a Missouri program that has been heavily recruiting out of the transfer portal as of late.
When paired with former Oregon runner Nicole Louw, this South Africa native gives the Tigers a nice long-term duo in the middle distances. Viljoen holds personal bests of 2:08 (800) and 4:21 (1500), but has enough time (eligibility-wise) to further develop herself into an SEC-caliber threat over those distances.
After a couple of years at Furman where Ethan Vargas found improved his fitness, the Minnesota native has decided to venture to Drake. There, he'll be a long-term developmental piece hoping to continue his slow (but steady) progression from high school.
While maybe not the high-impact name that Rylee Penn or Layla Roebke could be, Amy Harding-Delooze still brings respectable backed scoring and stability to an evolving Louisville roster.
Personal bests of 4:24 (1500), 4:43 (mile) and 16:25 (5k) suggest that this former Wake Forest runner has plenty of promise. The same can be said about her top-50 finish at the Southeast Regional XC Championships from last fall.
Ongoing improvements from Harding-Delooze will be necessary if the Louisville women are going to be noticeably better this fall. Even so, when it comes to scoring options, she's a nice name to have.
With a 2:04 (800) PR, Molly Hudson will join a Boston College program that is adding a handful of respectable transfers this summer. The Great Britain native will now team up with Coach Pete Watson, known as one of the best middle distance coaches in the NCAA who just helped Katherine Mitchell emerge as one of the top half-milers in the country this past spring.
With a significant coaching change taking place at Portland State, we're now seeing one of the Vikings' top distance talents, Tatum Miller, venture to Oregon.
The former PSU runner was a respectable distance while in the BIG Sky Conference, but her 10:14 PR in the steeplechase was a major improvement -- and it caught some of us by surprise. The top-20 finisher at last fall's BIG Sky XC Championships could provide decent depth for the Ducks in the coming months if Miller translates her steeplechase success to the grass.
Despite having to deal with numerous departures since last fall, the upcoming introductions of both Rylie Lusk and Baneet Bains should (theoretically) soften that lost scoring for Syracuse.
Lusk found plenty of underrated success on the track this past spring, running times of 16:22 (5k) and 33:29 (10k). Not only that, but this former Weber State distance talent was 25th at the Weiss-Crockett Invitational, 14th at the BIG Sky XC Championships and top-50 at the Mountain Regional XC Championships last fall.
Bains, meanwhile, ran a strong time of 10:10 in the steeplechase this past spring after a 2022 fall campaign headlined by 41st place finishes at the Joe Piane Invite and the West Regional XC Championships.
Neither Lusk or Bains are (currently) low-sticks stars -- but they don't need to be. The recent improvements that we've seen from both of these women is highly encouraging. And at their current level of fitness, they should be able to plug a handful of expected gaps in Syracuse's 2023 cross country lineup.
After running 2:06 for 800 meters during her time at Clemson, the USC Trojans opted to pick up Leah Disher from the transfer portal. She is yet another sold half-mile specialist with a similar PR compared to handful of recent additions made by the Trojans. And at this point, it feels like USC is banking on one of their now-many 2:05/2:06 (800) runners to have a major breakout year in 2024 -- which is plenty possible.
One of the better half-mile specialists in the SEC is on the transfer portal. Leroy Russell, a 1:47 (800) runner from Arkansas, is looking for a new home. The half-mile standout is likely one of the more valuable prospects still remaining on the transfer portal.
While his consistency could be better, Russell's raw talent is undeniable and he has done enough to validate himself as a top name over 800 meters. While a move within the SEC makes sense, BIG 12 schools such as Iowa State, Oklahoma State or Texas (soon to be in the SEC) also feel like reasonable landing spots for this soon-to-be former Razorback.
After stints at Furman and Utah, Lauren Peterson will be wrapping up her collegiate career at the University of Minnesota. There, she'll bring a veteran presence to a young distance squad and solid 3k personal best of 9:34.
With a recent 10k PR of 29:18 from this past spring, Aaron Leavens should be an instant-impact name on the grass for the Minnesota men this fall (even if he does't seem to have any collegiate cross country experience). However, maybe more importantly, this former BYU runner isn't just a one-year rental, meaning that he can be a valuable long-term piece for the Golden Gophers, especially if he continues to develop.
After a quiet first year with the Connecticut Huskies, Maddie Sweeney is venturing to Wisconsin. Upon joining the Badgers, Sweeney will look to further build on her fitness after being one of the better high school cross country runners in the state of Connecticut.
With times of 14:34 (5k) and 29:50 (10k), Andrew Whitinger should be a great addition to an IUPUI cross country squad that was VERY young last fall. With everyone from that lineup returning and Whitinger emerging as the top 10k guy in the conference this past spring, the IUPUI men may be able to significantly close down the gap that Youngstown State put on them last fall.
Ben Collins, just like his former Portland State teammate Paul Beaven, is leaving the Vikings to join the Santa Clara men. And despite being just a freshman last fall, Collins was the 17th place finisher at the BIG Sky XC Championships. The incoming Bronco will still need to develop his aerobic talent even further, but with plenty of eligibility remaining, Collins feels like a sneaky-great pickup for this West Coast Conference team.
One of the more underrated middle distance talents in the Ivy League this past year was Anya Hirschfeld. The now-former Dartmouth runner will soon join a Georgetown program that has, historically, been an excellent landing spot for 800 meter and mile specialists like Hirschfeld.
With personal bests of 2:46 (1k), 4:18 (1500) and 4:44 (mile), Hirschfeld already looks like a strong contender to score points at future BIG East Championships. She could also end up playing a key role on one of the Hoyas' future DMR lineups come the winter months.
After a solid end to his outdoor track campaign where he ran 14:39 (5k) and 9:01 (steeple), Nehemiah Cionelo is heading to Coastal Carolina. He'll be an instant upgrade from team's current distance roster and emerge as a likely scorer at future Sun Belt Conference XC Championships.
With an 8:53 PR in the steeplechase from this past spring, Bryce Kueker is a key name to watch for the Mustangs this year. The former JUCO runner was able to provide a competitive PR in an event where his fitness could translate nicely to the grass. And if he continues to climb this upwards trajectory, then the Cal Poly men may have a key cross country scorer who can put the Mustangs onto the national stage.
With a 4:29 (1500) PR, Stefana Purkovic can continue to grow with a handful of other international distance talents at New Mexico, many of whom recently transferred in from Bradley due to a recent coaching change.
With times of 4:48 (mile) and 9:28 (3k), there's potential for Lizzy Bader to be a solid varsity lineup contributor at the backend of UVA's cross country squad this fall.
The former Penn runner finished 10th at the Ivy League XC Championships last fall and was also the 23rd place finisher at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships. If Bader makes even the slightest improvements on her fitness from last year, then she could end up being a key piece for the Cavaliers this fall.
Maggie Hock's resume has found plenty of success since leaving the high school scene as a top middle distance prospect. With marks of 2:04 (800), 2:45 (1k) and 4:23 (1500), the former Ivy League talent will now join a Virginia program that has a history of producing multiple top talents in the middle distance events. On paper, Hock is a perfect fit for UVA's roster structure.
After a productive few years at Princeton, Caroline Timm ventured to Kennesaw State where she made significant progress in the middle distance events. The soon-to-be UVA standout produced excellent marks of 2:04 (800), 2:47 (1k), 4:13 (1500) and 4:36 (mile).
Adding a nationally competitive name like Timm to the Cavaliers' roster is huge from a conference point-scoring perspective. Not only can Timm evolve into an individual point scorer at the ACC level, but she could also help UVA produce an All-American DMR lineup alongside Margot Appleton.
And if Timm continues to rise over the next year, then this middle distance veteran could emerge as an individual national qualifier on the oval, specifically during the winter months. She did, after all, advance to the 2022 outdoor national meet over 1500 meters.
While Page Lester's track resume is seemingly limited to a 16:28 (5k) PR, it's her success on the grass that makes her a very interesting name.
A 7th place finish at the 2022 Ivy League XC Championships, an 11th place finish at 2019 Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships and 113th place finish at the 2018 NCAA XC Championships make Lester a legitimate candidate to crack North Carolina's top-seven later this fall.
While the former Princeton runner may be more of a depth piece, her ability to be a scorer if needed, all while offering some lineup stability, is highly valuable for a team that is aiming to be on the podium come November.
With a 2:13 (800) PR, Kamillah Monroque offers a veteran presence to a team that is still working to establish their middle and long distance groups.
The top 800 meter runner in the CACC this past spring, who ran 1:53 for the half-mile distance, is staying in the conference, but venturing elsewhere. Kosaini Dunkley will offer a ton of valuable point scoring for a Goldey-Beacom team that is trying to reach the top-half of their conference meet standings.