Transfer Market (Part 54): John Lester & Sophia Nordenholz to Cal Poly, Emma Kelley Signs With Wisconsin

The indoor track season is now underway, but there are still a large handful of transfers that we never addressed / reported! Here are some of the names that we missed over the last month who should be on your radar for future seasons...

Last month, The Stride Report broke news that Stanford standout, John Lester, had entered the transfer portal as a regular transfer. According to TFRRS, Lester is expected to have two seasons of indoor track eligibility remaining and potentially only one season of cross country eligibility remaining (which may be subject to change). He may have up to three seasons of outdoor track eligibility remaining.

Earlier this month, Cal Poly announced that they had signed the former Cardinal standout and high school middle distance star.

After running 1:48 (800) and 4:06 (mile) as a prep talent, Lester ventured to Palo Alto where he would eventually produce eyebrow-raising marks of 1:46.93 (800) and 3:58 (mile). He also qualified for last year's indoor national meet over the half-mile distance.

On paper, this may be the best athlete-program pairing of the entire year (as far as transfers are concerned).

Lester is a California native who was able to stay in-state by going from one top academic school to another. And in terms of what each side brings to the table, a marriage between Lester's skillset and Cal Poly's rising middle distance presence could/should lead to exciting results in the future.

Lester's ability to be a nationally competitive middle distance star over 800 meters and the mile fits beautifully into a program that is now overseen by middle distance aficionado, Coach Ryan Vanhoy. With fellow stars such as Aidan McCarthy, Davis Bove and potentially Carson Smith having similar success, Lester's introduction to the Mustangs' roster makes them that much more dangerous.

It's also hard not to wonder what Cal Poly could potentially do in the DMR this winter with multiple high-octane talents to choose from. But at the very least, Lester should further extend the Mustangs' national presence in the middle distance events as Vanhoy aims to develop and refine a promising rookie class over the next few years.

Earlier this month, Cal Poly announced that they had signed Sophia Nordenholz, a sophomore from the University of Washington. According to TFRRS, she is expected to hold three seasons of eligibility across all three seasons of competition.

Nordenholz was a top-tier addition for the Husky women from the Class of 2022. As a prep runner, this California native ran incredible marks of 10:05 for 3200 meters and 16:46 for 5000 meters on the grass. She also placed 9th at the 2021 Eastbay XC National Championships.

The former Washington talent had a very respectable first year of racing, placing 43rd at the 2022 Cowboy Jamboree, 94th at the 2022 Nuttycombe Invitational and later gaining national meet experience with a 170th place finish. Nordenholz would go on to run a 5k PR of 16:24 on the outdoor oval last spring.

The Cal Poly women are likely thrilled with this signing. Nordenholz holds nationally competitive pedigree from her time in high school and has already flashed moments of promising scoring potential at the NCAA level.

That's an important development for the Mustangs, a cross country team that returns every single one of their varsity members from the 2023 West Regional XC Championship lineup. In other words, Nordenholz's introduction to this program comes at an ideal time as Cal Poly attempts to capitalize on a team that should be sneaky-strong come later this fall.

And by still holding numerous seasons of eligibility, the overall value of this signing feels relatively higher for Cal Poly than it would have been for a few other programs.

Late last week, the Wisconsin women announced that they have signed Division Three superstar, Emma Kelley, as a graduate transfer. She is expected to join the Badgers starting next fall.

It is not entirely clear to The Stride Report how many seasons of eligibility Kelley will have remaining after this academic year. However, if she were to compete throughout the winter and spring months this year, then the incoming Badger should have at least one season of indoor track eligibility (all according to TFRRS).

Kelley has been as dominant as they come in the middle distance events at the Division Three level. The Washington U. veteran has run an outstanding time of 2:04 for 800 meters as well as 4:29 for 1500 meters. That former mark puts her at NCAA #5 all-time (D3) for the outdoor 800 meters. She also sits at NCAA #4 all-time (D3) in that same event on the indoor oval.

In total, this future Badger has amassed eight All-American honors between the 800 meters and the 4x400 meter relay. She also boasts two national titles, both over the half-mile distance, which came at the NCAA Indoor Championships and NCAA Outdoor Championships last winter and spring.

Kelley's future introduction to Wisconsin's roster is fairly unique. The Badgers, historically, have established their reputation in the longer distance events, often putting an emphasis on cross country and the 5k/10k distances on the track.

Since 1998, no Wisconsin woman has run faster than 2:04.87 (a time posted by Madison Mooney last spring) over the half-mile distance. Kelley's resume, however, already features a PR of 2:04.41 -- and that time could very easily improve over the next two seasons of competition.

While Kelley's addition doesn't necessarily add any scoring potency to Wisconsin's cross country lineup, she does offer some much-needed event diversity to this program.

But maybe more importantly, landing a name as talented as her should signal how effective Coach Lindsay Crevoiserat has been as a recruiter in her second year with the program. She did, after all, also sign Division Two long distance megastar, Lindsay Cunningham, back in December.

One of the more underrated middle distance runners in the NCAA is set to go from one coast to another. Justin O'Toole, a current veteran at Columbia, will be joining the Washington men starting next fall, presumably as a graduate transfer.

Assuming that he runs the rest of this winter and into the spring, O'Toole will have one full year of eligibility across all three seasons remaining upon his arrival in Seattle, per TFRRS.

For the last few years, O'Toole has been a steady and solid half-miler who offered consistent scoring value for the Lions at multiple Ivy League Championships. In fact, the Columbia middle distance standout actually won the 800-meter title at the Ivy League Indoor Championships last winter.

With an excellent 800-meter personal best of 1:47, O'Toole will bring tremendous middle distance firepower to a Washington team that no longer has Cass Elliott, an individual national qualifier over the half-mile distance last winter who ran 1:46.

And on a roster that will likely still have Nathan Green next winter, having O'Toole's talent for a DMR could prove to be pivotal.

On top of that, O'Toole just ran a blistering time of 2:20 for 1000 meters at the UW Preview, flexing what may be the best fitness of his career. And when you pair that kind of talent with his incredible consistency -- having run 1:49 or faster 10 times in his collegiate career -- then the potential for him to be a national qualifying threat as soon as this season seems plenty reasonable.

The UC-Colorado Springs women have added Lara Murdock, a top distance standout from Pittsburg State, to their 2024 track and field roster. She is listed as a redshirt sophomore.

Murdock has been an outstanding long distance talent on the grass, securing a monster 13th place finish at the 2022 NCAA D2 XC Championships. Shortly thereafter, the former Pittsburg State athlete ran a strong 5k mark of 16:53 on the indoor oval.

Admittedly, the rest of Murdock's efforts on the track were a bit quieter. And since the spring of 2023, we have yet to see her toe the line.

Adding someone like Murdock to this UC-Colorado Springs distance program is monumental for the Mountain Lions, specifically for cross country. After losing a key low-stick in Riley McGrath to conference rival Colorado Mines, the UCCS women remained competitive this past fall, but were extremely reliant on the scoring prowess of top names like Anna Fauske and Kate Hedlund.

But now, with a top-tier All-American star in Lara Murdock coming to Colorado Springs, next year's UCCS cross country team will have a three-headed low-stick Cyberus of sorts leading a 12th place national meet squad that returns everyone from last fall (per TFRRS).

The Division Three realm is likely taking a sigh of relief with the recent news of Travis Martin, formerly of Trinity, taking his talents to the University of Connecticut (UConn) as a graduate transfer this winter.

According to TFRRS, Martin is expected to have two seasons of indoor track eligibility remaining (which includes the winter of 2024) as well as one season of outdoor track eligibility.

Martin was one of the more dynamic distance talents in Division Three over the last year or two, thriving in everything from the 800 meters to the 5000 meters. With marks of 1:51 (800), 2:22.99 (1k), 3:44 (1500), 4:03 (mile), 8:11 (3k) and 14:19 (5k), the newest Husky talent posed as a problem for his competitors in essentially any race he toed the line for.

With an impressive blend of strength and speed, Martin also emerged as a tactical maestro on the track, amassing four individual All-American honors between the 800 meters, the 1500 meters and the mile.

Admittedly, Martin will need to elevate his fitness to a new tier if he's going to be competitive with the top men from Georgetown, Butler and Villanova at this year's BIG East Indoor Championships. That, however, may not be that big of an ask. Martin's aforementioned 2:22.99 PR for 1000 meters actually came this past weekend in a UConn singlet.

The Stride Report has recently learned that Air Force veteran, Eli Bennett, has entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. The Falcon ace has been listed in the portal since last month (at least)

It is not entirely clear to The Stride Report what seasons of eligibility Bennett will have remaining after this academic year. However, a review of his TFRRS profile would suggest that he has one season of indoor track eligibility and one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining as well as two seasons of cross country eligibility.

Bennett has been an integral part of an Air Force team that has seen considerable success in recent years, specifically on the grass. The Falcon veteran was 93rd at the 2022 Nuttycombe Invite before placing 108th at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships. Then, this past fall, Bennett showed marked improvement via finishes of 43rd at the Virginia Invite, 83rd at the Nuttycombe Invite and 67th at the NCAA XC Championships.

And yet, despite his impactful scoring role on the grass, Bennett has arguably been even better on the track. The Air Force ace has run 3:43 (1500), 7:53 (3k) and 13:39 (5k) on the oval, the latter mark ultimately advancing him to the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Trying to determine what the next landing spot should/could be for Bennett is slightly tricky. With military academy students required to complete their post-graduation service obligation, it's unclear to myself what limitations (if any) that may put on Bennett's options.

Regardless, whoever lands Bennett will get a consistent and experienced veteran who can be an impact scorer for most competitive teams in the NCAA. And at his best, Bennett can be a legitimate individual All-American threat.

In early November, Colorado announced that they have signed Penn's Olivia Morganti. The current Ivy League distance talent will join the Buffaloes in the fall of 2024 as a graduate transfer. Assuming she runs this winter and spring, Morganti will come to Boulder with one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition, per TFRRS.

Morganti has been a respectable distance runner for the Quakers over the last few seasons. However, she didn't truly break out until the spring of 2023 after recovering from multiple injuries. That's when the current Penn ace ran a pleasantly surprising mark of 4:17 for 1500 meters and 9:59 in the 3000-meter steeplechase, the latter of which allowed her to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

This past fall, Morganti translated that fitness to the grass, placing 22nd at Pre-Nationals, 6th at the Ivy League XC Championships, 5th at the Mid-Atlantic regional meet and 140th at the NCAA XC Championships. And just last month, the Penn ace ran a 9:12 PR for 3000 meters.

The Colorado women are coming off of an underwhelming cross country season. Part of that can be attributed to the Buffaloes not having Natalie Cook, Bailey Hertenstein, Marlee Starliper or Hannah Miniutti in any of their lineups this past fall.

With two key scorers, Karrie Baloga and Emily Covert, transferring elsewhere, and Ella Baran now out of eligibility, the Boulder-based women have a near-desperate need for greater scoring stability for their 2024 lineup. And while Morganti won't cover all of the Buffaloes' lineup gaps or lost low-stick firepower, she does give Colorado a valuable scoring option with exciting upside.

Given Morganti's recent rise, it seems like the current Ivy League talent is now just beginning to realize what her capabilities are as a nationally competitive name. And if she's able to continue this momentum when she ventures to Colorado next fall, then the Buffaloes may have signed a better-than-expected grad transfer.

The Stride Report has confirmed that George Couttie, a current freshman at Charleston (WV), has entered the transfer portal. He is expected to have a full slate of eligibility between indoor track and outdoor track as well as three seasons of cross country eligibility.

Couttie, an English distance standout, had a very encouraging first season of collegiate competition with the Charleston (WV) men. Last fall, the first-year ace was victorious at the Virginia Tech Invitational, the 22nd Annual LHU Invitational, the Mountain East Conference XC Championships and the D2 Atlantic Regional XC Championships.

The only cross country races that Couttie did not win last fall were the UAH Chargers Invitational (where he placed 2nd) and the NCAA D2 XC Championships (where he placed 46th, six spots out from All-American honors).

When you see that Couttie came into the NCAA with highly impressive times of 3:46 (1500) and 14:11 (5k), you begin to understand how this young distance standout was so formidable at the Division Two level.

It's admittedly challenging to figure out where the next stop may be for someone of Couttie's caliber and background. With tons of remaining eligibility, promising first-season success and a prior history of running top times, the soon-to-be former Golden Eagle could be a fantastic fit pretty much anywhere.
 

Should Couttie prefer to stay in the same geographic region, then schools such as Virginia, Virginia Tech or Tennessee (to name a few) could be good options.

Virginia is a program that has aimed to establish quality long distance depth. Virginia Tech will soon have a star-caliber coach in Ben Thomas at the helm of their program (which could certainly be an attractive development for any top name). Tennessee's Coach Sean Carlson has been very active in the transfer portal before and has already added a top name from United Kingdom in Dean Casey.

Regardless, the team lucky enough to sign Couttie will (likely) be getting an impact scorer at the very least and, maybe more likely, a future low-stick.

NOTE: Names listed as transfer portal entrants may have entered before January and may have already decided on next steps.