Transfer Market (Part 57): Emma Heckel in Transfer Portal, Cory Kennedy to Colorado State, Allison Sibold to Michigan State, Natalie Bitetti to New Mexico, Johnny Livingstone to Wisconsin

This is one of those rare weekends where the distance running action takes a lull. While we certainly saw some fast performances over the last couple of days, those efforts weren't nearly as grand as what we saw at the Stanford Invite or Raleigh Relays last weekend. That's also because many of the NCAA's most elite stars are preparing for the Bryan Clay Invite.

Luckily, that gives us at The Stride Report plenty of time and space to do what we do best -- report and discuss transfer news. Here are a handful of key names who are on the move...

NOTE: Graduate transfer scenarios can often be anticipated by certain schools/coaches. Those moves are not always a reflection of a program's ability to retain (or not retain) talent.

The Stride Report has confirmed that New Mexico veteran Emma Heckel has entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, the soon-to-be-former Lobo is expected to hold at least one year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition, although it may be possible that she receives a second year of eligibility as well.

At her best, Emma Heckel is one of the top long distance runners in the NCAA. The multi-time All-American finished 18th at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships and later finished 38th at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships. With personal bests of 15:41 (5k) and 32:31 (10k), as well as multiple national meet appearances on the track, Heckel is a big-time transfer prospect for a program looking to add a star low-stick and dramatically alter the trajectory of their lineup.

Unfortunately, injuries throughout 2023 have limited Heckel's ability to race. And when she has, her results have not matched what we know her true potential is.

Trying to figure out future landing spots for Heckel is challenging, mainly because she's from Germany and doesn't have any direct ties to certain areas of the country (as far as we know).

However, there is one obvious option for this soon-to-be-former Lobo star.

I am, of course, talking about the Louisville Cardinals.

Coach Joe Franklin, the former head coach for New Mexico, left the Lobos last summer to become the new Director for Louisville's track and field program. And given how much success Heckel previously had with Franklin during their time in Albuquerque, it would only make sense that Heckel reunites her famed coach.

Last month, Colorado State announced that RPI's Cory Kennedy would be joining the Rams as a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, the Division Three standout is expected to hold one season of eligibility for both cross country and indoor track. However, if Kennedy competes for RPI this spring, then he will not have any outdoor track eligibility remaining.

Cory Kennedy has been one of the top long distance talents in Division Three over the last year or two. The aerobic-centric star has thrived over 5000 meters, specifically on the national stage, and was flat-out excellent on the grass this past fall.

The future Ram graduate student holds personal bests of 8:04 (3k), 14:00 (5k) and 30:18 (10k). However, it's abundantly clear that, after earning three D3 All-American honors on the track and placing 5th at the NCAA D3 XC Championships, Kennedy is due for a major 10k PR and an improvement upon his 5k time as well.

On paper, Kennedy matches the endurance-based ethos of Colorado State's distance program. He'll be a big help as the Rams look to rally back from a challenging 2023 fall campaign. And while Kennedy may not be able to plug all of CSU's scoring gaps, he should be able to limit any significant scoring losses with the upcoming departures of Tom Oates and Mason Brown (per TFRRS).

In late February, it was announced that CMS distance star Natalie Bitetti would be joining the New Mexico women as a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, the long distance ace holds one season of cross country eligibility and potentially multiple seasons of indoor and outdoor track eligibility (although that is still unclear).

In a Division Three scene that is currently headlined by all-time stars such as Fiona Smith, Emma Kelley and Grace Hadley, it may be easy to overlook just how good someone like Natalie Bitetti has been over the last year.

The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps distance star was already an accomplished multi-time All-American going into the 2023 cross country season. However, numerous wins and a silver medal effort at the NCAA D3 XC Championships placed Bitetti in an entirely new tier. This past winter, she produced times of 9:29 (3k) and 16:33 (5k), earning two top-three All-American honors on the national stage between the 3000 meters and the DMR.

Bitetti is exactly the kind of runner that the Lobo women needed. The New Mexico women had a solid core of women last fall, but were unable to plug significant gaps in their lineup. Luckily, everyone except veteran Tyler Schwartz (and Emma Heckel who didn't race last year) should be returning. That group of returnees includes All-American ace Nicola Jansen and top scorer Peyton Schieppe who didn't race after the Griak Invitational last fall.

Having a consistent and proven veteran like Natalie Bitetti who thrives on the grass should bring greater stability to a cross country squad that needed exactly that last fall. And given how much she has improved as of late, Bitetti seemingly has the potential to be a true low-stick for this team come October and November.

Last month, Michigan State announced that Allison Sibold, a top Division Three distance talent, was joining the Spartans as a presumed graduate transfer. The St. Lawrence star is expected to hold one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition, although she could exhaust her outdoor track eligibility should she race this season.

One of Division Three's multiple breakout stars from the past year, Allison Sibold is a perfect fit for the Michigan State women. Last fall, Sibold placed 20th at the NCAA D3 XC Championships before running personal bests of 4:50 (mile) and 9:30 (3k) on the indoor oval. When factoring in conversions, her fastest mile time last winter was 4:49.

The St. Lawrence star would later go on to finish runner-up in the women's mile at the 2024 NCAA D3 Indoor Championships.

So...why exactly is Sibold a good fit for the Spartans?

Well, in terms of skillsets, many of Michigan State's best women are great milers who can also be effective scorers on the grass. Think of women like Lauren Freeland, Katelyn Stewart-Barnett and Katie Osika for instance. Each of those women have run under 4:40 in the mile and the former two women proved to be low-sticks for this squad (most times) last fall.

Admittedly, Sibold still has some catching up to do if she is going to emulate the scoring prowess and value of those women. Even so, the Spartans pride themselves in having tons of depth and an interchangeable lineup order. And in 2024, the women of East Lansing will need that same depth -- which will include Sibold -- to step up in a big way, especially with key scorers seemingly out of eligibility and the Wisconsin women only getting stronger.

Prior to the start of the outdoor track season, Tulsa standout Johnny Livingstone opted to transfer to the University of Wisconsin where he has already competed in one outdoor track race for the Badgers.

According to TFRRS, the former Golden Hurricane runner is expected to have three seasons of cross country eligibility remaining and four full seasons of indoor track and outdoor track eligibility remaining (including this spring).

With a 13:51 (5k) PR from the summer of 2022, this English long distance talent was one of the top true freshman additions in the NCAA when he first arrived in Tulsa. However, after redshirting a few seasons and putting together a solid 2023 cross country season, Livingstone has since opted to take his talents to Madison, Wisconsin. He has already run for the Badgers this season, producing a 5k time of 13:58 at the Stanford Invite.

Livingstone's addition to the Badgers' roster may not seem like a team-altering addition right now, but over the long-term, it could be. That's because, according to TFRRS, top scorer Jackson Sharp is out of cross country eligibility. And if Adam Spencer continues to thrive on the oval like he has lately, then a pro contract could be in his future as soon as this summer.

Even if Wisconsin doesn't have Sharp and Spencer for the 2024 cross country season, they'll still have key names like Bob Liking and Evan Bishop (who was in the transfer portal, but may be staying in Madison) to lean on. And at the very least, Livingstone can add some valuable depth to a team that may need it come October and November.

But more importantly, Livingstone is a true endurance-based talent who thrives in the aerobic-centric events. And as we all know, the Badgers' reputation is almost entirely based around the longer distances. On paper, that should make Madison, Wisconsin the perfect place for Livingstone to realize his full potential.

Back in February, Duke announced that both Duncan Miller and Matthew Farrell, two current Princeton runners, would be joining the Blue Devils later this year (presumably as graduate transfers).

According to TFRRS, Miller does not have any remaining indoor track eligibility, but he will have one season of outdoor track eligibility after this spring and at least one season of cross country eligibility remaining. Farrell, meanwhile, has one season of both cross country eligibility and indoor track remaining. He is expected to have at least one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining, although he could have more.

Duncan Miller is a sneaky-good name, holding a mile PR of 3:56 and a 1500-meter PR of 3:40. And no, those weren't flukes. Miller did, after all, also run times of 3:57 (mile) and 3:41 (1500) elsewhere.

Miller has proven to be plenty talented and his experience should only help him. It also doesn't hurt that he was 2023 Ivy League mile champion. However, his last year of performances hasn't been an accurate reflection of what this future Duke runner is capable of.

In theory, Miller is a great fit for the Blue Devils. He's an experienced graduate transfer from a top academic institution who dabbles in a variety of distances, but is predominately a miler. If you didn't know who I was talking about, you could have guessed numerous different runners from Duke's roster over the last few years.

It's a somewhat similar story for Farrell, a former high school star who has shown sporadic moments of promise throughout his career.

Admittedly, Farrell's resume doesn't jump off the page, although times of 7:59 (3k), 13:55 (5k) and 29:20 (10k) are plenty respectable. And while those marks were run in the winter and spring of 2022, Farrell did finish 132nd at the NCAA XC Championships this past fall.

On paper, replicating that latter performance on a more consistent basis should/could make this current Tiger veteran a top-five scorer for Duke in the fall of 2024.

California Baptist has announced that UC-Riverside standout Linda Perez is joining the Lancers as a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, Perez will have at least one season of cross country eligibility remaining (with the potential for a second season) and one season of outdoor track eligibility. CBU does not sponsor indoor track.

One could argue that Linda Perez, when she's firing on all cylinders, is one of the more underrated distance standouts on the west coast. That's because the UC-Riverside talent has run times of 15:54 (5k) and 32:58 (10k) on the outdoor oval. In fact, that latter mark allowed her to finish 13th at the NCAA West Regional Championships, the dreaded "first spot out" from qualifying for the national meet.

On the grass, Perez has been solid, finishing 31st at the 2023 West Regional XC Championships and finishing among the top-five in her last two BIG West XC Championship appearances. However, Perez's marks suggest that she is capable of so much more on the grass and her latest efforts on the outdoor oval aren't indicative of what her true ceiling is.

And it's that potential that the California Baptist women are investing in.

With one or two current Lancers potentially on the transfer portal (which is still unconfirmed) and top Nuttycombe scorer Grace McLaughlin not expected to return, the CBU women are in need of a proven long distance talent who can give them a scoring boost. If Perez is in peak form and can translate her outdoor track success to the grass, then the Lancers could end up being just as dangerous in 2024 as they were last fall.

California Baptist has announced that Portland's Daniel Abdala will presumably be joining the Lancers as a graduate transfer next fall. According to TFRRS, the Pilot distance talent has one season of eligibility remaining between both cross country and outdoor track with the second potential for a second season of eligibility in the spring should he not compete over the next few months. CBU does not sponsor indoor track.

Daniel Abdala is the exact type of runner that you would expect California Baptist to recruit. He's a west coast long distance runner whose talent flies a bit under the radar and can be further developed. And in comparison to a lot of the international athletes who CBU has recruited, Abdala's resume/skillset largely mirrors those same men.

During his time with the Pilots, Abdala has been great, running solid times of 13:49 (5k) and 28:51 (10k). What's even more encouraging is that Abdala ran that 10k PR in the spring of 2023 and ran his 5k PR this past winter.

In other words, his ceiling is still improving.

However, maybe more importantly, Abdala could be a great scorer on the grass for the California Baptist men later this fall. Last fall, the Pilot distance runner finished 12th at the Griak Invitational, 95th at Nuttycombe and 117th at the NCAA XC Championships.

Introducing someone like Abdala to California Baptist's 2024 cross country roster is massive, at least for the Lancers, that is. That's because the CBU men are expected to be without Arturs Medveds, Giedrius Valincius and Rikus Van Niekerk in the fall.

And to put it simply, that is a ton of lost firepower.

The good news is that Abdala should be able to plug the gaps of at least one of those men. No, Abdala won't fix all of the lineup challenges that this team could face six months from now, but he does make a "reload instead of rebuild" scenario a bit more realistic. That's especially true given how strong CBU's depth usually is.

During the winter months, the Florida State men landed one of the nation's more underrated JUCO distance talents: Kidus Misgina. The former Trinidad State and Cloud County CC runner appears to have two years of eligibility across all three seasons per TFRRS, although that is not entirely confirmed.

Misgina's time in the NJCAA was productive. The current Seminole thrived in the longer distance events, earning numerous top-five finishes on the national stage. However, his times, while solid, didn't necessarily stand out.

That, of course, has changed during his short time with Florida State. This past winter, the newest addition to the 'Noles' roster threw down great times of 7:57 (3k) and 13:49 (5k), both of which were substantial personal bests. However, maybe even more impressively, Misgina just ran a monster 10k PR of 28:52 at the Stanford Invite.

The rise and sudden emerge of Misgina as a nationally competitive talent is huge for a Florida State team that will need his scoring prowess on the grass. The FSU men are expected to lose three veterans (per TFRRS) from last year's national qualifying team. And on multiple occasions, two of those men were critical scorers.

But with Misgina now showing promise as a key scorer and maybe an eventual low-stick, the Florida State men can further capitalize on David Mullarkey's last year of cross country eligibility. That, of course, assumes that Misgina will fully translate his talent to the grass, but at the very least, this former junior college runner does fill a key hole in the Seminoles' future cross country lineup(s).

Last week, Florida State announced that they have signed Drake distance standout Brooke Mullins as a graduate transfer starting next fall. According to TFRRS, the Aussie runner is expected to have one year of eligibility remaining in both cross country and indoor track. However, if she races this spring, Mullins will no longer have any remaining outdoor track eligibility.

Mullins has slowly developed into one of the more respectable long distance runners in the midwest. This past fall, specifically, is when Mullins truly shined. The Drake ace was the winner of both the Bradley Pink Classic and the Missouri Valley Conference XC Championships. After placing 7th at the Midwest regional meet, Mullins posted a very respectable 118th place finish on the national stage.

Signing an experienced individual national qualifier like Brooke Mullins is precisely what Florida State's cross country team needed.

The 'Noles just lost star low-stick Alyson Churchill to Northern Arizona in a graduate transfer situation this past winter and the team's second-best scorer at the South regional meet last year, Rebecca Bergnes, is also expected to be out of eligibility on the grass. Not only that, but the FSU women flat-out struggled to remain competitive in the ACC last fall.

Adding Mullins to Florida State's roster this fall will not solve all of the scoring deficiencies that this team faced last year and will face this year. Even so, having someone who can seemingly be a low-stick and a potential top-15 name in the ACC gives the Seminoles someone who they can build around over the next year.

And when it comes to our individual cross country rankings, Mullins will now have multiple opportunities to compete against top fields as she aims to further showcase her talent.

On the track, it should be noted that Mullins holds a 10:08 (steeple) PR. That's a strong mark that, with some minor improvements, could lead to the Aussie barrier jumper qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Not only, but FSU also added former Pitt runner Emily Brown to their program last year, another steeplechaser who also holds a 10:08 PR in the steeplechase.

If both of those women have outdoor track eligibility remaining in the spring of 2025, then Florida State could establish a significant scoring presence at the ACC Championships in the steeplechase.