Transfer Market (Part Four)

The Stride Report has confirmed that Micaela DeGenero (formerly of Michigan) will be finishing her eligibility at Colorado as a graduate transfer. She will have one year of eligibility remaining for cross country and indoor track as well as two seasons of eligibility for outdoor track.

DeGenero was a consistent and reliable piece of Michigan's varsity lineup last fall. During the 2019 cross country season, she finished 18th at the Great Lakes Regional Championships before going on to Nationals and securing a top-100 finish (97th).

The soon-to-be Colorado Buffalo owns strong personal bests on the track with times of 2:07 (800), 4:20 (1500) and 4:47 (mile). Her middle distance prowess paired with her cross country performances makes her a valuable three-season athlete for Coach Wetmore's squad.

DeGenero will provide the Colorado women with additional depth in the latter half of their cross country lineup this fall and will add veteran experience to the middle distance segment of their roster. She will join recent Colorado signees Stephen Jones and Abby Nichols who are also transferring into the program later this fall.

In April, Northwestern announced that Sabrina Gornisiewicz (formerly of Tufts) would be joining the Wildcats later this year. Gornisiewicz was actually a member of the Tufts swim team before transitioning to cross country in 2019.

Gornisiewicz showed plenty of promise in her first year of competitive distance running. She finished 3rd at the NESCAC XC Championships before going on to earn All-American honors at the D3 NCAA XC Championships, placing 27th overall. On the indoor oval, Gornisiewicz secured personal bests of 5:12 (mile) and 10:02 (3k).

The former Tufts runner will join a program that is under new leadership after Jill Miller was introduced as the team's head coach last summer. The Wildcats were most recently led by Aubrey Roberts -- a cross country All-American and star 5k runner who has moved to Stanford to finish her eligibility as a graduate transfer.

Earlier this week, MileSplit Indiana reported that Emma Wilson (formerly of Illinois) will be transferring to NAIA program Huntington University later this year. According to TFRRS, Wilson will have four seasons of eligibility remaining for both indoor and outdoor track, as well as three seasons of eligibility for cross country.

As just a freshman, Wilson emerged as a top seven varsity runner for the Illinois women during the 2019 cross country season. She finished 12th at the Buckeye Preview and later competed at the 2019 National Championships after the Illinois women qualified as a team.

Wilson was one of the top distance recruits in the country for the Class of 2019. As a high schooler, Wilson ran personal bests of 4:54 (mile), 9:56 (3k), 10:23 (3200) and 16:58 (5k). She was also a two-time NXN qualifier, placing 14th in 2017 and 32nd in 2018.

The former Illinois runner will join the Foresters of Huntington University and -- given her credentials -- should immediately emerge as one of the top distance athletes in the NAIA.

In late June, Nebraska announced that Dais Malebana will be joining the Huskers later this year. Based on data from TFRRS, Malebana is expected to have four seasons of eligibility remaining for indoor track and three seasons of eligibility remaining for both outdoor track and cross country.

Malebana was one of the top JUCO distance talents in the country throughout 2019, running times of 1:53 (800), 3:48 (1500) and 14:46 (5k XC). However, Nebraska has noted that he owns personal bests of 1:52 (800), 3:46 (1500) and 4:02 (mile).

The former Cloud County distance talent finished 2nd in the 800 meters and 3rd in the 1500 meters at the 2019 NJCCA Outdoor Championships. He also placed 10th at NJCCA XC Championships last fall.

Malebana, a native of South Africa, will team up with distance superstar George Kusche (who is also South African) on the Huskers' roster later this year. As a result, the Nebraska men are expected to have two of the better milers in the BIG 10 come 2021.

Banguria and Too leaving Colby CC and joining the men of Iowa State isn't exactly new information (the transfer announcements were posted in late 2019). Even so, the decision for both Banguria and Too to join the Cyclones deserves plenty of attention that we have yet to give them.

Banguria emerged as one of the top distance talents in the country this past indoor track season, regardless of division. The former Colby CC runner ran jaw-dropping times of 4:04 (mile), 7:51 (3k) and 13:43 (5k) during the winter of 2020.

At the 2020 NJCCA Indoor Championships, Banguria won the 5000 meters while also finishing 2nd in the 3000 meters and 3rd in the mile. He also won the individual NJCCA cross country title last fall.

Fellow teammate Nehemia Too has also accomplished quite a bit during his time in the collegiate realm. Prior to joining Colby CC, Too was a top distance talent at the Division Two level for Harding University.

During his time with Harding, Too ran personal bests of 8:01 (3k) and 14:12 (5k). He also finished 2nd to Sydney Gidabuday at the 2018 D2 Indoor National Championships in the 3000 meters, falling short of the win by just 0.08 seconds.

At Colby CC, Too would improve his 1500 meter PR to a time of 3:48.

Iowa State has had major success as of late with transfers who hail from a variety of different divisions. Edwin Kurgat, David Too, Festus Lagat, Daniel Nixon, Addison DeHaven, Stanley Langat, Leonel Perez and Mitchell Day are all recent distance talents who have found success with the Cyclones after transferring from their respective universities.

Both Banguria and Too will join middle distance specialist Jason Gomez (formerly of Notre Dame de Namur) as transfers who are joining the Iowa State men later this year.