eric.baranoski
Nov 19, 20207 min
Additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin
The Stride Report has opted to only rank teams that have competed this season (i.e. results are posted on TFRRS).
The Drury Panthers quietly flew under the radar this season, something that they can thank the Southwest Baptist women for. The Panthers were consistently beaten by a strong SBU team, leaving Drury without any notable wins over top teams going into their conference meet.
That, however, changed at the GLVC Championships.
Although the Panthers finished 2nd to Southwest Baptist yet again, they were able to take down accomplished teams with great runners such as Southern Indiana, Illinois-Springfield and U. Indy. The sister duo of Claire McCune (5th) and Katie McCune (7th) were clutch from a scoring perspective, but it was their final three scorers (Stinson, Nichols, Harris) who were simply better than the backend contributors for the other top programs.
In the end, Drury showed us that their (relatively) tight races with Southwest Baptist during the season weren't just the result of smaller fields and fewer individuals racing. The Panthers put together a complete top five and capped off their season with a great performance.
A 5th place result at the RMAC Championships may seem underwhelming, but this team was just six points off from Adams State and 11 points off from MSU-Denver. All things considered, UCCS actually ran pretty well.
The duo of Layla Almasri (8th) and Hannah Ellis (9th) gave the Mountain Lions enough firepower that it kept them competitive with some of the top teams in their conference meet, but the backend scoring of 21-26-34 left too many gaps which other teams took advantage of.
Even so, it's important to remember that this UCCS team beat MSU-Denver earlier in the season and that Maia Austin was absent from the Mountain Lions' conference lineup. This team is better than some people realize and as a result, the Mountain Lions were given our TSR #9 ranking.
The Hillsdale women were great all season long, so a loss to the Walsh women at the G-MAC Championships, as surprising as it was, shouldn't kick them out of our rankings.
The Chargers finished 16 points off of the conference champs, but still had a few promising results. Maryssa Depies finished in 3rd place to give this team a great low-stick while Christina Sawyer posted a strong 7th place result of her own. However, their final three scorers dropping to 11th, 12th and 13th left enough of a window open for a Walsh team that had all five of their scorers in the top-10.
Hillsdale had a great season and a strong conference performance, but even if their backend did improve a few spots, we're not sure that they would have beaten Walsh. Regardless, they were consistent all season long and had a promising lineup structure.
For that reason, we're listing them at TSR #8.
The Wash women surprised our TSR team at the G-MAC Championships as we thought Hillsdale had the conference title in the bag. Of course, as fate would have it, the Cavaliers delivered their best team performance of the season and took home gold.
Walsh simply overpowered a strong Hillsdale team with their top five women finishing in the top-nine spots. Alexa Leppelmeirer was the individual runner-up (which wasn't a total surprise) while Claire Robertson and Bridget Hahn finished 5th and 6th, respectively. Alyssa Viscounte and Teja Young rounded out the scoring by placing 8th and 9th, respectively.
With a score of just 30 points, the Cavaliers were able to defeat the Hillsdale Chargers by 16 points. After a quiet regular season, this Walsh team flipped the switch and suddenly put together a performance that shattered our expectations. Kudos to them.
This was a team that our TSR crew slept on this season. With not enough meets against a variety of opponents, it was hard to tell what the Bearcats were going to bring to the table at their conference meet. However, when push came to shove at the GLVC Championships, Southwest Baptist put their entire top five in the top-19 spots to win by 19 points over Drury.
Led by Elysia Burgos, a 2019 All-American, Southwest Baptist showcased their top-heavy lineup and convincingly took down teams that we thought would keep things close. Southern Indiana, Illinois-Springfield and U. Indy came out flat and couldn't respond to the Bearcats placing three women in the top-eight of the race which essentially secured them the victory. Drury, however, did keep things somewhat competitive.
The Bearcats' backend was good enough to fend off a handful of talented programs, but the overwhelming scoring potency of Burgos, Weber and Valdivia was awfully impressive and it clearly gave them an edge in a deep field.
After not showing up in our top-10 rankings back in October, the Patriots burst onto the scene over a three week stretch ranging from October 31st to November 14th. On Halloween, they dominated the Lone Star Conference, taking home the title without much of a problem. They later went on to secure the win (rather easily) at the D2 National Invite.
Led by Madison Brown and Marissa Insinna, Dallas Baptist won all season long with a great pack-running strategy. Their compact group of scorers was made up of mostly sophomores and juniors which featured Emily Mackel, Annalynne Klotz, Leslie Filorio and Rylee Cristan.
With everyone returning and the thought of running in a true national meet likely on their minds, I wouldn’t want to mess with the Patriots come 2021.
Essentially a non-factor at the 2019 RMAC Championships, Metro State put all of their pieces of the puzzle together this year as they snagged a 3rd place finish at this year's conference meet.
With two veterans leading the way in Erin Norton and Alden Gruidel, the Roadrunners clearly took advantage of the added base building period from this past spring and summer. It also helped to add Norton to their squad, a top low-stick who previously ran for Western Colorado.
At the RMAC Championships, the Roadrunners were able to sneak by two teams that always seem to be near the top of the conference: Adams State and UC-Colorado Springs. With their top two runners in the top-six places, and MSU-Denver having the better third scorer than both Adams State and UCCS, the Roadrunners ended up walking away with a five-point edge over the Cotter-less Grizzlies and an 11-point edge over the Mountain Lions.
The low-stick presence of Norton alongside Gruidel was a big reason why this team ran so well this year, but we have to give credit to the backend of their lineup for making improvements of their own. Without that development, but Roadrunners wouldn't be ranked as a top-five team in the country.
This shortened season left us scratching our heads when it came to Adams State.
Despite a strong and convincing win at the Maverick Invitational, their RMAC result was underwhelming as the Grizzlies finished 4th overall. However, it is important to note that Stephanie Cotter did not run at the RMAC Championships even though she did run at the Maverick Invitational.
Yes, Adams State lost a ton of veteran scoring potency from last year, but sophomores Brianna Robles and Nicole Lawrence both emerged as key contributors with a pair of top-10 finishes at their conference meet.
Other fresh faces such as Morgan Hykes, Reina Paredes, Emily Schoellkopf all raced as though they weren’t inexperienced freshmen, even though they were. Plus, recent West Virginia transfer Sarah Wills (who finished 28th at the conference meet) is likely better than what that result suggests.
Given the youth of this squad, they actually ran pretty well. Not only that, but they didn't have Cotter leading the way for them. If they did, then this team would have beaten MSU-Denver rather handily which is why we have them ranked ahed of the Roadrunners. That, and because their Maverick Invitational win was hard ignore.
Even so, a 4th place finish at the RMAC Championships is not the norm for a team that had previously won the past eight conference titles.
Previously unranked due to a lack of (official) racing, Colorado Mines has earned the runner-up spot in our rankings, which is ironically the same place where they finished at the RMAC Championships. Led by their first individual champion in Zoe Baker, the Orediggers put their entire top five in the top-22 spots of the race. Unfortunately for them, Western Colorado's whole team fit in the top-17, which forced Mines to settle for silver.
Even so, this was a huge performance for a group that didn't have a clear-cut lineup coming into this year. There were initial concerns about their depth, but they put those doubts to bed with a great performance at their conference meet.
Three members of their top five are underclassmen which bodes well for their future. Melina Endsley, Heather Keniry and Peyton Solheim will soon be at the top if they stay consistent and injury-free. We also shouldn’t forget about junior Morgan Molesworth, a 2019 cross country All-American who dropped just two spots off of her RMAC finish from a year ago.
This team continues to develop promising supporting scorers and providing reliable depth for the top athletes on this team. We'll be eager to see what happens when this relatively young squad gets another year of training under their belts.
The women from Gunnison, Colorado now occupy the top position in our rankings due to their surprisingly strong performance at the RMAC Championships. We knew that they had an accomplished contingent of runners in Bailey Sharon, Katie Doucette and Alexia Thiros, but the backend of their lineup, which featured Malindi Congour and Hannah Mae Gigstad, surprised us in a big way at their conference meet.
This was the Mountaineers first RMAC win since 2011 and it gives them a ton of momentum heading into whichever season of competition they have next. An experienced group of high-level veterans and a strong supporting cast that stepped up when they were needed the most deserves the top spot in our rankings.
One performance that may be overlooked is the sixth runner for Western Colorado, Brooke Satathite, a redshirt freshman who finished 20th overall. She was the second freshman in the race and could be a factor next year as she continues to develop.
Kudos to Western Colorado. They had all of the pieces to be successful this year and actually put them together when it mattered the most. That second part is often the most challenging to accomplish for any top team, but the Mountaineers did just that.