Maura Beattie
Jul 22, 202211 min
Additional commentary and edits by Garrett Zatlin
Someone who could make some noise in the top-30 portion of our rankings is Isabel Van Camp of Arkansas. The junior was consistently amongst the top portion of her races last fall and she later emerged as a versatile talent on the track.
During the 2021 cross country season, the Arkansas Razorback opened up her season with a 6th place finish at the Mizzou Opener before the team started heading to talent-heavy meets. On those stages, Van Camp held her own, finishing 12th at the Dellinger Invite and then 24th at Pre-Nationals.
On paper, those were strong results, but they didn't necessarily indicate that she was going to hold an All-American scoring spark at the national meet.
Luckily, the championship races are where Van Camp truly shined. She picked up a 10th place finish at the SEC XC Championships before finishing runner-up at the South Central Regional XC Championships.
And then, right on cue, Van Camp peaked perfectly at the NCAA XC Championships. Not only did she finish 37th overall, but she was also the second scorer for Arkansas.
As we venture into the 2022 cross country season, Van Camp's outdoor track season should give her scary-good momentum when she toes the line this fall. Her range from the 1500 meters up to the 5k is outstanding as she can drop a 4:16 mark for 1500 meters as well as a 15:35 PR for 5000 meters.
That latter PR gave Van Camp a pleasantly surprising 8th place All-American finish back in June at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
If the Arkansas veteran can employ her combination of speed and endurance on the cross country course this fall, then big things could happen for both her and her team.
Admittedly, her regular season results do need to improve a bit, but for our TSR #30 ranking, they're still plenty strong enough.
The newest member of the Wolfpack women is Sydney Seymour. The distance veteran could make an immediate impact for NC State this fall as the team looks to repeat as NCAA champions and recover from a few key scoring losses.
Seymour had quite the past year running-wise across all three seasons.
Starting with cross country, the then-Tennessee Volunteer won her season opener and then placed a solid 3rd at Minnesota’s Roy Griak Invite. Those performances led to Seymour winning the "B" race at Pre-Nationals by eight seconds.
The postseason saw Seymour earn her highest finish at an SEC XC Championships when she finished 9th overall. She later qualified for the cross country national meet after a 3rd place finish at her regional meet, but was unable to compete at NCAA XC Championships for unknown reasons (the speculation is illness).
On paper, those results don't necessarily excite you when talking about a top-50 runner.
Of course, it was the personal bests that she earned on the track which truly took Seymour to a new level. The Volunteer-turned-Wolfpack star ripped open a massive string of momentum, earning personal bests in the 3k (9:15), 5k (15:34) and 10k (34:39) throughout the winter and spring months.
In theory, transferring to NC State could be beneficial for Seymour. She will have the opportunity to train with one of the best teams in the country and learn from a star coach in Laurie Henes.
When looking just at her 2021 fall cross country season, Seymour isn't necessarily someone who you would deem as an All-American favorite. Her results weren't bad, but they didn't blow you away, either.
Of course, the story is different when looking at her track times. She was extremely consistent and constantly improving throughout the winter and spring months. We have no reason to believe that she can't translate that success to October and November...now she just has to execute on that potential.
After a bout of injuries, NC State’s Marlee Starliper will be making her long-awaited cross country debut...we think.
Much like new teammate Sydney Seymour, Starliper is carrying a lot of momentum into the fall season after qualifying for the outdoor national meet in the 5k alongside four of her other teammates. She impressed in Eugene by placing 9th in her first national meet appearance, running a stellar time of 15:36.
And in theory, she can only go up from there.
Looking back at Starliper’s high school career in Pennsylvania, the Wolfpack runner competed against the best of the best numerous times on both the state and national stages...and she showed up plenty of times.
Starliper was a three-time Pennsylvania cross country champion between 2017 and 2019. And then, within a span of one week in 2019, Starliper placed 5th at NXN Championships and then was 2nd at Foot Locker XC National Championships, only missing out on the victory by a mere second.
This NC State star clearly has the talent and experience to race against the best, although it will just come down to how well she translates her most recent 5k success to the grass.
Written by Garrett Zatlin
If you were to strictly look at Mazza-Downie's cross country results and nothing else, you would argue this ranking.
Yes, she does have two top-60 finishes at the NCAA XC Championships, and yes, she does a Mountain West title in cross country. However, her other results simply haven't been great. Last fall, She was 25th at Joe Piane and 70th at Nuttycombe.
And the Mountain West XC Championships, admittedly, haven't been super competitive lately.
However, when you look at what Mazza-Downie has done on the track, it's hard not to put her in the elite tier.
In the spring of 2021, the New Mexico superstar ran 15:37 for 5000 meters and placed 9th at the outdoor national meet. In the winter of 2022, she was a 7th place All-American in the 5k. In the spring of 2022, she ran 32:55 in the 10,000 meters and qualified for the national meet in both the 10k and the 5k.
Mazza-Downie doesn't have a perfect resume, but her talent on the track is clearly good enough to put her in the top-30 range of these rankings. It also doesn't hurt that she has been somewhat reliable on the national stage.
Still, we need to see this Lobo standout truly deliver on the low-stick potential that she has flexed over the last two years. If she does that, then she'll fly up our rankings.
Venters is a true veteran and enters this cross country season with tons of experience and plenty of motivation to show that she still belongs amongst the leaders in national-caliber fields.
The Utah veteran was an All-American on the cross country course when she finished 39th at the national meet in 2018 while competing for Boise State. She later transferred to Colorado that following year, but dealt with some injuries which hampered her time as a Buffalo.
But since transferring to Utah at the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year, Venters has found her groove once again, looking like one of the best low-sticks in the country.
Venters excelled during the 2021 cross country season leading up to the national meet. She opened up her season with a solid 5th place finish at the Dellinger Invitational, her first race since the 2019 Mountain West Indoor Championships.
At Pre-Nationals, Venters looked like her 2018 self again when she recorded a strong 13th place finish, helping lead the Utes to a runner-up team finish.
When the postseason arrived, Venters' built on her momentum and far exceeded expectations when she crossed the line with a huge 3rd place at the PAC-12 XC Championships, breaking up Colorado’s lethal top-four.
After being able to rest through her regional meet, an All-American finish at the NCAA XC Championships was on the table. However, that didn’t materialize as Venters recorded a DNF.
Fast forward to the spring season and Venters ran a stellar mark of 33:07 (10k) during the spring before having to cut her season short due to injury.
Now, this fall, Venters will be on a revenge tour...again.
For Venters, the real task at hand will be ensuring that she can stay healthy. It will be imperative for the Utah senior to stay available for the postseason while, at the same time, also being able to help her Utah teammates secure enough Kolas points for national qualification.
There is no question that Venters can be a top-tier All-American. After all, her PAC-12 performance suggests that she can amongst the best in the nation. But simply getting to the line and executing will likely be the bigger priority.
Someone who you should watch out for this fall is Ohio State’s Addie Engel.
"Who?" you may ask?
Let us tell you about her...
The Buckeye low-stick was one of the more pleasant surprises of last fall. She secured a highly impressive 11th place finish at Pre-Nationals and later placed 4th in her second BIG 10 XC Championship. She also placed 3rd at the Great Lakes Regional XC Championships.
On paper, those results weren't just good, they were special. Engel flexed tremendous upside and exciting promise. She seemed to be a true low-stick and offered outstanding scoring potency for an Ohio State squad that needed it.
Unfortunately, Engel had to settle for a respectable 66th place showing at the NCAA XC Championships. However, on paper, most could agree that the competition she beat during the regular season suggested that she would be a top-tier All-American.
In theory, the 2022 cross country season could be another dominating season for Engel. The Ohio State ace has the potential to reach the top-30 come the November national meet based on her mix of cross country endurance, her 15:59 (5k) PR and her underrated consistency.
Admittedly, her national meet performance is really the only thing holding her back from a better ranking. Still, if a 66th place finish at the national is your "worst" result, then that's a good problem to have.
True freshman Natalie Cook will be one to pay close attention to as the cross country season approaches. The new Cowgirl star will be making her NCAA debut on a historically talented Oklahoma State team and could make an immediate impact in their top-seven, as well as earn an All-American honor in her first season.
Cook was a stud on (and above) the high school level, not only in Texas, but nationally as well. She has current PRs of 4:36 (1600), 9:41 (3200), 15:25 (5k track) and 16:04 (5k XC). Times like these, especially her 15:25, are head-turning and awe-inspiring.
And, admittedly, those results suggest that she could outperform this ranking...by a lot.
The incoming rookie really took off during the 2021 cross country season. She was undefeated from October to December, winning her first Texas state title by 56 seconds, followed by the Running Lane Championships by 18 seconds, and then the Eastbay XC Championships by four seconds.
Her success on the national stage speaks for itself.
Cook has also competed against collegiate women before, namely at the Stanford Invitational 5k where she placed 3rd overall in a blazing fast time of 15:25. At the conclusion of this race, the Oklahoma State recruit broke the national high school girls’ 5k record by nine seconds which was held by BYU rookie Jenna Hutchins.
With teammates like Taylor Roe, Gabby Hentemann and Molly Born, Cook will have plenty of talented teammates to key off of this cross country season.
An All-American finish isn't just possible for Cook, it's probable. However, trying to figure out how high in that All-American Cook will reach, despite her inexperience, is the most challenging part.
If you’re looking for a true cross country athlete who shows up at national meets, then look no further than Notre Dame’s Maddy Denner.
The 2021 cross country regular season wasn’t exactly amazing for Denner. In fact, for someone of her caliber, her results left us wanting more.
The Fighting Irish ace was holding her own in major invitationals, but none of her results suggested that Denner was in the All-American or XC Top 50 conversations. Her 38th place and 21st place finishes at Joe Piane and Nuttycombe, respectively, were solid performances, but they didn’t signal what Denner was about to do once the postseason arrived.
A 9th place showing at the ACC XC Championships gave Denner the confidence to challenge a deep field at the Great Lakes Regional XC Championships. These two races provided the Notre Dame runner with a new sense of trust in her abilities, giving her key momentum that she would later capitalize on...a lot.
Denner would go on to improve her 81st place finish at the 2019 national meet by finishing 9th at the NCAA XC Championships last fall...wow.
Last fall was the epitome of Denner's last few years with the Irish. Some seasons, she's outstanding. Other seasons, she leaves you wanting so much more.
And other seasons, like last fall, you get a little bit of both.
Denner's 9th place national meet was absolutely incredible. It showed us a level of raw talent that we didn't see from her before. Even so, we need her season-long consistency to improve.
Because if that happens, then her ranking will improve as well.
As a youngster, Furman’s Bethany Graham greatly benefited by adjusting to the collegiate racing scene during the altered 2020-2021 academic year. And since then, it hasn’t taken much for her to make a name for herself in the NCAA.
Graham has raced twice at NCAA XC Championships thus far. As a true freshman in March of 2021, Graham finished a respectable 95th, but fast forward to the fall of 2021 and she was continuously amongst the nation's top distance leaders.
One could say that Graham had a breakout season last fall. The Furman Paladin began her season at two smaller meets leading up to Joe Piane where she finished an excellent 17th place, taking down a few All-Americans in the process.
Graham didn’t slow down from there as two weeks later, at Nuttycombe, she landed a monster 11th place finish, solidifying herself as one of the nation’s best true low-sticks.
Graham would go on to win her first Southern Conference title and place 5th in her region before earning an All-American 40th place finish at NCAA XC Championships. She later carried that momentum over to the track and had respectable winter and spring seasons.
This Furman front-runner appears to be a stronger cross country athlete and that showed last fall. Her consistency needs to be commended and it's exciting to think that her "worst" performance was still an All-American result (barely).
There isn't a ton of downside with Graham, although now we just need to see what her rate of improvement will be this season and beyond.
She’s already got two cross country All-American honors to her name...so why not a third?
BYU’s Aubrey Frentheway has been a mainstay in the NCAA over the last few seasons and she has been instrumental in the growth and dominance of the Cougars. The veteran scorer can be found lurking around the front of her races, challenging for a key finish each time she toes the line.
With teammates like Whittni Orton and Anna Camp-Bennett now gone, Coach Diljeet Taylor will turn to Frentheway to lead the team. Her two cross country All-American honors are strong indicators of her potential, but they also speak to her reliability as well.
In the winter, Frentheway ran to a extremely impressive 15th place finish during the winter national meet. While there was no question about her ability to be an All-American, seeing her place 15th was a pleasant surprise.
During the fall season, Frentheway won a low-key meet held by BYU and then got a look at the NCAA course at Florida State shortly after. That September, in Tallahassee, the Cougar ace placed 4th overall in a quietly strong field.
She again showed her consistency to finish near the top of major meets at Nuttycombe en route to an outstanding 13th place finish. Fast forward to the national meet and Frentheway finished 38th overall.
On paper, Fretheway is probably the safest and most reliable runners in these rankings (or at least one of them). Yes, if you were to average her two All-American results, she would average out to (roughly) 27th place.
However, Frentheway's regular season performances are a bit better than that, effectively putting her at TSR #21 as a result.