Conor Daly
Jan 108 min
Written by Conor Daly, additional edits & commentary via Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve
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The Athenas ended their 2023 cross country season on a high note with an incredible 4th place finish at the NCAA D3 XC Championships. And fortunately for them, the future looks just as bright, if not brighter, than the podium season that they just enjoyed.
Five members from that group will return next year to complete their degrees while the other two still have eligibility left if they choose to use it.
That's why it feels like these nine rookies came into this program at just the right time. They got to witness that recent postseason success, but they also got to acclimate to the collegiate realm and further build their fitness before they are tasked with larger roles.
However, only one true freshman was able to sneak into that aforementioned podium lineup and toe the line in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for the 2023 D3 cross country national meet.
Revere Schmidt (Santa Fe Christian High School) made an instant impact as an Athena distance runner, breaking into the team's top-seven this past fall.
The true freshman was as reliable as you could have asked her to be. Schmidt was the team’s seventh runner for the pre-national, conference, regional and national meets. And regardless of her results, the opportunity to gain valuable experience was huge.
Of course, Schmidt held many of the high school marks which foreshadowed that she was capable of making early-career contributions.
During her prep days, Schmidt was a true long distance threat. The 2021 California Division Five cross country champion has personal bests of 5:15 (1600) and 11:02 (3200) to her name. And at first glance, it seemed fitting that Schmidt should have this type of freshman campaign.
But upon considering that both of those personal bests and the state title came in her junior year, maybe that level of immediate collegiate contribution wasn’t as guaranteed as one would initially think.
All things considered, we are glad that Schmidt is seemingly back to top form. If she was running that fast as only a junior in high school, what can she do now on the track?
Another name that you will begin to hear often is Olivia DeBoer (Rogers High School). Her prep resume is almost as impressive as that of her aforementioned teammate, Schmidt. With 5:18 (1600) and 10:19 (3k) personal bests, DeBoer could become a contributing member to the Athenas sooner than some people realize.
The California native projects to be a great potential scorer next to Schmidt as the duo looks to be the future of the longer distances for this program. And what truly makes this freshman class so strong is that while the Athenas have Schmidt and DeBoer to cover the longer distances, they also brought in a very strong middle distance trio as well.
I am, of course, talking about Sadie Drucker (St. Mary's Academy), Claire Stuvland (Trabuco Hills) and Sally Gaskell (Dowling Catholic). They’re a group of women who boast 800-meter personal bests of 2:17, 2:24 and 2:22, respectively.
Drucker’s 2:17 mark puts her in position to make an instant impact over the middle distances, potentially as a key piece in the DMR as soon as this winter. Further, her 4:47 (1500) suggests that she has the potential to develop into a top-tier D3 miler as well.
It’s also worthwhile to note that Drucker did not race this past fall — although she was strong over 3200 meters and 5000 meters in high school — potentially signaling that she'll eventually be a contributor in that area as well.
On paper, she may be the marquee name of this rookie class.
Stuvland’s 2:24 (800) mark that we mentioned previously is good on its own. But what’s even better is that she seems to be more of a miler first and an 800-meter runner second. Her 5:03 (1600) PR makes her one of the better mile specialists to enter any Division Three program this year.
When you consider that Stuvland has also run 11:17 (3200) as well, it's clear that she also has some promising range which largely characterizes a good portion of this freshman class. And for an overall roster that is historically aerobic-centric during the winter months, having a standout miler like her is a big deal for the long-term.
As for Gaskell, she is a true half-mile specialist, at least for now. Her 4:57 (1500) PR nicely complements her half-mile talent. Although she didn’t have extensive success in events over one mile (including cross country) as a prep talent, her recent fall campaign was fairly strong for a rookie.
Most notably, Gaskell placed 26th at the SCIAC XC Championships, good enough for the ninth Athena to cross the line. If the youngster is able to translate that newfound strength to the track, then she could be much-improved over the mile and 3k this winter. And if she can simply build on this momentum, then she could be a sneaky-good name by the time that she's an upperclassman.
Rounding out this freshman class is a pair of California natives in Lizet Gonzalez (Elsinore High School) and Phoebe Wolfe Lyons (Dos Pueblos) as well as out-of-state talents in Katie Latvakoski (Utah) and Ivy McFetridge (Iowa).
While they don't project to make a high-level impact right away, this group shows promise. All four of these freshmen have run 5:33 or faster over 1600 meters, further adding valuable depth behind Stuvland.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is a young team that already has national-level success. And this large freshman class -- which not only features top-end talent, but complementary skillsets -- only adds to the overwhelming aerobic potential that this California D3 powerhouse will likely have in the coming years.
The Williams women always seem to find a way to put a strong distance team on the line when it matters most. For instance, even with a slight "off" day from their top scoring ace, the Ephs ended up as the 6th place team at the 2023 NCAA D3 XC Championships this past fall.
It also doesn’t hurt their recruiting efforts that this group has finished in the top-10 of the team standings at the past 15 cross country national meets.
Fittingly enough, this high-caliber distance program brought in a class of eight freshmen who will be facing lofty standards. Even so, this group will only help Williams' pursuit of high-level success in the coming years. In fact, two newcomers have already stepped to the line on the national stage: Morgan Eigel and Tamar Byl-Brann.
A successful first fall wasn’t really a shocking development for someone of Eigel's caliber. She was highly accomplished at the prep level with a resume that featured great versatility. She entered college with PRs of 2:25 (800), 4:48 (1500) and 10:23 (3k).
Eigel had a consistently strong debut season which included runs of 33rd place at D3 Pre-Nationals, 20th place at the NESCAC XC Championships, 20th place at the Mideast Regional XC Championships and 112th place at the cross country national meet. That latter result was good for the 11th-best freshman performance on that day, an incredibly encouraging early-career sign for someone who has already proven to be fairly talented.
On the other hand, Byl-Brann came into college just a bit less accomplished than her classmate, although not by much.
Her 2:22 (800) mark suggested that she would have no problem as a middle distance talent, And while her 5:23 (mile) and 11:32 (two-mile) personal bests were respectable, they didn’t necessarily scream that she would be a contributor on the grass this early into her collegiate career.
Although, that said, her 18:42 (5k XC) PR from high school would maybe signal otherwise.
And yet, Byl-Brann was just a few steps behind Eigel at the Mideast regional meet where she finished 22nd overall. She then closed out her season with a very strong run to place 146th at the cross country national meet, a mere 12 seconds behind Eigel.
For a program that has consistently produced countless low-stick standouts, many of whom emerge to that level relatively early-on in their Williams careers, having Eigel and Byl-Brann run as well as they did leaves us extremely bullish on their collegiate potential.
Even though she didn’t make an appearance on the national stage this fall, arguably the biggest name who the Ephs landed in this rookie class was in-state signee, Jordan Liss-Riordan of Brookline High School.
This Massachusetts native holds times that most Division Three programs dream of having, including marks of 5:03 (mile) and 10:46 (two-mile). Both of those efforts suggest that she could be a threat to break into the indoor national meet later this winter if things go her way. And over the long-term, the idea of her earning multiple All-American doesn't seem like a stretch by any means.
It also doesn’t hurt that she is rumored to have split a 2:19 (800) mark in a relay. Even though we can’t verify that exactly, it’s very reasonable considering her mile personal best.
While we were expecting to see Liss-Riordan as a contributor in the Ephs' top-seven this fall, we didn't fret when that didn't happen. And without offering too much analytical nuance, this Williams rookie projects to be an extremely valuable asset across all three seasons in the coming years.
Helen Hurden (Charlotte Latin High) and Hayley Ballard (San Domenico School) are two names who aren't all that far behind their fellow rookie counterparts.
Hurden is a key talent that this program can rely on. She’s the full package with times of 2:27 (800), 5:10 (1600) and 10:59 (3200) results. She was also the 4th place finisher at the 2022 North Carolina 4A XC State Championships.
Truthfully, Hurden belongs in the same conversation as Eigel and Byl-Brann, the duo that toed the line for the national meet this past fall. She did, after all, place 14th at the NESCAC XC Championships to earn her spot at the Mideast regional meet. However, her 44th place finish was ultimately not enough to get her a spot on the line at the NCAA XC Championships the following week.
Even so, a 10:59 (3200) PR is a time that will turn heads at the D3 level. And given her mix of instant cross country success and promising mile prowess, Hurden could theoretically be a fantastic name over 3000 meters. That is, after all, an area that Williams has thrived in.
Ballard, a 5:12 (1600) competitor, has shown flashes that she will be a huge piece of the Ephs’ distance program going forward. While her 11:11 (3200) is a good addition to her resume, it's her 17:02 (three-mile XC) mark that raises her stock to a whole new level.
Ballard projects to be a strong presence over the longer distances on the track as well as a potential low-stick on the grass one day. That may take a little bit of development, but not necessarily a ton. That three-mile time puts her in the same conversation as a few of the women who we mentioned earlier.
There’s also New York native Mariem Sayahi who has key steeplechase experience. As someone who hasn’t run any open race shorter than the 1500 meters in high school, and even tried out the 5k on the track, this longer-distance competitor could be a highly valuable steeplechaser for the Ephs.
Her 10:39 (3k) personal best and a pair of top-20 finishes in the NXR Northeast "Championship" races only adds to the intrigue. And when you really think about it, that kind of skillset reminds us a lot of multi-time All-American standout, Molly FitzGibbons.
Finally, the pick-ups of Caitlin Striff-Cave and Julia Brennan round out this freshman class. Both women will need some time to develop to become contributors to the Ephs in the future.
Striff-Cave has run 2:42 (800) and 5:36 (1600). However a lack of cross country experience in high school is actually a good thing in our eyes. In theory, she could hold great upside when she gets the chance to train year-round and move up in distance on the grass.
As for Brennan, we were unable to find high school times from her time as a prep athlete. Her best go at the 6k distance this past fall was a 25:50 mark and she proceeded to open her indoor track season with a 6:06 mile.
With some very successful high schoolers to headline this group, as well as great depth across the board, the Ephs have claimed one of the best rookie classes in all of Division Three this year.
Give them a few more semesters to adjust to Coach Dusty Lopez’s training, and it’s easy to imagine this group being among the best in the nation. After all, low-stick star Genna Girard was a 5:26 miler in high school and is now among the best in the country...
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