TSR Collaboration
Feb 2212 min
Written by Marissa Kuik & Garrett Zatlin, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin
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Click here to see our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names.
Listed eligibility takes redshirts and Covid-related extensions into consideration.
TFRRS is used as a general, but not strict, guide when determining eligibility.
Was not ranked in our last update.
First number indicates how much the individual has moved in our rankings.
The second number indicates where the individual was ranked in our last update.
There were a handful of women who we could have put at this spot. And while it wouldn't necessarily be wrong to replace Maddy Walter-Sherretts at our TSR #20 position, we think the arguments in favor of this St. Mary junior are better than a few other women.
Walter-Sherretts is one of eight women who has run under the five-minute barrier this season -- and hers was a raw time, not a conversion. That 4:59 mile effort actually came this past weekend. That's a new personal best and a clear sign of peaking for the postseason at the ideal time.
Not only that, but this Kansas-based distance talent won three different conference titles over 600 meters, 800 meters and the 4x800-meter relay. Her 600-meter victory led to her running a new PR of 1:37 which, for a miler, is pretty darn good.
There are a lot more positives on Walter-Sherretts resume than negatives. And because of that, we felt that it was only right that she was given our TSR #20 spot.
There isn't necessarily one event that we can distinctly say is Rylee Haecker's best race. However, this "jack-of-all-trades" distance runner still holds a highly dynamic resume with numerous top-listed middle and long distance marks. And in our eyes, that holds great value.
With seasonal marks of 2:15 (800), 2:54 (1k) and 5:03 (mile), all of which were converted, Haecker is a do-it-all middle distance talent whose best chance for national meet success may lie over 1000 meters. The only challenge with that, however, is that the women's 1k is incredibly loaded this year.
Even so, we still like the middle distance hybrid that Haecker has proven to be. She's experienced, has been quietly consistent and has found success in multiple events. What's not to like?
Yes, it's true, Mollie Gamble hasn't competed much this winter. In fact, she has only raced three times: Once over 3000 meters and twice over 5000 meters. That plan, however, has seemingly paid off.
Gamble just ran a new 5k PR of 17:18 at her conference meet, crossing the line alongside fellow teammate, Audrey Brinkruff. And with that effort, the Taylor veteran now sits at the NAIA #4 spot, nationally.
Truthfully, there isn't a whole lot to discuss regarding Gamble. Her latest effort was certainly within her wheelhouse and she is appropriately ranked in comparison to where the top-three 5k women, nationally, are listed in these rankings.
There are few types of runners who are more dangerous than underclassman with youth-based upside who is on a hot streak. And right now, that description is fittingly describes Emeline Delaville.
The freshman middle distance talent has quietly pieced together really strong marks this winter, first running 2:59 (1k) back in January and latter chipping away at her 800-meter PR. But what's even better is that Delaville just ran a new personal best of 2:13 (800) and matched her 2:59 (1k) PR as well.
The rookie from Life University just ran two personal bests on a championship stage and is now one of two women who have run under 2:14 for 800 meters this season. Inexperience on the national stage is something to keep in mind, but as of right now, Delaville is one of the last women who you should want to toe the line against.
The GPAC has always been a very competitive conference in the NAIA and Jessica Kampman put together a couple very impressive performances on that stage. However, before the GPAC Indoor Championships, the Dordt standout strung together a great list of performances throughout the first couple of weeks in February.
She ran 9:54 over 3000 meters and then 5:05 in the mile the following weekend. She then took on the challenging 3k/5k double at her conference meet. And the end result? Kampman came away with both individual titles.
After this weekend, Kampman is definitely looking like she not only has the fitness to be one of the best women at the national meet, but also holds some of the better momentum of the NAIA women at his level.
Though Alauna Carstens has not competed much during this indoor track season, the times that she has produced have been plenty impressive.
Her last two races, which were contested at the Husky Classic, led to her running 9:50 for 3000 meters and then doubling back with a more-than-respectable 5:00 mile time.
Both of those efforts puts her in the mix to be an All-American favorite, although the 3k is slowly turning into one of the more competitive events in the NAIA. However, from our perspective, Carstens being able to post those kinds of times with a highly limited racing schedule suggests that she is poised and ready to compete well when she needs to.
And thankfully, the national meet is just around the corner.
Breakout performances happen all the time. Sometimes they can come at the tail-end of a strong season and sometimes they can come out of nowhere. And while it would be incorrect to describe Geraldin Correa's recent success as a complete shocker, there weren't many recent signs which suggested that we would see that from her this winter.
The Lewis-Clark senior dropped an outstanding 2:12 mark for 800 meters earlier this month. And even after all of the races that followed, Correa still sits at NAIA #1 in that event on the national leaderboard. In fact, she's the only one who has run under 2:13 this season!
However, prior to then, Correa hadn't run faster than 2:16 over the half-mile distance this winter. And in her 31 instances contesting that event (per TFRRS), she had only ever gone under 2:14 twice before, both of which came at last year's indoor national meet.
Greater seasonal consistency would have maybe given Correa a little bit more of a boost in these rankings. Even so, this middle distance star has a history of peaking at the right time and could be primed to have her greatest season finale ever.
Kylahn Freiberg has put together a string of solid performances throughout February, allowing us to move her up in our rankings.
Earlier this month, Freiberg ran 2:56 for 1000 meters, adding another name to the competitive list for a coveted top-eight position in that event at the national meet. She then went on to run PRs in both the 3k and the mile at the GPAC Indoor Championships, finishing runner-up to our TSR #15 runner, Jessica Kampman.
All in all, this has been a more-than-solid month for Freiberg who is also a part of Concordia’s (Neb.) NAIA #1 ranked DMR team. But more importantly, Freiberg has continued to improve throughout this past month, meaning that she should be ready to peak at just the right time when the national meet comes around.
Kylie Sauder does drop a few spots in our rankings, but that's largely based on the other athletes in these rankings rather than anything that she has done. And truthfully, her current resume isn't quite matching up to the jump in times that we've seen around the nation.
Sauder definitely opened up her indoor track season strong, but other women in these rankings have outpaced her progression.
The Grace College ace contested the 800 meters at the Crossroads League Championships and came away with the individual title. However, her best time in the open event this season has been 2:18 which is far off of her personal best and of the competition ahead of her.
Sauder has been a part of some strong relays for Grace, so she still very well could be competitive on the national stage. However, for now, she will have to settle for TSR #12 in our rankings.
When it seemed like Lisa Voyles was going to run away with another 1k national title this winter, Ellen Palmgren opted to change that narrative. The Master's runner posted an outstanding 1000-meter mark of 2:50 at the Golden Eagle Invite last weekend. That effort puts her just outside of Voyles’ PR and, more importantly, more deeply entrenched in the national title conversation.
Palmgren also raced to an impressive 1:33 mark for 600 meters this winter, meaning that her turnover is on point and ready to go head-to-head with Voyles...well, in theory that is.
This still-rising veteran will most likely be busy with other relays come the NAIA Indoor Championships, but she should still have the strength and the stamina to put up a good fight in the 1k and whatever else she decides to race in.
Alex Ebetino took the relay-centric approach at her conference meet last weekend, along with one individual event, at the Crossroads League Championships. There, she placed runner-up over 3000 meters behind Elizabeth Barrett of Indiana Wesleyan while also acting as the anchor leg for her DMR and an 800-meter leg in the 4x800-meter relay.
The St. Francis product will most likely contest the 3k and the 5k on the national stage, so working on some turnover this past weekend means that she will be ready for any tactical racing. And, of course, that will more than likely happen given all of the preliminary rounds.
Ebetino is following everything by the book by tuning up right before the indoor national meet, ensuring she is as fresh and sharp as possible while maintaining her fitness. And given her lengthy experience, we feel comfortable saying that she has a high floor going into next week.
Despite missing her mile PR in the mile by one second (crossing the line at 4:58), sophomore standout Noel VanderWall still took home her conference title. She also helped her team in the DMR to earn another win at the Crossroads League Championships. However, in the process, she had to take down other prominent names on that anchor leg including Alex Ebetino of St. Francis and Elizabeth Barrett of Indiana Wesleyan.
To see VanderWall put together some of her best performances of the season at her conference meet signals strong momentum going into the NAIA Indoor Championships. She has been making steady progress this winter and is seemingly beginning to peak right on time (just like she did last year).
It's easy to run fast at meets that are set up for fast times, but it's another thing to win championship races -- and that is exactly what VanderWall did this past weekend in both the mile and the DMR.
Just like some of the other names on this list, Alina Boshchuk had a very busy, but very successful, conference meet showing. Despite being just a freshman, the Cumberlands distance star competed in the mile, the 3k and the 5k at the Mid-South Indoor Championships, taking home two wins and settling for 3rd place in the mile.
Boshchuk just put together a promising conference championship showing where she masterfully handled a heavy racing workload. And it's that recent consistency and reliability that only gives us more confidence that she will be able to handle the rounds on the national stage despite her rookie status.
Talk about a huge improvement! Hannah Fredericks went from running 10:17 over 3000 meters at the Sunshine Open on February 10th, to running 9:42 this past weekend! But while that kind of leap may be surprising on the surface, there were already signs which suggested that something like this was coming.
At the beginning of February, Fredericks raced at an outdoor meet over 1500 meters, running 4:33 at that distance. And though it was on an outdoor oval, a similar effort in an indoor mile would have put her around 4:52.
With a time like that, Fredericks would be competitive for the national title in that event.
But given that recent background information, her 9:42 (3k) PR starts to make more sense. Fredericks does seem to be all-in for the 3k (at least for individual events) considering that she does not have a mile time. And if that is the case, then she might have some of the fresher legs going into the 3k on the national stage.
The 1000 meters is slowly turning into one of the most competitive distance events at this year's indoor national meet. Part of that reason is because Ana Pineda added to that exceptionally deep list by running 2:56 at the CACC Indoor Championships. She took home the individual title in that event, along with wins over 800 meters and 3000 meters.
For Pineda to run so fast in the 1k, but still secure victories in multiple events shows us that this veteran not only range, but she can use that range, effectively.
With such great turnover, Pineda will do just fine in the tactical racing style, but she'll also have the ability to run hard from the gun. Now all that Pineda has to decide is...which events will she race in?
The nice thing about conference weekend is that gives runners a chance to practice competing at a high level in multiple events before they move on to the national meet. And as we all know, that latter stage usually numerous preliminary rounds.
And if conference meet success is any indication about what she'll do next week, then Caitlin Dominy is someone who you should buy stock in. She did, after all, take home the individual titles over 3k and 5k at the Appalachian AC Indoor Championships while also placing 2nd in the mile.
This long-time NAIA veteran has been on a very impressive streak this winter, running personal best after personal best. And now, when you look at her entire indoor track season, Dominy's tactical aptitude looks just as strong as it ever has been.
Though "last chance" meets are usually for sneaking into the NAIA Indoor Championships, Abbey Shirts used it as an opportunity to enter the 1000-meter national title conversation.
At the EOU Last Chance Meet, Shirts ran a converted 1k time of 2:53. On top of that, earlier in the month, she was a part of College of Idaho’s impressive DMR team that ran 12:07. On that relay, Shirts ran the opening leg (1200), a distance fairly similar to the 1k.
Though the 1k is turning into a very competitive event, nationally, Shirts has still be able to put herself in the same tier as the very best women in the NAIA. And with two top-13 marks (on the national leaderboard) between the mile and the 3000 meters, the overall value of Shirts' resume was far too great to not reward.
The cross country national meet runner-up has had a slower and more delayed start to her 2024 indoor track season compared to a few others. Of course, that is roughly on brand based on her prior indoor track schedules.
And more importantly, Ellyse Tingelstad is ramping up just at the right time.
The College of Idaho ace first ran a time of 17:09 for 5000 meters during the first weekend of February. Then, this past weekend, she ran 10:00 over 3000 meters at the Mountain Games in Idaho. In that race, she secured the overall win, beating Division One runners while earning an altitude conversion of 9:47.
And now, both of those times put Tingelstad right in the mix for the 3k and/or 5k individual national titles. Whether she is favored for gold is another story, but her talent compared to other top NAIA women is arguably just as good and most times, better.
After an impressive mile time of 4:55 at the Music City Challenge, Ellen-Mary Kearney put together an insanely strong conference campaign. Kearney ended up winning three individual events at the Appalachian AC Indoor Championships over 800 meters, 100 meters and the mile. Oh, and she was then part of the 2nd place 4x400-meter relay.
The Milligan sophomore also won those individual titles in what were arguably the hardest events. For Kearney to compete in so many races and run tactically enough to secure multiple wins is a good indication that she is ready for the hectic schedule of the indoor national meet.
After an early jump to the season, taking a few NAIA #1 spots on the national leaderboard, Lisa Voyles has been focused on the relays, including the DMR and the 4x800-meter relay.
In the DMR, she ran the fourth leg, storming to an overall relay time of 11:56. She then raced this past weekend at the WHAC Indoor Championships where she helped her team to gold in the 4x800 meter-relay. And of course, Voyles still took to the track in her primary event, the 1000 meters, taking home the conference title with ease in a time of 2:52.
Voyles looks to be in good shape going into the national meet. She's been able to focus on some relays and further refine her fitness while not being stressed about hitting a certain time. Expect to see Voyles in a plethora of individual and relay events as Indiana Tech looks to win another national team title and as Voyles looks to add to her collection.
Geraldin Correa (Lewis-Clark)
Emeline Delaville (Life)
Maddy Walter-Sherretts (St. Mary (KS))
KICKED OFF
Veronica Pinkerton (Hastings)
Anna Martin (Huntington)
Sage Martin (College of Idaho)
JUST MISSED (in no particular order)
Reagan Hiebert (St. Mary (KS))
Kahea Figueira (College of Idaho)
Haley Nieuwkoop (Cornerstone)
Veronica Pinkerton (Hastings)
Allison Ramsay (St. Francis (Ill.))
Annika Alderfer Fisher (Goshen)
Jenna Esch (Concordia (Neb.))
Cailen Jolley (Oklahoma City)
Riley Hiebert (St. Mary (KS))
HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)
Hasnae Goulamzi (Texas Wesleyan)
Ahna Niedeck (Taylor)
Anna Martin (Huntington)
Suzie Johnson (The Master's)
Kate Madsen (St. Mary (KS))
Maria Tirado (William Carey)
Jaqueline Albo (Lawrence Tech)
Elizabeth Barrett (Indiana Wesleyan)
Audrey Brinkruff (Taylor)
Addi Dewey (Indiana Wesleyan)
Notes
- N/A