TSR's 2023 D1 Indoor Top 25 Individual Rankings (Women): Update #1

Written by Maura Beattie, Scotty Loughlin & Garrett Zatlin

Do you have an interest in writing for The Stride Report? We're looking for D1 women's writers, high school writers and potentially NAIA writers. Want to know more? Read this and send us an email at contact@thestridereport.com to let us know!

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 guide when determining eligibility.

Was not ranked in our last update.

First number indicates how much the athlete has moved in our rankings.

The second number indicates where the athlete was ranked in our last update.

Despite running a 2:43 mark over 1000 meters -- good for a top-25 spot on the NCAA all-time list -- Harvard’s Maia Ramsden falls to the last spot in our rankings. That, however, is mainly due to a slew of monster performances from other athletes in one of the fastest (if not the fastest) weekends in track and field history.

Although Ramsden’s 8:54 (3k) personal best from December is still good for an NCAA #4 spot at the distance, it’s beginning to look like the Harvard ace will need to show improvement in the mile or 5000 meters if she wishes to be a threat in multiple events at the national meet.

The good news is that we know how talented she was in the 1500 meters last spring. She ran 4:12 for the metric mile and is almost certainly guaranteed to improve upon her current 4:36 mile PR. But until that improvement is shown, Ramsden will slot below other runners who have proven their value as true dual-threats in than one event this winter.

There was no way that we could get away with leaving Kaylee Mitchell unranked in this edition of our top-25 list. The Beaver veteran currently sits at NCAA #5 in the 3000 meters with her incredible 8:55 mark from December. That result alone nearly got her onto our preseason list.

But then Mitchell added a blistering 4:32 mile PR from the Razorback Invitational where she won her heat and finished right behind Lauren Gregory in the overall results to notch a spot at NCAA #8 in the event.

If Mitchell follows the same trajectory as she did a year ago, she’ll lock-in on the 3k when it comes time for the NCAA Indoor Championships. However, her latest performance suggests that she is a threat at multiple events this winter and that she could flex better finishing speed in a championship setting over 3000 meters than she was able to a year ago.

Few women are as talented as Claire Seymour is in the 800 meters. She historically peaks at the right time, has a 2:01 PR for the half-mile event and is one of the more experienced middle distance talents in the nation.

But Seymour was listed in heat five of the women's 800 meters and at the Razorback Invitational, an entry that we found fairly odd. However, after seeing her fade hard in that race, running a time of 2:07 and finishing 4th in her heat, it's hard to find any room for her within the top-20 portion of our rankings.

Seymour remains in our rankings because a) that was her season debut (and therefore a rust-buster) and b) her history suggests that she'll be excellent in the postseason.

Even so, we're going to be keeping a cautious eye on this BYU star as she works her way up on the national leaderboard over 800 meters.

Natalie Cook has not competed since our last update. Her drop in our rankings stems more from the performances of others rather than what she has done.

Olivia Markezich has not competed since our last update. Her drop in our rankings stems more from the performances of others rather than what she has done.

It's been hard to dislike anything that Imogen Barrett has done on the track over the last year or two. The dynamic 800/mile hybrid talent holds personal bests of 2:01 (800) and 4:14 (1500), as well as an All-American honor from last spring.

Momentum has since followed Barrett into these winter months. She has run 2:04 for 800 meters in her season debut and more recently 2:03 this past weekend. That latter effort was nearly enough to take down Stanford star Roisin Willis in the process.

Barrett moves up slightly in this week's ranking update, but her real value within our top-25 will be measured by how effectively she moves up to the mile distance.

It feels a bit unfair to keep Valery Tobias no higher and no lower than where she was listed in our preseason rankings. The Texas veteran put together an unexciting rust-buster effort in Louisville, but then came back to drop a monster time of 2:02 for 800 meters at Boston University.

Tobias did finish last in her heat, but she was the top collegiate in a field full of professional runners. And when you run a personal best on the indoor oval, it's hard to ignore.

Tobias always seems to deliver in highly competitive standings and in a year where she needed to improve to compete with a top-heavy 800 meter field, nationally, she has seemingly done exactly that.

The only reason why she's not moving up is simply due to the performances of other women around the NCAA.

Well this is a pleasant surprise!

Wilma Nielsen burst onto our radar when she ran 2:03 for 800 meters at the University of Iowa a couple of weeks ago. The Bradley ace from overseas has run 2:02 before and was actually a 2021 outdoor national meet qualifier.

But Nielsen wasn't someone who we had seriously considered as a potential middle distance threat this season. She had never run faster than 2:05 at the collegiate level. That's why her recent 2:03 effort caught us a little bit off guard.

Of course, what truly stunned us was seeing Nielsen throw down a nearly-unbelievable 1000 meter time of 2:38.95 this past weekend. She barely missed the collegiate record and now sits at NCAA #2 all-time in the event.

That performance has left us a little speechless. Nothing on her resume suggested that she would run under 2:42, much less 2:39. And with a time like that, one has to think that she can at least run 2:01 this winter (and likely faster).

We're placing Nielsen at "only" TSR #18 simply because we don't know how that 1k effort will translate to the 800 meters or the mile. But if history has told us anything, it's that Nielsen is going to be a legitimate All-American favorite come March.

Alabama's Flomena Asekol, who was an All-American in cross country this past fall and ran a strong 4:32 mile at the Boston University Season Opener back in December, dropped down in distance this past weekend at the Bob Pollock Invite.

The junior toed the line for the 800 meters and came out with a 3rd place finish and a 2:04 PR. Her finishing time was a three-second improvement off of her previous personal best.

Given that she has 2:04 speed and a strong endurance background thanks to cross country, it would be interesting to see what Asekol could do over 3000 meters. Her current best is an altitude-converted 10:03 mark, but the Crimson distance runner could be on the cusp of a sub-9:00 (3k) result under the right race circumstances.

And if her recent middle distance success is any indication, then Asekol could be a legitimate problem in a tactical 3k championship race if she utilizes her speed properly.

Show some love for Rutgers!

Alexandra Carlson joins our rankings this week after a huge performance at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic in the mile. The Scarlet Knight ace beat out a slew of professional runners and top collegiate women when she finished 2nd in a time of 4:31.

This was a five-second PR for Carlson and it shot her up on the NCAA leaderboard in the mile. Now, all of the sudden, this New Jersey-based distance talent is now in the conversation for an All-American finish in said event.

But it's not just because she ran a fast time that we say that. Her leaps in fitness have been massive, she has begun to develop decent range and she has proven to be competitive with top names since her very first collegiate indoor track race.

The sophomore talent had been a still-developing underdog in the college system prior to this season. But with more experience now under her belt, Carlson is not only making a name for herself in the NCAA, but is also bringing attention to Rutgers' track and field program.

After a modest 9:08 (3k) effort in December (“modest” as defined by today’s wildly-fast NCAA scene), Anna Gibson kicked off the new year with an impressive double of 2:05 (800) and 4:35 (mile) at the Washington Preview.

That was a very encouraging return from winter break and it signaled that she may be building on the momentum of her quietly solid cross country season.

And while those marks were a solid indication of progression, it was the Husky star’s 4:37 mile time at the New Mexico Team Open -- which sits at nearly 5000 feet of elevation – that dropped our jaws to the floor. In the end, that performance gave her a 4:31 conversion.

Depending on who you ask, six seconds can seem like a generous conversion for altitude, but given the fact that Gibson has run 4:32 at sea level in the past, this feels like a fair and accurate representation of the Washington veteran’s ability.

That said, a quick mark at sea level would be a nice boost to Gibson’s resume as we seek to compare her to other athletes in future editions of our rankings.

But for now, a TSR #15 ranking feels appropriate.

NC State's versatile veteran star, Sam Bush, has capitalized on both her speed and endurance this indoor track season. And with the Camel City Invite (mile) next on deck for the junior, we will get to see the two greatest tools in her racing arsenal blend for a potentially massive performance.

At the Hokie Invite, we anticipated for there to be a competitive race between Virginia Tech’s Lindsey Butler and Bush over 1000 meters. Both women had a 1k personal best of 2:43 heading into the race and have essentially zero instances of head-to-head competition against one another.

The potential was there for Bush to vie for the win, but that didn’t materialize for the Wolfpack junior. The NC State star held her own in her first race since December, although her recent 2:45 (1k) mark had the potential to be at least one or two seconds faster.

Bush will regroup for her upcoming mile in what will be a highly competitive field. Either way, she has already proven herself as one of the NCAA’s most versatile athletes and her value for any collegiate distance team is among the best in the nation.

The highest spot given to a previously unranked athlete in this week's top-25 update is LSU’s Michaela Rose…and it’s well deserved!

The Tiger star showed signs of high potential as a freshman with perhaps her best rookie performance coming at the 2022 SEC Outdoor Championships. Once there, she ran 2:02 in the 800 meters to earn a runner-up finish to Imogen Barrett.

And yet, despite that electric time, Rose failed to qualify for the national meet as an individual.

This time around, it hasn’t even taken until the spring for Rose to bloom. The sophomore has opened up her indoor track season with a PR in the mile (4:52) and a much more exciting 2:01 mark for 800 meters at the Razorback Invitational which currently leads the NCAA.

But what's even more shocking was how she did it.

The LSU ace soloed her 2:01 PR entirely on her own. After not being seeded in the fastest section, Rose took matters into her own hands and beat her competition by over five seconds. She also out-ran the top heat winner (Roisin Willis) by over two seconds

We’ll need to see this caliber of performance on a consistent basis for Rose to crack our top-10. But through the early part of this season, she appears to be one of the most formidable challengers to the Stanford freshmen duo of Roisin Willis and Juliette Whittaker, as well as the odds-on favorite to win another 800 meter national title, Lindsey Butler.

Hilda Olemomoi has not competed since our last update.

Since our first edition of our rankings, Gabija Galvydyte has performed up to what her potential and previous marks would suggest. However, at the same time, she hasn’t truly exploded with an Earth-shattering time like others in the NCAA were able to do in January.

Marks of 2:47 (1k), 2:04 (800) and 3:20 (1200 split) all show that this Cowgirl star is fit and healthy. There is still plenty of time for her to regain positions within our top-25, especially if she were to go all-in on one event in February and chase a PR.

But until another performance on the wavelength of her 4:32 mile occurs, Galvydyte will slot in just outside of the top-10 in our rankings.

As expected, Stanford's dynamic duo of Juliette Whittaker and Roisin Willis have been kicking butt right off the bat. Both freshmen have raced three times this season, twice in individual events and once alongside their Cardinal teammates in the DMR.

At the Washington Preview, Whittaker took on the 800 meters while Willis showcased speed in the 400 meters. Whittaker’s winning time of 2:02 may not have been her PR, but it was quite the way to make her collegiate track debut. And then there was Willis, running 53.65 seconds, winning by almost three seconds.

The rust was busted for these two following that meet.

Two weeks later at the Razorback Invite, the DMR was the first event on deck for Whittaker and Willis. The former led-off for Stanford, passing the baton off in the lead after clocking a fantastic 3:18 split, the second-fastest in collegiate history. One leg later, Willis received the baton for the 800 meter leg and ran the fastest half-mile split ever recorded at 2:01.

The weekend was starting out well and ended on a high note after the individual events.

Whittaker ran a new mile PR of 4:33, finishing 4th overall and runner-up in the fastest heat. She showed tremendous poise despite having to fend off an incredibly accomplished and crowded field. Then, in the open 800 meters, Willis won her heat, but finished 2nd overall with a 2:03 mark thanks to Michaela Rose's solo effort in heat five.

It's not just that Whittaker and Willis are running ridiculously fast times. We figured that they would probably do that. But their poise in high-pressure situations and their reliability has proven to be far better than we were expecting for the month of January.

We are sure that everyone wants to see what it will look like when Whittaker and Willis go head-to-head in the 800 meters. And if we had to guess, that time has to be coming very soon.

Kelsey Chmiel has not competed since our last update.

Mercy Chelangat has not competed since our last update.

Gosh, Ceili McCabe looks incredibly dangerous right now.

The West Virginia superstar has been viewed as a true "elite" in the women's NCAA distance running scene for the past year and a half. However, she has never looked as good as she does now.

McCabe's 3k victory over Olivia Markezich en route to an 8:50 personal best was beyond fantastic. She ran a blistering fast time, but also flexed all the tactical subtleties that you would want from someone ranked in our top-10.

And after throwing down a 4:31 mile PR in a wildly fast race at The Armory, McCabe seemingly has the turnover and speed to contend for a national title in a tactical race (depending on what Tuohy runs, of course).

The Mountaineer is becoming increasingly more well-rounded. And if she can peak in March, then we could be in store for a historic performance.

On paper, Oklahoma State's Taylor Roe was probably viewed as the overall favorite to win the women's mile at the Razorback Invitational. Instead, she faded to 3rd place in her heat and ran a time of 4:34, just a second off from her personal best.

While we did think that Roe would run a little bit quicker, no one should be concerned about this result. This is still a really solid performance for someone who is viewed as a predominant 3000 meter and 5000 meter runner. And if she's still running around the same marks as last year, then I don't know if we should really have any urgency with this result.

And let's not forget, this past weekend was her season debut...

Razorback veteran Lauren Gregory received a preseason ranking at TSR #6 due to her track record of consistency throughout her star-studded career. Her season opener left us wanting the slightest bit more and she didn't have a cross country season, so it was admittedly hard to properly gauge this long-time Arkansas star.

But already in January, Gregory has set a new personal best, winning the Razorback Invitational mile (which was a loaded field) in a time of 4:31. That mark now sits at NCAA #5 on the national leaderboard.

With Gregory flexing more speed than we’ve ever seen before -- also evident by her 4:29 anchor split on Arkansas’ DMR -- it will be fascinating to see if she’s also able to improve upon her marks in the 3k and the 5k. Her ability to surge and kick in tactical races could also get very interesting on the national stage...

One thing is certain with Gregory: Her competitors will have to be on notice for whichever events she pursues at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Her rare level of range earns her a two-spot jump up in our rankings.

It wasn’t exactly the race that we wanted to see Parker Valby in, but seeing a primarily longer distance runner throw down a 4:35 split on a distance medley relay is still impressive.

The Florida superstar was competing for the first time this winter since finishing runner-up at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships. And although it wasn’t an open event, her DMR split needs to be further analyzed.

Coming into college, Valby had a modest 1600 meter PR of 4:50. But keep in mind, that time was run back in 2019. Seeing the third-year sophomore put up a 4:35 split in a deep field is promising heading into the latter portion of this indoor track season.

Valby tried to make a relatively early move to the front during her anchor leg -- with about 700 meters to go -- but she was up against experienced 800 meter and mile talents and had to make up a tremendous gap. In the end, she just wasn’t able to hang on.

We already know that Valby will make a statement the next time that she headlines a start list, but will it be in the 3k or the 5k? Either event is possible for the Florida star to compete in and so is a shiny PR. The Gator ace has shown on numerous occasions that she likes to run from the front and doesn’t mind going solo en route to a top national-caliber time.

Buckle up, Valby is about to spark some fireworks.

Leading up and to this past weekend, Virginia Tech's Lindsey Butler had raced twice, once in the 1000 meters and once in the 3000 meters. Neither of those races were her primary event (the 800 meters).

But, that’s okay. February is coming soon and based on the way that she has raced thus far, Butler is surely in for a big-time race.

To start her season, the Hokie athlete competed in the 3000 meters, showcasing some of her strength. Butler ran a strong 9:27 PR to finish 2nd overall in that contest. Not bad for someone who favors much fewer laps on the indoor oval.

And then things got interesting two weeks ago.

Butler, competing on her home track, got a huge victory as well as a new one-second PR when she ran 2:42 for 1000 meters. This is a highly encouraging development for the Virginia Tech senior as she looks to repeat as the 800 meter NCAA indoor champion. And right now, she is seemingly one step ahead from where she was last winter at this time.

Up next for this Hokie megastar is the Camel City Elite Invite where she will finally toe the line for the 800 meters. Butler will be facing a field of both collegiate competitors and professional athletes, something that likely won't faze her.

Can she take over the 800 meter national lead this weekend?

Well, it’s been a hot minute since NC State’s Katelyn Tuohy last raced a mile.

Her last contested mile was back in 2019 (in high school), but this past weekend at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge, Tuohy showed us that a long layoff like that means nothing...at least not for her.

The Wolfpack ace not only dropped a 15-second PR en route to a 4:24 mile time, but she also took down the collegiate record, held previously by Colorado’s Jenny Simpson (née Barringer), by over a second and a half. This is the first NCAA record of Tuohy’s career and only adds to her current list of accolades on her resume.

NC State has one of the single-most talented distance runners in NCAA history. Tuohy has proven that she can run a fast time at basically any distance. She's simply incredible. With 4:24 mile speed, questions are starting to pop up for what the rising phenom can do in the 3000 meters two weeks from now at the Millrose Games.

Her current 3k PR of 8:54 is likely not even on her mind right now.

But we can only assume that the NCAA record of 8:41 is surely in her sights.

Kaylee Mitchell (Oregon State)

Wilma Nielsen (Bradley)

Alex Carlson (Rutgers)

Michaela Rose (LSU)

Anna Gibson (Washington)

Carley Thomas (Washington)

Sarah Hendrick (Kennesaw State)

Katy-Ann McDonald (Georgetown)

Amaris Tyynismaa (Alabama)

Olivia Howell (Illinois)

Amina Maatoug (Duke)

Grace Fetherstonhaugh (Oregon State)

Izzy Thornton-Bott (Oregon)

Elise Stearns (Northern Arizona)

Ella Baran (Colorado)

Katy-Ann McDonald (Georgetown)

Mia Barnett (UCLA)

Gracelyn Larkin (New Mexico)

Isabel Van Camp (Arkansas)

Allison Johnson (Penn State)

Gabrielle Wilkinson (Florida)

Kassidy Johnson (Rutgers)

Emma Heckel (New Mexico)

Amelia Mazza-Downie (New Mexico)

Laura Pellicoro (Portland)

Emily Venters (Utah)

Sophie O’Sullivan (Washington)

Sydney Seymour (NC State)

Jenna Schwinghamer (Kentucky)

Melissa Riggins (Georgetown)

Riley Chamberlain (BYU)

Carley Thomas (Washington)

Sarah Hendrick (Kennesaw State)

Katy-Ann McDonald (Georgetown)

Amaris Tyynismaa (Alabama)

Olivia Howell (Illinois)

Rylee Penn (Cincinnati)

Alli Hays (NC State)

Shannon Flockhart (Providence)

Klaudia Kazimierska (Oregon)

Stefani Parsons (New Mexico)

Gracie Morris (TCU)

Alessia Zarbo (Oregon)

Emily Covert (Colorado)

Billah Jerpkirui (Oklahoma State)

Dorcus Ewoi (Campbell)

Sydney Steely (Kentucky)

Megan Marvin (Furman)

Marlee Starliper (NC State)

Everlyn Kemboi (Utah Valley)

Katherine Mitchell (Boston College)

Isabella Giesing (UMass Lowell)

Simone Plourde (Utah)

Taryn Parks (North Carolina)

Savannah Shaw (NC State)

Ruby Smee (San Francisco)

Tori Herman (Kentucky)

Madison Heisterman (Washington)

Addie Engel (Ohio State)

Amanda Vestri (Syracuse)

Lexy Halladay-Lowry (BYU)

Aubrey Frentheway (BYU)

Zofia Dudek (Stanford)