TSR Collaboration
Oct 23, 20239 min
Written by Marissa Kuik & Grace McLaughlin
Additional edits and commentary via Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve
NOTE: These rankings are based on how a team fared throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at a singular meet or (eventually) at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships. Click here to learn more about our ranking criteria.
Was not ranked in our last update.
First number indicates how much the team has moved in the rankings.
The second number indicates where the team was ranked in our last update.
The Augustana (SD) women continue to hold their won this season despite losing some key names from last fall. That was further evidenced this past weekend when the Vikings came away with a respectable runner-up performance at the NSIC XC Championships, finishing behind only Winona State.
While we thought that they may challenge the Warriors a bit more for the win, the Vikings just didn't have enough firepower and their opponents showed few cracks in their facade. However, more importantly, there was a somewhat clear divide in this team's lineup after Aubrey Surage (6th) and Ella Bakken (7th). That, in turn, actually led to Winona State having better depth through five runners.
Even so, Augustana’s top-five scorers finished within 24 seconds of each other and on a stage like the NCAA XC Championships, that can be a fairly effective lineup model. In fact, they could be similar in construction (and success) to last year's Cedarville team.
Regardless of whether any lone individual emerges as All-American, the Vikings' scoring five may finish close enough to each other and keep their score low enough for another top-10 finish in their season finale come November. If they can move up in competitive fields while keeping a tight spread, then Augustana is not going to be an easy team to take down.
9. UC-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions (0 / 9)
Some D2 distance fans may find it surprising that the UC-Colorado Springs women did not drop out of our rankings after an underwhelming 5th place finish at the RMAC XC Championships, settling behind CSU-Pueblo.
However, Saturday's race was actually one of the Mountain Lions’ more encouraging performances based on how their backend runners stepped up and navigated a challenging field. But the biggest reason why the Mountain Lions lost to the ThunderWolves was the unfortunate event of low-stick ace Kate Hedlund going down with about 100 meters to go and having to walk across the line, ultimately finishing 53rd overall.
If Hedlund was in top form, then the Mountain Lions would have beaten CSU-Pueblo and have come awfully close to Western Colorado. And now, you can begin to see why UCCS remains at TSR #9 during this week's update.
If the Mountain Lions' third, fourth and fifth scorers -- Rachel Richtman (21st), Nadine Almasri (29th) and Rachel Goodrich (35th) -- had not beaten expectations like they did, then UCCS' final team score could have looked a lot worse. With Hedlund performing how she usually does near Anna Fauske (5th), this squad is actually a comfortable top-10 team in Division Two, even in a reloading year.
8. Chico State Wildcats (0 / 8)
After coming away with an easy win at the CCAA XC Championships, the Wildcats remain at TSR #8 in this week's rankings update. This Chico State squad continues to be fairly consistent throughout its scoring lineup which has benefitted from the rise of the Molina twins as more potent low-sticks.
Coming through in 3rd and 4th place, respectively, Iresh and Della Molina kept their team undefeated through the conference meet. However, the Wildcats’ strength actually lies within their tight spread. Roughly 30 seconds separated their first and fifth scorers in their most recent effort.
Admittedly, Chico State has yet to compete against many teams outside of the West region and they likely won't until the cross country national meet. Nonetheless, at this juncture, it's safe to say that this team is the supreme program our west. The Wildcats’ close pack should hold up on the national stage where lineup gaps can be exposed.
7. Lewis Flyers (-1 / 6)
No surprises here, the Lewis women took home the win at the GLVC XC Championships, scoring a measly 28 points with Hannah Smrcka taking home the individual title.
Seeing as their conference is not as competitive as others, it's a bit harder to judge how the Flyers will fare come time for the NCAA XC Championships outside of how they ran at their home meet, the Lewis XC Crossover.
Their first-to-fifth scorer spread of 1:01 at a relatively smaller conference meet is not ideal when moving up to a larger field, but the Lewis women have ably met every challenge put in front of them this fall. They've already surpassed expectations and have proven that they can beat top teams such as Winona State and Colorado Christian at their home meet.
Even so, I'm not sure that we learned anything new about this group this past weekend.
6. Lee (Tenn.) Flames (-1 / 5)
Aria Hawkins unsurprisingly led her team to another conference title at the Gulf South XC Championships in what was a fairly easy win for the Flames. The team looked about as sharp as they did in their impressive outing in Louisville a few weeks earlier when they beat previously higher-ranked teams like UC-Colorado Springs and West Texas A&M.
That kind of consistency, regardless of the stakes, setting and opposition, is encouraging to see from a team with the kind of expectations that the Flames hold.
Hawkins' development as a more potent low-stick gives the Flames a slightly higher ceiling. Plus, their next four scorers have been able to stay in somewhat close contact to each other in a variety of different-looking fields.
Lee (Tenn.) is the kind of program that measures their success in trophies, and so far this fall, the Flames have risen to the occasion, setting up for what could be their best postseason finish yet.
5. Winona State Warriors (+2 / 7)
One of the biggest questions of conference meet weekend was if Winona State’s firepower could overtake Augustana’s depth to win the NSIC title. Well, the Warriors answered that question convincingly, winning gold with 38 points to the Vikings' 57 points.
The Warriors went 1-2-9-12-14, continuing to show improvement at the backend of their lineup while building momentum as the season progresses.
Superstar Lindsay Cunningham won the individual title and crossed the finish line a whopping 49 seconds ahead of the runner-up finisher and fellow Warrior, Kaylee Beyer. Those two provide minimal point scoring in almost any setting, but that wasn't the necessarily the biggest development from Saturday's race.
The backend trio of Sophia Taarud (9th), McKenna Taylor (12th) and Allison Kenefick (14th) rounded out Winona State's scoring. Those were very solid performances. Taarud continues to emerge as a highly underrated third scorer and Taylor seemingly took a small step up from what has been a fairly quiet season for her so far.
Winona State’s depth hits a major drop off after their final scorer. Even so, the Warriors still move up a bit to TSR #5 due to the improvements that we’ve seen throughout the later-half of their scoring contingent. It was also reassuring to see them succeed against a different kind of lineup structure than their own (read: Augustana) in a new setting.
4. Western Colorado Mountaineers (0 / 4)
Western Colorado stays at TSR #4 in our second rankings update after a bronze medal performance at the RMAC XC Championships. We expected the Mountaineers to take home 3rd place on Saturday and they did just that with a score of 94 points.
Allison Beasley continues to rise to an elite level. Seeing her earn the individual silver medal against top RMAC competition validated our expectations for her in terms of low-stick scoring potency. Fellow teammate Leah Taylor also had a solid performance in 11th place. She continues to show us her competitive prowess, effectively offering Western Colorado another low-stick.
Behind their experienced stars, the Mountaineers relied on a very young group of women to round out their scoring lineup.
Jayda Nix (26th), Peyton Weiss (28th) and Lauren Wilson (32nd) are all freshmen eligibility-wise (per TFRRS) and were the determining factors in this team’s success. That trio of rookies, along with Gretchen Slattum (33rd), displayed impressive pack-running and demonstrated the stability of WCU's lineup behind their two stars.
On paper, it was a perfectly balanced group, even if they weren't the most exciting.
The Mountaineers deservedly maintain their TSR #4 ranking, but this is likely as high as their ceiling for success stretches without more elite talents next to Beasley and Taylor. Regardless, we think it's safe to say that Saturday's race showed that the Mountaineers are just as good as we expected, if not better. With sufficient firepower at the top and an ability to compete as a group beyond that, it's hard not to like this lineup structure.
3. Colorado Mines Orediggers (0 / 3)
The Orediggers finished runner-up at the RMAC XC Championships, which was expected, but how they achieved it was somewhat surprising.
Colorado Mines scored an impressive total of 56 points on Saturday. However, that result becomes even more impressive when you realize that they were without usual varsity scorers Molly Maksin, Riley McGrath and Alexis Herr.
Low-stick ace Holly Moser exceeded expectations with her 4th place finish while Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge also had a fantastic day in 7th place. Grace Strongman (8th) continues to prove that she is the real deal while Clare Peters (14th) was pretty much on par with what we would expect from her.
Margaux Basart (23rd) potentially could have been a few spots better, but this was still a very solid result for the young, developing talent.
Not running McGrath, Maksin or Herr is a bit concerning, but the Orediggers are likely just resting their depth ahead of the ultra-competitive South Central Regional XC Championships in early November.
The fact that the Orediggers still placed 2nd with a relatively low point total tells us what we already knew: They have formidable depth which is far more potent than what most other teams have. Some of the women at the backend of their scoring lineup have also been better than expected.
With this performance, Colorado Mines further built on our confidence in keeping them as our TSR #3 team in Division Two.
2. Adams State Grizzlies (0 / 2)
The Grizzlies hold steady after easily winning the RMAC title with a score of 32 points and they did so without someone who we expected to be their front-running star this fall.
Brianna Robles won the individual title in convincing fashion. That, of course, was hardly surprising (but awfully impressive). Meanwhile, Emily Schoellkopf led the chase pack across the line and earned the individual bronze, a fantastic low-stick result which may have been her best race on the grass yet.
Ava O’Connor (6th) and Morgan Hykes (10th) also placed in the top-10, the former of which was another better-than-expected result and further built our confidence in the Grizzlies' firepower. However, you could argue that Elena Carey’s (12th) rise to the fifth scoring position in her team's lineup was the most notable development from this race.
And just to highlight their depth, Tristian Spence (15th) and Reina Paredes (18th) also placed in the top-20 in one of the most competitive races of the season.
But despite all of those results, the biggest surprise from this race was Stephanie Cotter’s continued absence despite being listed in the entries. Adding her into this lineup would elevate this team to another level of dominance within the RMAC and put Adams State on more equal footing with Grand Valley State.
Unfortunately, it's unclear as to whether or not the Irish distance star will be in a Grizzlies singlet later this season.
Another surprise from these results was Vienna Lahner’s 28th place finish after being the team's second scorer at the Louisville XC Classic. Even so, Adams State has to feel positive about how they performed even without Lahner's scoring boost. Knowing that she can be a more potent scoring weapon in the future is nice to have.
Admittedly, winning the RMAC title, even as convincingly as they did, doesn’t tell us anything new about this Adams State team. They are clearly the second-best team in the country, but potentially not having Cotter for the rest of the season makes it hard to see their ceiling as being any higher.
1. Grand Valley State Lakers (0 / 1)
Most recently, the Lakers dominated the GLIAC XC Championships. Not only did they score a perfect 15 points, but they swept the top-seven places and had another runner finish 9th!
Natalie Graber unsurprisingly won the individual title. Ana Tucker continues to be a valuable addition to the program and was the runner-up finisher. Klaudia O’Malley is beginning her usual postseason peak and had a strong bronze medal performance.
Taryn Chapko was impressive in 4th place finish and also appears to be building her momentum as the season progresses. Lauren Kiley’s 5th place finish wasn't up to par with her earlier results, but we're not panicking about any of these results. Abby VanderKooi and Kayce Rypma’s respective 6th and 7th place finishes were solid as well.
It's hard to find a flaw in the Lakers’ lineup. They have tons of firepower up front, an experienced middle-lineup group and an insane amount of depth that provides backend support and overall stability.
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KICKED OFF
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JUST MISSED (in no particular order)
CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves
Colorado Christian Cougars
West Texas A&M Buffaloes
Cedarville Yellow Jackets
Western Washington Vikings
Wayne State (MI) Warriors
Biola Eagles
HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)
Pittsburg State Gorillas
Wingate Bulldogs
Dallas Baptist Patriots
Charleston (WV) Golden Eagles
Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagles
Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks
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