TSR Collaboration
Jan 24, 202315 min
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!
Written by Hannah Thorn & Kevin Fischer
Additional edits and commentary by John Cusick & Garrett Zatlin
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 the rankings.
The second number indicates where the athlete was ranked in our last update.
Aoife Dunne hasn’t done anything crazy yet this season, but she has put down a pair of very solid 2:15 (800) and 5:02 (mile) marks on flat-tracks. With conversions, she sits at NCAA #3 in the 800 meters and NCAA #9 in the mile.
We haven’t seen a ton of fast D3 800 meter times yet this season, so she will need to step up as other women's results flood in over the half-mile. Even so, it’s January and these are solid early-season performances. We think she’s in a good position in both of her main events, especially with a week in January still remaining.
It will be interesting to see how she progresses when fields become more competitive as the season progresses. But if she peaks in the latter-half of this winter like she did last spring, then she'll be a legitimate national-caliber threat.
Anna Kenig-Ziesler competed in a loaded 3000 meter field at the I-55 Invite and held her own, ultimately finishing 4th with a time of 10:00. That mark converts to 9:55 due to the race being hosted on a flat-track.
For the Maroon ace, this was the best performance of her indoor track season so far -- and by a good margin. She had run a couple of miles in the previous few weeks. And although both races ended with her running 5:11, this latest effort is a much stronger step in the right direction.
This is also the first time that we’ve seen Kenig-Ziesler’s cross country breakthrough from the fall convert to the oval. That's a positive sign as she can, theoretically, continue to build on her already-excellent momentum and potentially become even more nationally competitive than she was on the grass.
With a string of personal bests now under belt, it’s hard to ask for a better start to the season for Kenig-Ziesler as she will look to continue to build upon her stacking fitness over the next month.
Cyna Madigan’s NCAA #2 mark in the 800 meters back in December (a 2:12 conversion) has remained untouched by anyone besides Washington U.’s Emma Kelley. That fact alone was enough to have her crack our top-20.
But upon returning to competition this past week, the UW-Oshkosh runner focused on her speed, running a 400 meter and 200 meter double in times of 59.27 and 27.82, respectively.
Madigan is definitely in a really good spot in regards to her speed. However, we aren’t exactly sure what kind of 800 meter shape she is currently as we are approaching nearly two months since her last effort over that distance.
When she goes back up in distance, we will likely have a clearer idea of how serious of a threat she poses to the other top half-mile women in the country.
As for now, Madigan deserves a spot inside our top-20, but we are still waiting on another result from her to see how competitive we should expect her to be for the rest of the season.
Kathleen McCarey opened her season with a solo 17:25 (5k) victory at the Winter Welcome Back to Brockport meet. She later earned a 17:17 conversion thanks to the meet being hosted on a flat-track.
Admittedly, that time looks pretty underwhelming given that she has run 16:36 before. That said, McCarey was on her own and she won comfortably, so it's not like this is a negative result, either.
Yes, she does drop in our rankings, but that's more based on other women in D3 having more impressive performances since our last update. It would not be surprising to see her climb back up our list after toeing the line for some more competitive fields.
Morgan Lee has not raced since our last update.
Windsor Ardner ran the mile this past weekend, finishing the race in a time of 5:01. She currently sits at NCAA #7 after a small track conversion brings her mark down to 4:58.
The east coast standout made some waves this past fall with an 8th place finish at the cross country national meet, but now she is back to the distance that she is likely more comfortable with -- and that's a scary reality given how dangerous she proved to be during the fall. And whenever she moves up to the 3k, her newfound cross country strength will only help her.
Even though the mile is probably Ardner's primary event, she still has plenty of other event options as she can move up to the 3000 meters. And if she finds enough success in that event, then she could also aid the Knights’ DMR at the indoor national meet given the schedule is currently laid out.
Of course, with another year of experience (and improved fitness) under her belt, we could see Ardner run the mile and anchor the DMR team, a challenging (but very doable) national meet double.
It’s always interesting to see how people with versatility navigate their seasons. And given how talented Ardner can/will be across numerous events, there may not be anyone more interesting than her.
Aubrie Fisher ran 4:58 in the mile last weekend at the Cyclone Open, a personal best mark that mirrors her 4:35 (1500) personal best that she ran last spring. And although her resume says she could be a bit faster, this time also seems to be on par with our expectations.
After all, her focus on the steeplechase during the spring months, an event where she is probably the national title favorite, is where her greatest value on the track lies.
As we mentioned, Fisher may be the steeplechase favorite come May, but there is far less clarity about what Fisher may focus on during this indoor track season. Running a 4:58 mile is solid, but we’re not sure if that's enough to make a national title run or even a top-three spot.
And yes, Fisher has already raced a 3k this season, but she covered that distance in a time of 9:59 to eventually earn a 9:54 flat-track conversion, a mark that isn't all that close to her PR of 9:47 from last winter.
Of course, it's still January and there's good argument that we haven’t seen the best from Fisher in this still-short season. Despite the four-spot drop, we think the best is yet to come from this Wartburg ace.
It’s still early in the season, so we shouldn’t panic about one performance. However, there are some (minor) concerns about Delaney Sall after a less than ideal start to her 2023 indoor track season.
The 800 meter specialist likely had high expectations coming into the winter months as one of the top returners in a (projected) national meet field that is missing a dominant superstar.
At the GVSU Mike Lints Open, Sall ran 2:21 in her first race of the season. That mark is well off from her personal bests of 2:08 (outdoors) and 2:11 (indoors). And unfortunately, she faded to 9th place overall at that meet.
But let's make something clear: that was just one race. There is still plenty of season left and we are not ready to panic about Sall. On paper, she is simply too talented to not be listed in these rankings.
Even so, she is dropping in our rankings simply based on her slow start.
Lexi Brown has made a statement in the first (legitimate) month of this indoor track season.
In her rust-buster race at the Chelsey M. Henkenius Invitational, she ran 17:53 in the 5000 meters. That time is less than three seconds off of her PR, it converts to 17:45, it currently sits at NCAA #13. That was a respectable season debut.
But then Brown had her true breakout performance last week at the Cyclone Open. Against Division One competition, she ran 9:46 in the 3000 meters. That’s over 30 seconds faster than she has ever run before (in that event) and she is sitting at NCAA #3 right now.
This was a massive performance for someone who has never made it to a national meet on the track. And for someone who tends to stick to the middle distances on the track, it looks like moving up in distance has paid off for her.
After such a successful cross country season, we knew Brown was fit, but I don’t think we expected this. She is an early contender for having the best breakout season of any woman in Division Three...and it’s only January.
Christine Albrecht might have some of the most surprising results this season.
Sure, she was an All-American in cross country this past fall, finishing in 27th place at the national meet, but she has never been to a national meet on the indoor or outdoor oval. But as we approach the month of February, Albrecht sits among the top-20 on the national leaderboard in two events. She's even among the top-five in one event which feels like a testament to her growth as an athlete.
Albrecht opened her indoor track season at St. Olaf Ole Opener, running 10:06 for 3000 meters, eventually earning a 10:01 conversion. That was a huge PR and is currently listed at NCAA #20 for Division Three.
Yes, she’ll have to run faster than that if she wants to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in that event, but that’s a great opener, nonetheless.
But then Albrecht followed up that performance with a massive day at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic. There, she ran 2:57 for 1000 meters and 4:58 for the mile. That was a six-second PR in the 1k (where she convincingly beat Clara Mayfield) and a massive PR in the mile (by 15 seconds).
Oh, and by the way, those are unconverted marks from a flat-track. After conversions, Albrecht's 1k time would sit roughly around 2:55 while her mile time now reads 4:55. And from what we can find, Albrecht has only raced the mile five times over the last four years, with her prior personal best being 5:13.
After conversions, this rising St. Olaf star is currently sitting at NCAA #2 in the mile, only .05 seconds behind Maddie Hannan. The beginning of Albrecht’s breakout season started on the grass and she is now capitalizing on that fitness in the early winter months to the tune of a TSR #11 ranking.
Hope Murphy drops a few spots after a somewhat pedestrian start to her 2023 indoor track season...but we know what she can do when she is firing on all cylinders.
Last spring, the Baldwin Wallace ace ran 4:26 over 1500 meters and finished 3rd at the outdoor national meet behind Esther Seeland and Cassie Kearney, two women who have since transferred to D1 programs.
In other words, she should be the national title favorite in the mile this indoor season depending on the progress that you expect from others.
Despite the slow start, it remains to be seen whether or not her recent results warrant any actual concern. Because even though some of her times haven’t been up to her standards, she also hasn’t lost to anybody yet. Plus, she has run multiple events in both of the meets that she has toed the line for this season!
In other words, her lack of freshness has likely been a factor working against her. And truthfully, we imagine her early-season performances have been more focused on talent refinement rather than national qualifying.
As the season goes on, we expect Murphy to have better competitive opportunities and get back to the level that she was at when last spring. And when that happens, she will certainly move up in these rankings.
Alex Ross has not raced since our last update.
The number six must be a lucky number for Emily Konkus. She currently has the NCAA #6 mark in the mile and the 3000 meters so far this season.
Her season opener was at the FNS Opener almost two weeks ago where she ran 5:00 for the mile, a time that converted to a pleasantly strong mark of 4:57. And while we are used to seeing her run pretty fast in the mile/1500 meters. this result was better than what we have ever seen her (emerging as a five-second PR).
The Washington U. veteran had to be pretty happy to open her season like that, but then she followed that up with another PR at the I-55 Invite. In the 3000 meters, she ran 9:55 to finish right behind Kelly from U. of Chicago. And in the end, she gained another strong conversion of 9:50.
Konkus has only run the 3k twice before with her fastest being 10:27. So her 9:5 conversion was a large improvement for the senior. That kind of jump makes us wonder what she has been doing the past few seasons by not contesting the 3k. On paper, the event seems to suit her as she has the strength (which we saw in cross country), but she also has the speed (finishing 9th in the 1500 meters at the 2022 outdoor national meet).
Konkus may be able to drop that converted 9:50 mark even further with a few more 3k races under her belt. If she does indeed contest the event two or three more times, then we could be talking about a dark horse pick to contest for the national title.
Is it a bit early to expect that? Sure. She still has a long way to go before she gets to that point. But that possibility is certainly not out of the question if she continues to improve this winter. And at the very least, she currently looks like a very strong candidate to emerge as an All-American.
Another woman who was unranked coming into this season but has since made a splash is Maddie Kelly, a distance standout from U. of Chicago.
As a 1500 meter finalist from last year's outdoor national meet, we expected her to put down a fast mile time this winter, but that’s actually one of the few races that she hasn’t toed the line for yet.
Kelly opened up her season at the Phoenix Invitational with a 2:16 mark over 800 meters (which converted to 2:15) and helped out her 4x400 relay. That first result was a PR for Kelly and it currently has her ranked at NCAA #5 on the D3 national leaderboard after conversions. The next week, she raced in another 4x400 relay at the NCC Cardinal Opener and was entered in the mile, but posted a DNF result.
But what really impressed us was the range that we saw from this dynamic half-mile talent. The Maroon sophomore ran in the 3000 meters at the I-55 Invite last weekend. There, she ran a 9:53 personal best and after conversions, is now sitting at NCAA #5 with a highly impressive mark of 9:48 for the distance!
It's still early, but Kelly is showing excellent range this season. It’s only a matter of time before we see her throw down a fast mile, an event that, in theory, could end up being her best discipline based on her recent results.
And if that happens, then Kelly will be spoiled in her choice of national meet entries.
She might get to choose between two relays (4x400 and DMR) and three individual events (800, mile, 3k). That’s a busy schedule but Kelly has already shown that she loves to race and we have no doubt that she’ll be successful in whichever event(s) she chooses.
Maddie Hannan is already benefiting from the new field house that just opened in La Crosse, Wisconsin. At the Blue Demon Alumni Classic, Hannan was able to race against D1 competition and finish 2nd overall in the mile.
Her 4:55.78 does not need to be converted and is currently the fastest time in the country. It should also hang on to be a fairly comfortable national qualifying time. And before we forget, that's a 10-second personal best for Hannan.
We saw Hannan finish 11th in the 1500 meters at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships, so we knew that she had national-caliber talent, but it’s clear that she has surpassed that fitness so far this winter.
That kind of result could be the result of the confidence that she gained from her best cross country season to date. Her 20th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships this past fall was over 130 spots better than the previous year. And in retrospect, her improved strength is almost certainly what's paying dividends for Hannan as she comes down in distance.
Regardless of what it is, Hannan has essentially already qualified for the indoor national meet in January and has the rest of the season to continue building fitness without having to rush her racing schedule.
We could see her move up or down in distance, but when crossing her mile prowess with her cross country success, the 3k could end up being her sweet spot.
Annika Urban continues her weird trend of excelling in the 5000 meters and the mile. She actually ran both events (well, the 5k and the 1500 meters) at the outdoor national meet last spring. That's a very unusual double.
And this winter, Urban's approach is seemingly no different.
Shortly after the 2022 cross country season ended, Urban raced a 5k at the Boston University Season Opener. Her 16:29 mark was a PR by over 20 seconds, showing us that her aerobic fitness was at a peak. That time still the number one 5k performance in D3 this winter, barely edging out Ana Tucker, but well clear of the rest of the field.
Urban would start 2023 on the same note, running a mile at the Carolina Challenge meet. She dipped under 5:00 for the first time in her career, running 4:56.
And yes, that’s not just dipping under the five-minute barrier, that’s smashing it. It is currently sitting at NCAA #3 and should stay in the top-10 all season long.
Urban’s range is arguably one of the best in the country and she’s already proven that in her two races this indoor season. As we get further along in the winter months, this Emory star should only progress in fitness, making her one of the most lethal athletes in the country.
Clara Mayfield has opened up her season with marks of 9:52 (3k) and 5:00 (mile). Those times later converted to 9:47 and 4:57 via flat-track boosts.
Despite those being strong marks, they're also not all that close to her overall personal bests, so it looks like she still has a bit of work to do this season. However, the good news for Mayfield is that those times are still fast enough to qualify her for the national meet. Her mile converts to an NCAA #5 spot and her 3k result is currently listed at NCAA #4 right now.
And given her history of (usually) peaking in the postseason, it's hard to have any legitimate concerns about Mayfield right now. When she's in faster and more top-heavy fields, she'll likely inch closer to her marks from last year.
We should also see this Carleton ace post a fast 5000 meter time in the next couple of weeks. She'll also have a few more 3k attempts as she tries to lower her own personal best.
Ana Tucker has been very busy during this still-young winter season. In the three meets that she has competed in, she has contested three different races, has posted three personal bests and ranks in the top-five (nationally) among all three events (mile, 3k, 5k).
The Hope College ace started her season at the SVSU Holiday Open with a 9:36 (3k) mark. That was a massive PR for Tucker and it still stands as the top time in D3. She followed that up with a 5k effort at the GVSU Holiday Open where she ran 16:29, another personal best. That performance currently is the second-fastest time in D3 right now.
After the holiday break, Tucker has picked up right where she left off. At the Michigan Invitational, she ran both the mile and the 3k. Running 4:56 in the mile shows impressive range for the senior and in an era where everyone is running a fast mile, she is still listed at NCAA #4 this season.
Her 3k that day wasn’t necessarily her best (10:06), but she was doubling back and we can assume that she was trying to build upon her fitness.
Tucker is having a great season so far and it will be really hard to keep her out of the top-two of our rankings if she continues to run like this.
We knew that with Esther Seeland out this season, it would be the Emma Kelley show in the women’s 800 meters. And sure enough, she started her first act by running 2:10.51 in her season opener in Indianapolis.
That time is currently listed at NCAA #1 by almost three seconds. That mark is just shy of her indoor PR (2:09.41), but the conversion that she received (2:09.03) is actually faster! Not only does Kelley look like she is on the same trajectory as last year, she may even be ahead of schedule.
Although we don’t often look at events shorter than the 800 meters, it is important to note that Kelley also has the NCAA #4 time in the 400 meters, recently running 57.60 at the I 55 Invite. That is close to her PR in the event as well.
Those are very good signs for Kelley this early in the season. It is, after all, only January and our confidence level in her is continuing to grow.
Fiona Smith took two full weeks off after the 2022 cross country national meet and is still finding her footing.
In her first race back, she ran 9:45 in the 3000 meters at the Mondo College Invitational. While that’s further away from her personal best than we’d like to see (earning a 9:40 conversion), it’s still worth noting that she was almost 30 seconds faster than the rest of the field in that race.
If she can get into a faster meet (and she almost certainly will), then we will surely see that time drop.
With almost two months until the national meet, Smith has plenty of time to prove that she is ready to challenge for her first individual national title.
Lexi Brown (Wartburg)
Maddie Hannan (UW-La Crosse)
Christine Albrecht (St. Olaf)
Maddie Kelly (U. of Chicago)
Cyna Madigan (UW-Oshkosh)
Aoife Dunne (Washington U.)
Molly Fitzgibbons (Williams)
Sara Stephenson (Johns Hopkins)
Maeve Hoffman (Wesleyan)
Anna Schueth (UW-Eau Claire)
Allison Uhl (TCNJ)
Claudia Harnett (U. of Chicago)
Molly Fitzgibbons (Williams)
Ella Behrens (Washington U.)
Ella Ball (Williams)
Maeve Hoffman (Wesleyan)
Sara Stephenson (Johns Hopkins)
Jillian Richardson (Bates)
Allison Uhl (TCNJ)
Genna Girard (Williams)
Jenna Allman (Calvin)
Frances Schaeffler (U. of Chicago)